Moving is often an overwhelming and time-consuming endeavor, but you can use this experience as an opportunity to be environmentally-friendly and make an impactful statement about the earth and make positive contributions towards environmental preservation. By minimizing your carbon footprint and making green decisions during this process, you can ensure a more positive future and preserve our precious environment.
Top 4 Reasons to Go Green During Your Move
1. Save Money
Assuming you move fewer items, this will require fewer trips for your moving company and reduce greenhouse emissions.
Prior to moving, consider donating or selling any unneeded possessions that you no longer use - not only will this clear out space in your home but it may even net you cash or tax benefits! Plus, moving companies charge by weight so donating more things reduces costs!
Instead of purchasing new boxes for your move, purchase used ones instead or use eco-friendly reusable moving boxes that you can rent. This will also reduce waste as unneeded boxes will go directly into recycling instead of landfill.
Reusing bubble wrap or packing paper as protection during transit will further cut back waste generation; renting plastic moving boxes might also prove more useful as they provide greater stability than cardboard containers.
2. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
If you are an environmental enthusiast, moving can be an opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint. Moving can generate lots of waste - including boxes, packing materials, and household items that need to be disposed of once settled in your new home.
If you do need a larger vehicle, select one with better fuel economy. To reduce emissions even further, donate money to organizations funding renewable energy or emission reduction projects - any effort towards decreasing your carbon footprint counts!
3. Reduce Your Stress
Relocating can be a tumultuous experience. From new job searches and family emergencies to simply wanting a change, moving is often stressful and overwhelming. Unfortunately, most of us tend to overlook its environmental impacts when making such changes - yet these decisions impact us all directly and we should pay more attention!
Transportation is one of the primary contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the US, so your move will add further. But going green could lower both stress levels and your carbon footprint!
As part of your effort to reduce stress when moving, plan ahead and declutter before beginning packing. Doing this will significantly decrease the number of boxes that have to be carried and keep the process more manageable.
4. Reduce Waste
Moving is often associated with wasteful practices such as boxes and packing materials being left behind; there are also items that no longer serve their intended purpose in your new home that you no longer require. But there are ways you can minimize waste during your move.
Instead of using cardboard boxes, consider renting reusable moving boxes - these eco-friendly options only need to be used once and can then be returned after your move is over.
Limit the waste you create by selling, donating, or giving away items you no longer require. Not only will this lighten your packing load but it will also ensure that these old items won't end up in landfills.
If you need help moving, look for eco-friendly companies. Some movers already incorporate sustainability practices into their operations or use trucks that run on biodiesel fuel; that way you can ensure your move will be as eco-friendly as possible.