Think Green When You Move Home

Posted on the 25 March 2012 by T_mackinnon @tedmackinnon

Moving home is a perfect time to change the way you decorate and furnish your home. However, if you’re keen to live a green lifestyle, you  might feel bad about getting rid of perfectly functional furniture and buying new things from the shops.

There’s also a question of costs – moving house is expensive and so any ways you can save money will be welcome. However, it often happens that there will be some items of furniture that don’t fit in your new home, so you’ll have to decide what to do with those things that you can’t take with you.

The worst thing you can do is just take unwanted items to the tip. There are far better, greener, ways you can dispose of them. For instance, there are a number of charitable organisations that will come and collect unwanted furniture and distribute them to people in need. This saves you the hassle of moving the items yourself as well. If you can’t find an organisation like that near you, it’s still worth putting an ad on ebay and offering items ‘free for pick-up.’ You’ll be amazed at what people will come and get – one man’s junk is another man’s treasure, after all!

The other thing you might want to do is ask friends and family if they know of anyone setting up home for the first time. People kitting out their first flat or house are often grateful for hand-me-down tables and chairs or sofas that they can use for a couple of years while they save up to buy their own pieces of furniture.

Once you’ve re-homed your unwanted goods, you can take yourself down to Harveys with a clear conscience, or browse the sofa sales online, and find just the thing you’d like for your new home.