Home Improvement

Green Moving 101

The carbon footprint left by moving is a big one. A lot of trucks, trash and material waste cause a lot of environmental distress. Moving boxes are recyclable, yes, but that is basically the only thing that is eco friendly during a move. This is why many people are embracing a “green” move nowadays. Only the best cross country movers will conduct moves such as these. Do your share of supporting environmental consciousness by embracing it as well!

Use your own containers 

When you use your own containers, you will not need to buy as many boxes. Although you will need some boxes, using what you have will reduce the need of making more plastic or other types of containers. This can do wonders when applied on a larger scale. Use your plastic bins, duffel bags and sports bags, vacuum sealed bags, and other. You can put whole drawers in one box in order to avoid using more boxes. Fill the containers you already have as much as you can. When you do this, you are doing the environment a favor. 

Keep the boxes you get from purchases

This is a great way to avoid getting more boxes. If you have enough space to put away old boxes, they will come in handy when you decide to move. When you make an online purchase, the item will very probably come in a box. I tend to keep most of the containers when I buy different products. This has helped me a lot during the years because I tend to move quite a lot. Put them somewhere out of sight, like your basement, your garage, or your attic. This way you will be ready when your next move comes. 

Find and buy already used boxes

Ask around the neighborhood if they have some spare boxes. If you know that someone has moved in recently, ask them if they held on to some of the moving boxes. Ask your friends and family as well and gather as much boxes as you can. If you cannot find any, you can buy them online on websites such as Usedcarboardboxes.com. They deal with boxes that were not accepted by manufacturers due to them being faulty. This will not pose a problem to you and you can use them without any special care. 

Avoid plastics at all costs

When you start packing, you should avoid plastic at all costs. Although there are some plastics that can be recycled, most types cannot. Even though some can be recycled, most people forget about that and just throw it away in the trash bin. Plastic is a big environmental issue, mostly because they are not biodegradable and usually end up in the ocean, leading to marine wildlife being exposed to it. There are websites which you can use to find spots that recycle most materials. You should use packing paper if you have any, if not, use newspapers. You can also use cloths, towels, linens, and any other type of padding to put in your boxes in order to secure the items within. 

Getting rid of stuff you do not need

One of the best ways to use less boxes and containers is to get rid of extra stuff. You probably have some things in your garage that you needed once and then completely forgot about it. There are a couple of ways you can get rid of stuff. 

You can organize a garage sale. This way you can get rid of extra stuff, and earn some money on the side as well. The most important thing about a garage sale is organization and advertising. Your sale needs to be clear of clutter so people can see what you are offering. You can use social media to advertise the sale. You can also put up posters in your town and hand out flyers in your neighborhood. Do not set fixed prices. Be ready to barter. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!It is better to sell something you do not need at a lower price, than using up another box and making the general weight of the move heavier. If the garage sale goes well, you will be a lot “lighter” and your move a lot easier. 

Another way to get rid of stuff that you do not manage to sell during your garage sale, is to sell it online. There are a lot of websites such as eBay which deal with such matters. If this does not pan out well, you can always donate stuff to charity. Look for charity organizations in your town. They will be happy to take over your stuff and hand it to the ones that need it most. You can also give it to your friends or family.

Hire a company that can do an eco-friendly move

Most companies do not care about the carbon footprint they leave on the planet when doing their business. But there are some that do. If you live in Florida, you can find a mover in Sarasota and move with ease. The move will not only be easy, but also eco-friendly because they use biodiesel. They will also supply you with biodegradable boxes, which you can save for your next move.  You will also not need to use cardboard boxes.

These guys will also emphasize doing everything in one trip. If you have many back and forth trips there will be a lot of gas emissions which compliments global warming. 

Conclusion

Deciding to go green for your move is a very smart thing to do. The environment is at an all time low concerning the state of the ecosystem. If everyone in the world decided to go green, the planet would be able to recover in a couple of years. One person at a time seems like a slow progression, but we hope to get an exponential growth in the next couple of years. It is the only reasonable thing to do if we want to save our planet!

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