How to Go Green with Moving Boxes
This post is part of the Natural Living Series. Guest Angie shares how to pack and be green at the same time. For more information about Angie, be sure to check out the bottom of this post and for more posts on Reducing, Reusing and Recyling, check out our week of Reducing, Reusing and Recycling posts.
Moving a home can be quite a stressful experience for some of us. The current turbulent lifestyle being led by many professionals and company employees calls for moving whenever a promotion is given or a better job opportunity presents itself. In many cases though the move itself usually means a lot of fuel expenditure and an impact on the environment we may not see, but it is still there and it remains after we are gone. Greenhouse gases and cardboard left behind as well as other contaminants such as trash are all part of how things will progress. There are ways to handle that however and this article aims to point them out for you, so you’ll enjoy a trouble-free, yet still green move. We begin with the following tip:
Use Reusable Packing Materials
The thing about packing materials is that they can be serious contributors to your impact on the environment. You will need a lot of boxes as well as packing tape, which will have to remain behind once you are done unpacking. You can fix that by either buying reusable boxes that completely eliminate the need for buying boxes with every use, or by buying used boxes instead. There are a good number of companies online who deal with such materials and even if you don’t find them there, you can instead find them online on classifieds websites.
Use Recycled Materials
This is an excellent way to manage to save some money in the process of moving. Your overall environmental impact will be much less if you happen to reuse and recycle instead of adding more to the heap of trouble the Earth is already dealing with. You can check the local liquor stores, retail stores and other establishments and shops for any boxes they may be willing to get rid of. Instead of having to recycle them, they could simply donate them to you. You’d be surprised how many companies will do exactly that and you will find a great number of things you can get a hold of that way. Large chains usually have absolutely no worries when it comes to it, and they will gladly give boxes to you.
Use Online Sources
These can most often be attributed to classifieds websites such as Craigslist. There are other sites that deal with that and you will have a decent chance to find people who either give away or sell boxes you can use. On the other hand professional moving and storage companies also sell packing materials and services that sometimes allow you to reuse sturdy cardboard boxes.
Downsize your Possessions
Donating and downsizing your belongings is something that needs to be done regardless of your preferences if you want to have a green move. You can give away items you have not used in more than a year to your local library, charities and other people in need. On the other hand you can sell them to get some extra cash for your moving expenses, making sure you are not set back by this. Moving less means moving cheaper, means expending less fuel and having a smaller carbon footprint as well.
Angie Harpert is a mom and a devoted wife who loves to indulge her beloved men and who gladly provides tips and ideas on how to ease the life of a housewife. She works with Removals Man and Van.