How to Make Your Move Eco-Friendly

Living an eco-friendly, green life is a priority to many individuals today. There are a lot of different ways people achieve these goals. Some focus on keeping their food consumption low-impact by buying and eating as locally and seasonally as possible or cutting out meat. Others devote themselves to using low or no plastic by purchasing reusable shopping bags, straws and water bottles. Others may even get into composting to make better use of the waste they produce.

There are a lot of ways to make your everyday life more eco-friendly. Sometimes, though, we want to put those same efforts toward less everyday things – a big move, for example. Here are our best tips for making your next move as green and eco-friendly as possible.

Take a green approach to packing materials.

You don’t need to buy all new materials to safely pack your possessions. In fact, in most cases, you already have everything you need. Using less pre-made packing materials means producing less waste, and less waste is always beneficial. You can make your packing more eco-friendly by:

  • Using containers you already have to pack things instead of boxes. Things you can use include but aren’t limited to buckets, laundry hampers, clean trash cans, suitcases and baskets.
  • Be creative when wrapping. Instead of using packing paper or bubble wrap, look at what you already have that could act as wrapping. Blankets, towels, bed sheets, socks, clothing and other linens can be used to wrap and pack breakables safely.
  • If you need boxes, get them second hand. If you need to use boxes, that’s okay! You can lessen your footprint by getting them second hand. Look on online marketplaces like Facebook or Craigslist; just make sure to use safe practices when buying from individuals. Alternately, you could ask produce workers at your local grocery store if they have apple or banana boxes to spare. They almost always do!

Hire a moving company that’s environmentally friendly.

Hiring a company that has the same priorities you do can be an easy way to have a more eco-friendly move. When you’re looking for a moving company, find one that can answer your questions about how they pursue green business. Maybe they use biodiesel fuel in their trucks. Maybe they invest in the latest technology to help keep their routes as efficient as possible. They could even use eco-friendly packing materials or consolidate shipments.

Recycle every step of the way.

Take every chance you can to recycle during your move. Declutter your home pre-move and donate unneeded items at thrift stores. Moving fewer things means using less packing material and gas.

Repurpose packing materials and save anything you do have to buy for a future move. Think of creative ways you can create as little waste as possible during your move.

Avoid using plastic.

According to National Geographic, half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made within the last fifteen years. This adds up to hundreds of millions of tons of material. These plastics will take a long time to break down – multiple hundreds of years in some cases. The more plastic we produce, the more plastic ends up in places it shouldn’t, like the ocean.

One way to help limit plastic’s impact on the environment is by trying not to use it whenever possible. Avoid plastics when choosing your packing materials. When you’re keeping hydrated on moving day, use reusable filter-at-home water bottles. Work to minimize drive time using GPS.

Moving is a difficult process. Don’t make it more difficult by feeling guilty about how you could be hurting the planet. Instead, follow these tips and partner with an eco-friendly moving company like Bekins. Give us a call today to see how we can help lessen the start-to-finish footprint of your next move. We can help make your fresh start a great one, for you and the environment!

Tagged in: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave A Comment