An eco-friendly move involves taking steps to reduce waste by selling, donating, or recycling any items no longer needed and purging and packing efficiently to minimize moving loads.
Moving is often associated with creating unnecessary waste, from boxes and packaging materials to unwanted belongings that are left behind. This article offers tips for planning a greener move, including decreasing vehicle emissions and using eco-friendly packing materials.
Steps to Include on Your Eco-Friendly Moving Checklist
1. Declutter
De-cluttering your home before moving can help free up a significant amount of space and reduce moving costs and environmental impact. Sort out things that you no longer require into "donate", "recycle", and "toss" piles for easy disposal and reduce environmental impacts at once!
Anytime you declutter, you can reduce waste and make things more eco-friendly. Make sure you use this step as a way to create your eco-friendly moving checklist of things to do for a greener move.
2. Reuse
Moving generates significant waste, from cardboard boxes and packing materials to unwanted belongings discarded during transport. Therefore, it is imperative to plan your move sustainably and reduce its waste output as much as possible.
Before purchasing boxes, try searching Craigslist or local stores for free or used ones that could help save you money and reduce landfill waste. Many individuals may offer their boxes without charging anything extra; take advantage of this offer while stockpiling. An even better option is reusable moving boxes you can rent for your move.
An effective way to reduce packaging waste is to use old clothes and linens as makeshift packing supplies, along with towels or blankets to wrap furniture items for protection during transport.
3. Recycle
When selecting environmentally conscious packing supplies for your move, look for recycled cardboard boxes and plastic crates as well as biodegradable packing peanuts or newspaper substitutes. You can also recycle anything you plan to toss out during your move that is recyclable.
4. Hire an Eco-Friendly Moving Company
If you are serious about leading an eco-friendly lifestyle, then making every move as sustainable as possible will help to reduce carbon emissions and create a greener world.
Discover a company that utilizes energy-efficient vehicles and reusable packing materials, as well as participating in tree-planting initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint. Many moving companies even participate in tree-planting programs as part of their dedication to cutting back carbon emissions.
5. Use Energy-Saving Tips
Although reducing waste and using eco-friendly packing materials are key steps towards lowering your carbon footprint, to make an impactful statement about minimizing trips necessary to transport your belongings you should also declutter before moving day so as to consolidate items into smaller containers and prevent over-packing - this can reduce the number of boxes needed to be moved, save fuel costs, and have less of an environmental impact than packing everything up yourself!
With all of these tips and steps, you can create an eco-friendly moving checklist from the company you hire to the supplies you use to the way you will conserve energy throughout the move.