Around 35.5 million people move each year. Unfortunately, most of them don’t worry about cutting carbon footprint in the process.

Are you planning on moving in the near future? If you are serious about cutting your environmental footprint, then you need to find an eco-friendly way to plan your move.

Martha Stewart interviewed several experts on sustainable moving last year. They showed that you can do a lot to reduce your carbon footprint if you take the right steps.

Eco-Friendly Moving Ideas

Whether you are facing a protracted related home sale delay or simply stuck in limbo due to lockdown delays, now is the perfect time to be as eco-friendly as you prepare to relocate. Over the past two years, around 19% of moves (which was around 115,000 moves) experienced details. Any delay can result in additional costs incurred by both those moving out and those moving in.

The good news is that a delay gives you more time to plan, which helps you find ways to do it more sustainably. Here are some eco-friendly moving tips to look at.

Pare Down To Essentials

Paring down to keep only essentials can pay huge dividends. The period before you actually move is perfect for getting rid of things which no longer serve a useful purpose or just do not fit in with your new home. Whether you are moving across town or across a continent, reducing the load can also save money on removals.

An added benefit is that you have a blank canvas on which to decorate when you arrive in your new home. Having far fewer things to unpack will make that part of the moving process much more enjoyable as well. Declutter as much as possible and find new homes for unwanted furniture and other goods which do not fit into your new abode.

If you want to be as eco-friendly as possible, you should try to upcycle, sell, give away, and recycle as many of your unwanted possessions as you can, rather than having them end up in landfill. On the flipside, if you want new things, then you should first scour second-hand shops, local Facebook groups, Craigslist and Freecycle type boards is also a good way to be as eco-friendly as possible.

Dedicating more time to better packing and labelling now will make the job unpacking far easier. Remember to label both top and sides so that you can easily spot box contents.

Finding An Eco-friendly Mover

Given the extra time before any moves can go ahead, there is no excuse for not doing some basic research to find and eco-friendly mover. Many will provide reusable boxes, and even packing services to make sure your goods arrive safely on the other end.

If you have pared down sufficiently, you may find your load only fills half of a load. You may be able to negotiate a lower rate if you are flexible when your goods can be transported. Often, you may also be able to arrange for a short period of temporary storage at a very reasonable rate.

Also check whether your mover is committed to being eco-friendly, making the most of lower traffic congestion times, working out of hours to pack, load, and transport your goods to reduce your carbon footprint. Moving firms which adapt to their customer’s needs and expectations are making a renewed commitment to becoming more eco-friendly.

The Very Last Clean In Your Old Home

During lockdown, many of the normal cleaning agents have been unavailable for weeks. Now is the perfect time to revert to the wisdom of the ages and adopt eco-friendly cleaning practices to ensure that the very last clean you will ever have to do in your old home is as eco-friendly as possible. Online recipes for a wide variety of cleaning needs are easy to find and generally rely on a small number of common ingredients.

Basic ingredients including white vinegar, baking soda, and water can clean most things. And for cleaning floor and wood, a drop of olive oil can add the much needed shine. Add a touch of your favorite clean smell, be it lemon, juniper, or lavender, and you have your own special signature cleaning solutions for life. You may never even consider walking down that aisle again and save quite a bit of money at the same time.

Preparing Plan B to Cope With Chain And Money Delays 

The age-old adage is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Over one third of homeowners who moved to new homes in the last two years wound up having to chance the status of funds on moving day, with 3% failing to move in on the day because the funds did not arrive in time. That is over 20,500 cancelled moves, and it could happen to anyone.

Start pulling together an eco-friendly, cost effective plan by making enquiries with the moving firm about whether they can provide very short-term storage. Enquiring with relatives and friends about whether you can stay if delayed is a great way to avoid forking out for accommodation. Obviously, you want to protect everyone’s health should you need to stay, but as many hotels and B&Bs may remain shut for some time, it is better to ask before you need to impose. 

Thinking through viable options and putting your Plan B, and possibly Plan C in place should moving day go off track will help minimize the stress from start to finish. Discussing them with both the movers and the family will help keep everyone focused on making the day a success.

Plan Your Move Sustainably

There are a lot of factors that you need to take into consideration when you are planning your move. You want to make your move as eco-friendly as possible. These sustainable moving tips should help.