Mountains of cardboard boxes and plastic bubble wrap. Multiple car trips back and forth using immense amounts of fuel. The process of moving your home not only puts stress on your family but also on the environment. With more people than ever worried about the damage they are doing to the environment these tips on how to have the greenest move possible are essential for anybody planning to relocate.
First, attempt to use recycled packing materials. This can mean reusing boxes that you have saved and asking your friends and local stores for boxes they no longer need. This not only saves the environment but also takes a burden off of your bank account as the cost of purchasing packing supplies can add up. Also, if finding used boxes is not an option for you, then make sure that the boxes, bubble wrap, and other packaging supplies that you purchased have been recycled themselves.
Many choose to opt out of hiring a Barnes moving service or a moving van because of the cost. However, it’s important to consider that by making multiple trips with your own vehicle you might be spending more on fuel than you would have if you had gone ahead and hired a company. Furthermore, one trip by their truck is likely to do less damage to the environment than several trips in a smaller vehicle.
It is important, however, to ensure that your removals company is as green as they claim to be. You should ask where they get their packing materials, if they enforce a no idling policy, and if they always use the shortest route possible between locations. Certain W10 moving companies, such as EcoMovers, pride themselves on ensuring that each move they conduct is as environmentally friendly as possible.It is also important to use as few of these recycled boxes by packing efficiently. Do your best, within reason, to fit as much material into each box as possible.
It’s also more efficient to use fewer boxes which are slightly bigger than to have tons of tiny boxes with only three items stuffed into them. You can also pack efficiently by using your linens, towels, and other soft items as buffer material. Wrap your lamps in towels rather than bubble wrap. Why spend money and harm the environment by buying backing peanuts when you have a chest full of fluffy cardigans?
Donate rather than toss out unwanted items. Many of the furniture and clothing which doesn’t belong in your new home might be perfect for somebody else’s. At the very least the materials could be recycled. Look through your pile of unwanted things and pick out those items which could be donated. Also, participate in the aforementioned cycle of used cardboard. Either find a friend who needs packaging materials, recycle your used boxes, or even put up an advert on
Gum tree or Craigslist to donate them to whoever is available to pick them up.
Finally, you can make your move greener by choosing green cleaning products. It is inevitable that a move requires massive amounts of cleaning and cleaning supplies. Unfortunately, these products have a terrible reputation for being very harmful to the environment. It is even more unfortunate that this reputation is valid. You can reduce the harm done by choosing products from environmentally friendly brands. For example, you can order Living Clean cleaning products from their website or search in your local store to find the best option.
Hopefully by using these tips you can make your move as green as possible. If you’re going to be drowning in a sea of cardboard it might as well be cardboard that’s good for our sea.
About g_bailey
has written 11 article(s) for EnvironmentGreen.com.
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