When you’re busy organizing your family and yourself for a long-distance move, you’re typically too busy to think about the environment. But the process can be eco-friendly if you follow these tips.
Use Boxes Wisely
Some of the biggest sources of waste during a move are the boxes and packing materials that you buy to protect your possessions. But you can save both the environment and money if you think about recycling what is already available.
Head to your friendly supermarket or retailer and ask if you can have any boxes or packing material that they’re going to throw away anyway. Start doing this several months before the move so you’ll have a large selection of materials you can use. You can also ask your relatives, friends and your children’s school if they’ll save boxes for you.
Reduce the Load
You’ll rely on less packing resources, save time, and be able to hire a smaller truck with fewer carbon emissions if you have fewer things to move to begin with. Start lessening your load by not buying any extra items for your household until after your move. Get rid of any possessions that you haven’t used in a year. You can sell them, run a yard sale, or give them away to people you know or to charity.
Save the Kitchen for Last
Because the kitchen is the hardest room to pack, you may be tempted to tackle it first. The only problem is once you’ve packed away your dishes, linens, and utensils, you’ll need to use paper plates, plastic knives and forks, and other disposable items, which are only going to end up in a landfill. Do not pack your kitchen until the very end. You can then avoid buying extra disposables.
Avoid Back and Forth Trips
Every time you travel between your old and new home, you throw more carbon emissions into the air and add wear and tear to existing infrastructure. Organize your time wisely so you only need to make one or two trips. Keep in mind that you can do many things remotely nowadays from scouting the neighborhood through street view on Google Maps to turning on utilities via email or forms on the utility company’s website.
Go Green in Your New Home
Think about any eco-friendly changes you can make to your new home before you arrive. Switch to a tankless water heater and a low-water garden, if possible, to reduce water use. Improve the insulation in the attic and add weather-stripping to the windows to minimize heating and cooling expenses. Switch all the light bulbs to compact fluorescents or LEDs to reduce electrical consumption.
Want to know what else you can do to make your move environmentally friendly? Then please contact us at True Friends Moving for a no-obligation consultation.