From Guest Blogger Diana Smith: Five Green Moving Tips
It seems that everything is about eco-friendliness these days – a huge portion of our population is promoting this way of life. And who can blame them? Long enough have the people of Earth turned a blind eye to our planet’s problems! Seeing how the green mentality has managed to slowly seep into every aspect of our daily lives, let’s talk about finding ways to be eco-friendly when moving to a new home!
Less is better
When it comes to moving, minimizing your inventory is of the essence, not just because you want to make the whole experience easier and cheaper, but also because it’s an eco-conscious thing to do. Minimizing your inventory will save both space and energy.
Decluttering is, by all means, the name of the game here, so giving away or donating items you can find no use for is a great way to kill two birds with one stone – it’s always nice to see someone you care about making use of the item you no longer need.
On the other hand, organizing a garage sale is a smart move – you’ll get a chance to both get rid of the stuff you don’t need, and earn some extra cash!
Finally, you should always aim at recycling items rather than simply throwing them away. This means turning old jars into containers, old clothes into rags, paint cans into pots and, finally, cartons into packaging.
Recyclable packing supplies
When it comes to packaging, these supplies are an unavoidable part of any move. Now, while all boxes are essentially the same, it’s your mentality that will make them recyclable. So, instead of buying new boxes, recycle old ones, or simply ask for freebies from your local businesses and shops – all store owners are typically more than happy to get rid of redundant boxes.
Additionally, instead of buying bubble wraps and other packaging fills, opt for using old cloths, towels and linens to protect fragile items.
The actual move
Hiring a moving company does come with its own set of benefits, but the movers aren’t exactly known for being careful with your stuff, or for being mindful of our environment. Taking the matters into your own hands is definitely a smart choice, so ask your friends and relatives to help you with heavy stuff and buy them a beer or two at the end of the day. This will definitely pay off in comparison to having to hire a moving company, but how will this help our environment, you might wonder. Well, if you are in charge with item packing, you can focus on organizing your items better, so that a truck hire company you opt for can make as little round trips as possible, in the goal of dwindling the carbon footprint!
Biodegradable products
Being eco-friendly is all about using biodegradable products or, in other words, those that can easily be composted. The man-made harmful chemicals have extremely damaging effects on our planet. In fact, even after this type of item is composted, poisonous materials it contains are absorbed by the very planet we call our home. Biodegradable products will help keep the Earth clean and make sure that the pace at which the toxic landfills that pollute our air are growing is taken back a notch, with a final goal of making landfills redundant.
Unplug everything
Forgetting to turn off every single light and electronic device within your home after you’ve moved out is not only bad for your pocket, but will also keep on spending energy, which is always bad for the environment. Check, double-check and triple-check everything before you leave your old house.
These five tips will help you wrap your head around the fact that even moving should be approached with “green” in mind. Keep in mind that decluttering, recycling, choosing the right movers, using biodegradable products and being mindful of your energy spending is the best road towards paying tribute to the nature that surrounds us.
