Environmentally Friendly Ways to Move
Moving can take a toll on the environment, but some choices lighten the environmental burden that moving takes. Whether you’re moving to a new home or planning a commercial move to take your company to a new location, a few tips can make your move greener and more environmentally responsible.
Start With Responsible Downsizing
When you move, you don’t need to take everything with you. Moving can be the perfect time to reduce clutter, clean out unwanted items, and donate useful items you don’t need anymore. Every item you pack and move requires time, energy, and fuel to transport. Cutting down on the amount of stuff you bring with your move is one of the easiest ways to make your move greener.
Review your items as you pack and find ways to recycle, reuse, or donate the things you don’t want or need. Ask friends or relatives if they want any of these items or consider having a garage or yard sale to make a bit of extra cash before moving day.
Purchase Reusable Storage Containers
Moving a three-bedroom house can require as many as 50 boxes of varying sizes, which often leads to a lot of waste. If you use any disposable moving boxes, make sure they are made from recycled materials and then recycle them again once you’re finished moving.
Reusable plastic storage totes can be a great investment for any move, especially for the items you keep in storage. Plastic containers can last much longer than any cardboard box, and they will also protect your possessions from water, pests, and poor air quality better than standard boxes. If you work with a professional moving company, ask them about tote rentals or see if they will handle recycling your moving boxes once you finish relocating.
Choose Eco-Friendly Packing Supplies
You need some way to protect your expensive and fragile possessions during your move. Instead of environmentally harmful packing materials like plastic bubbles or Styrofoam packing peanuts, look for more sustainable choices. You can now find biodegradable packing peanuts that dissolve in water or deteriorate safely so they don’t add to landfill waste.
Paper is a great recyclable alternative to typical packing supplies. You could also use other household items as packing materials, such as tee shirts, hand towels, and linens. Use these items to protect your glassware and other breakable items so you don’t need to worry about using any packing materials that might harm the environment.
Hire a Professional Moving Company
A professional moving company can handle a move across town or in the same area in a single trip – and that’s saves the environment from a lot of excess waste. While a very large home or a business may take more than one day to move, most professional moving services can handle moving a family home in a single day or even a few hours depending on how close the new house is to the old one. This means less fossil fuel consumption for the moving vehicles and an overall smaller energy footprint for your move.
Making more sustainable choices is easy when you think outside the box. Working with a professional moving company like CertifyMyMove is another great option for making more environmentally responsible moving choices.