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These days, eco-friendliness is being widely discussed. The green way of living is being embraced by more and more people every year… and this, of course, includes eco-friendly moving!
I rarely change any aspects of my life and daily habits — but in this case, me and my family decided to green our move.
We realized that we truly are concerned about the well-being of our environment and that we want to do our best to preserve nature.
That’s why we started applying green living principles in our everyday life — even when it was time for us to move into a new house. (Yes, it is possible to be eco-friendly even in this undertaking!)
Moving is really tedious, but it also causes a lot of waste. There is usually tons of garbage left over once the move is complete:
- Heaps of cardboard boxes
- Packing peanuts
- Plastic wrapping
- And so on
All of these are used just once and thrown away afterward.
However, with our move, we chose to embrace the eco-friendly method and to cut as much as possible on the moving related items. Our motto was: “Think in perspective.”
Here is how me and my family carried out our ecofriendly move…
3 Eco-Friendly Moving Tips
#1 – Don’t move every item that’s in your house.
First of all, we tried to take as few things as possible.
Moving the entire household makes no sense. At least in our case, there were a lot of things that we had not used in the last couple of years, and there was no plan for them to ever get used again. The less stuff you move, the lighter the load is and the less gas you will burn — that will also save you money.
As for the things we did not take with us to the new home, we held a garage sale and made some extra money! However, if you don’t feel like doing a garage sale, you can just donate your items to those who might need them. I must say, I was impressed by how much we actually left behind!
We even emptied the refrigerator. We decided that by the time we arrive to our new home, most of the items will turn bad. We gave those fridge contents to the needy.
#2 – Reuse moving and packing supplies.
Next up, the moving boxes — a crucial element to the moving process.
In order for us to get moving boxes, we placed a couple of ads online. This way, we got boxes that were going to be re-used and for quite cheap, too.
Once we were done with them, we took them to the recycling plant. This was the most logical thing for us to do. Some boxes that were still not completely worn and torn were turned into a castle for our two young boys.
Another smart idea (which we unfortunately did not think of in time) is to buy sturdy crates — either plastic or wooden — that can be used over and over again. Or, you can rent moving boxes.
We decided not to buy any bubble wrap but to use old newspapers and towels as packing material instead. Thankfully, there were no damaged items. So we saved some money on plastic bubble wrap — which is known to regrade real slow and is a major nature pollutant.
#3 – Research moving companies that use eco-friendly practices.
As you can see, we carried out the move all by ourselves.
However, if you decide to use the services of a removal company, look for a moving company with sustainable business practices — like:
- Using boxes made from 100% recycled materials
- Using packing supplies made from 100% recycled materials
- Providing bio-diesel fuel moving trucks
If the company you choose simply doesn’t use any eco-friendly moving practices, you can ask them if they could make an exception (if you have something specific in mind).
Provided that they are a reliable company which values its costumers, they surely will be glad to stick to your preferences.
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Heather Roberts is a writer from London, UK. She has great flair for decorating and interior design. While searching for new challenges, she often moves to different places. Heather writes about home and office removals in Holland Park.
I like to help people find unique ways to do things that will save time & money — so I write about “outside the box” Household Tips and Life Hacks that most wouldn’t think of. I’m super-organized. And I LOVE to clean! I even enjoy doing laundry (but not ironing). I’m also a lifelong dog owner — so I often share my favorite tips for living with dogs inside your home (like smart home design choices and dog-friendly cleaning & decorating ideas). Career-wise, I’ve been sharing my best ideas with others by blogging full-time since 1998 (the same year that Google started… and before the days of Facebook and YouTube). Prior to that, I worked in Higher Ed over 10 years before switching gears to pursue activities that I’m truly passionate about instead. For example, I’ve worked at a vet, in a photo lab, and at a zoo — to name a few. I enjoy the outdoors via bicycle, motorcycle, Jeep, or RV. When I’m not cleaning, organizing, decorating, or fixing something… you’ll find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites). To date, I’ve personally written over 200 articles about cleaning, organization, DIY repairs, and household hacks on this site! A few have over 2M shares; many others have over 100K shares.
Awesome Tips! Going green is a good Idea, but it’s not only for moving companies one should also take a responsibility to make environment Eco-friendly.
It’s amazing that there are so many places that you can go green that many people don’t even think about. 🙂 This was great information.
Really good post I must admit. I would also advice on using plastic moving boxes instead of cardboard ones. The reason being plastic boxes can be used numerous times and still be as durable as the day they were manufactured. There’s no waste when you use plastic boxes and you don’t even have to go and get them recycled. All you need ot do is take them back to the company you hired them from. Some companies even sent a person form their staff to collect the boxes at your new address. It’s just so easy.
I work for a moving company in London https://www.bestmove.co.uk I recently had a man and van job and the client had packed all her items in plastic boxes. This was the first time I met someone who actually cared to move green. The boxes were heavier than ordinary cardboard boxes. However they were really easy to stack on top of each other. I forgot the name of the company she had hired the boxes from. Anyhow, yeah, green moving is good.