Going Green When You Move

By Scott Boone

Image courtesy of wikimedia

For those of you who have read my blog before, you know that I endeavor to provide my readers with all the tricks of the trade when it comes to managing a move.  After all, there is a hard way and an easy way to perform most moving tasks, right?  Today I am going to tackle a moving topic that while a bit complicated, could prove to be the most environmentally beneficial bit of advice I can give.  That’s right, today I’m going to show you how to go green when you move.

Can You Go Green When You Move?

I know what you’re thinking, “How can a move be considered green when it starts off with a big, honking diesel truck?”  Until Tesla or some other enterprising automotive manufacturer comes up with an electric moving truck, that’s one green tip I will leave for a future date.  However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a ton of ways you can make the rest of your move more environmentally-friendly.

Boxes, Boxes Everywhere!

Image courtesy of Pxhere

Let’s start off with boxes.  Some 90% of cargo in the USA is shipped in a cardboard box.  While much of this cardboard is recycled, some of it still winds up in landfills from coast to coast.  Even recycling consumes a lot of energy.  Did you know that paper manufacturing is the fifth largest use of energy worldwide?  Besides, nowadays, there are alternatives to using cardboard boxes.

A cottage industry has sprung up around providing consumers with rentable plastic bins.  Just do a search for “Rentable Shipping Boxes,” and you will find a host of local companies that provide this service.  Sporting catchy names such as Bungo Box, Frog Box, and Rent a Green Box just to name a few, these services will drop off and pick up plastic moving boxes at your front door.  Whether you’re moving across town or across the country, these companies guarantee to eliminate waste and save untold numbers of trees.  What’s not to like?

Economize on Moving Supplies

Since rental boxes come complete with lids that don’t require tape to seal, just think of the amount of moving supplies you can save.  While you will still require padding to protect fragile belongings, since plastic is stiffer than cardboard, you can also save on padding as well.  If you want to save even more, think of repurposing towels as opposed to using bubble wrap to pad many items.  Speaking of bubble wrap, if you want to really go green, store it away to use it again another day.  Even better yet, it isn’t all that difficult to acquire environmentally-friendly packing material.

Anything but Green

Image courtesy of wikimedia

To begin with, if you want to go green, you need to know which materials are anything but green.  This includes Styrofoam (otherwise known as polystyrene foam), which is made from petroleum.  Styrofoam padding, such as packing peanuts, are non-biodegradable and many recycling plants won’t touch the stuff.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is if you still want to use packing peanuts to cushion fragile items, there are now green packing peanuts made from corn starch that are 100% biodegradable.  (Another green substitute for packing peanuts is to use popped corn.)

Other natural packing materials on the market include sphagnum moss and coconut fibers. These eco-friendly materials are not only a great way to wrap fragile items, they can be repurposed as a growth medium for planters, hanging baskets and window boxes.  It doesn’t get any greener than that. 

Good for More than Just the Environment

The term Eco has a second meaning: Economize.  If you want to economize on your move, consider two ways to accomplish this goal:

Image courtesy of Pixabay

The first is to donate some of the belongings you have amassed over the years.  Charities galore are more than happy to take everything from clothing to furniture. These items are then resold to raise money for the charity.  You also get to save money when you donate, since you will receive a tax write-off for your generosity.  Reducing the load also helps you save the environment by burning less fuel.

Another way to lighten the load is to hold a garage sale.  You’d be surprised at how much money you can rake in by staging a weekend garage sale.  As they say, “One man’s trash is another’s treasure.”  I like to look at it as a treasure for both parties, since not only will your neighbors be happy to acquire something new for a bargain basement price, but you the seller will also reap some treasure by staging the sale.  (It isn’t uncommon to cover a substantial portion of your moving costs by holding a garage sale.)

Eco-Boost Your Move

With a little bit of effort, giving your next move an eco-boost isn’t all that difficult.  By doing your homework to reduce waste and find eco-friendly packing materials, you will do the planet a big favor.  As an added bonus, by learning how to employ economy as well as ecology, you might just find out that you’ll discover another way to go green, by winding up with more of that green stuff that comes with pictures of dead presidents on them.

With over 5,000 moves, Scott's Discount Movers  has handled moves of all sizes, including local and cross country. If you are looking to move your home or office, you can depend on Scott's Discount Movers to provide a stress-free relocation.