Moving? Try These 4 Simple Green Moving Tips

You’re aware of the dangers of polluting our environment with trash that isn’t biodegradable. You understand how important it is to green your move. And now that you’re moving, you’re curious about how to make your move to a new apartment or house in an eco-friendly way.

While you may be aware of how to pursue a green lifestyle in your daily routine by buying cleaning products that are biodegradable and recycling your consumer products, you may be wondering how you can apply these principles of green living.

Going green is a bit of a challenge when you move. For one thing, you are in a rush and you have no time to think about it. For another, you will be using many things just once before discarding them. For instance, things like cardboard boxes, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, plastic wrapping, tape, and cleaning products. The solution is to plan ahead and to substitute traditional packaging materials with eco-friendly alternatives.

4 Easy Green Moving Tips

Here are 4 green moving tips to help you to put things in perspective:

1. Work with a professional moving company.

If you have to move your entire household, it only makes sense to hire a professional moving company like North American. It’s advisable to minimize how many trips you make to transfer all your stuff. With that in mind, you’ll be impressed with by how much you can move by using one with large trucks. By using a large truck carefully packed by experienced movers, you will avoid making several trips back and forth in a small truck. Besides saving on fuel costs, you’ll also get all the help you need with loading.

2. Jettison what you don’t need.

It’s a waste of time, money, and gas to move your entire house. Try to lighten your load to fit into one large truck if possible.

You’ll be amazed when you go through your household how many things you no longer use. You have probably built up quite a collection over the years. You’ll find small kitchen appliances that you set aside to get fixed someday and you’ll find clothes that don’t fit you anymore.

One way to make this process of sifting and sorting easier is to empty out a room and use it to store everything that you don’t plan to take with you. Later, once you’ve decluttered your entire house, sort through this stuff and make different piles.

– Create a pile for things that you want to recycle because they are in terrible condition and you can’t give them away.
– Create a pile for things that you want to donate to family and friends. Your trash may be someone else’s treasure. That extra mattress you have that’s still in good condition may be just what a nephew who has graduated from college needs in his new apartment.
– Create a pile for things that are still in good condition for goodwill. Thrift stores usually accept gently clothes, household items in good condition, decorative things that are still attractive, and exercise equipment that can still be used. Before lugging all your stuff to your local Thrift store find out what it is that they will accept.

Finally, give all your fresh or packaged foods to the needy and organizations that feed the homeless.

3. Rethink packing supplies.

Many of the packing supplies you use will only be used once. Try to reuse some materials and try to substitute items that don’t biodegrade with those that do.

Here are some ideas to consider:

Cardboard boxes: Get cardboard boxes that have already been used. You can get these from local stores. If for some reason, you can’t get these from your local stores, put an ad in your local newspaper asking for boxes. Many people who have just moved will be glad to give you their boxes. You will be able to get most of these boxes free. People and stores will be glad you asked because you helped them get rid of their boxes. When you get to your new home, take these boxes to a recycling plant.

Reusable boxes: Another idea is to buy wooden crates that can be reused again for different purposes when you get to your destination.

Packaging materials: Much of the standard packaging material people use is convenient but not eco-friendly. We’re talking about bubble wrap and plastic peanuts. These take a long time to degrade and are a major nature pollutant. Simply substitute these with materials that can be recycled like newspapers.

4. Clean with eco-friendly products.

You will do a lot of heavy cleaning both when you leave your old home and when you arrive at your new one. While it’s easy to just grab something from the supermarket to help all you need is a mix of water, vinegar and lemon. You can make your own cleaning products or buy products that only use natural ingredients.

Green Moving is Easier than You Think

When you break it down, green moving is not that difficult. All you have to do is think about the traditional things people do to move that ruin the environment and try to find an alternative way of achieving the same results with a different strategy or different materials.