Move the Eco-Friendly Way With These Great Moving Tips!

If you’ve ever moved, then you know just how stressful the entire process can be. It can also be quite expensive and taxing on the environment. Luckily, there are quite a few ways to make your next move easier, cheaper, and more eco-friendly!

Eco-Friendly Moving Tips

  • Plan ahead! Planning ahead of time for the best route to travel, how you’ll pack everything up, and how many trips you’ll have to take can save you a lot of headaches. It will also keep you from wasting time and fuel making unnecessary trips!
  • Don’t feel obligated to move everything you have! Having a garage sale or donating items to charity can easily help you downsize your load and make the moving process much easier. You’ll save on fuel costs by lightening the weight that you have to haul, plus you may even be able to score some extra cash to help finance your move!
  • Figure out how you’ll handle moving boxes. Two solid options are either getting high-quality plastic containers that you can use over and over again, or searching around for used cardboard boxes in your area so that you don’t have to buy new ones. Then, when you are done with them, see if you can recycle them or put them to use around your home.

You can also ditch the bubble wrap and use old newspapers (recycle them when you’re done) or towels/clothes that you were already going to take with you.

  • Try to find an eco-friendly moving company or alternative. Depending on how far you will be moving, there are a few different options that you should consider. For a local move, search for a local eco-friendly moving company; there are many around the country. However, if you are moving across the country, you may want to consider a more energy efficient and eco-friendly option. For example, you might try a service like Move America or sending your belongings with freight on a train.
  • Use green cleaning products when you are tidying up your old place or making the new one shine!
  • Don’t forget your mail! Moving naturally means having to sign up for mail forwarding and a change of address with the USPS. While you are thinking about your mail, consider cutting down on your junk mail by cancelling those subscriptions to magazines you hardly read and for coupons and flyers that you ignore. What’s more, take a look at how many bills you receive through the mail and see if any of them have a paperless option. Taking these steps can seriously cut down the amount of paper that is sent to your home, thereby lowering your overall carbon footprint.

Here’s some more advice that you might find useful during your next move!