Moving can really add to your Carbon Footprint. Ways to move green!
Moving is one of the most stressful things you can do in your life. Especially when you are downsizing and you have too much stuff. Trust me- I am going through it now. Newly married (to a wonderful, loving, PACK-RAT) and moving into a slightly smaller home that is under construction staying green was not at the top of my priority list for once. In fact, I wasn’t really even thinking about it until I started packing and my mother called to suggest that I use the shredded paper from my office as packing material instead of the bubble wrap and Styrofoam peanuts. Genius, I thought! I mean, naturally I was reusing old newspapers and packing material from our wedding gifts, but that was second nature. I decided it was worth some further brainstorming:
1. Start getting rid of your stuff! (THINK GEORGE CARLIN!) By giving away or consigning rather than trashing your unwanted items, they will get reused by others- reducing the need for manufacturing new items. In addition, reducing the amount of things that you put on the moving truck will reduce the amount of packing material and of gas you use!
2. Get free boxes! I know first hand that UHAUL has a free box section. This is kind of like the leave-a-penny, take-a-penny jar at the corner store and the boxes are pretty picked over. If you don’t get lucky there, stop by your local liquor store. Not only do they have a plethora of boxes, but they are just the right size for books, dvd’s, glasses, small appliances, your own wine collection, and more! When you are done with your boxes, reuse or donate!
3. Packing material can be made of almost anything: old newspapers, shredded office paper, plastic grocery bags, those lonely socks from the dryer you never found the match for, old t-shirts, dish towels, the pages of your senior thesis- be creative!
4. Rent the smallest moving truck that you need. This will save on gas and emissions.
5. When cleaning buy the non-toxic stuff. In most cases it works just as well as the harmful products. In fact, when you are forced during the move to come face to face with all of your stuff, audit yourself and see how you can integrate more eco friendly products into you new life in your new house!
I hope these tips were helpful. A few more would include
a. if you are packing up the UHAUL at night, don’t leave the light in the truck on too long. A UHAUL battery will die faster than a car’s battery. Believe me. I know. And I was shopping for jumper cables at 12:30 in the morning the other night!
b. be extra mindful of your pets. Moving is even harder on them since you can’t explain to them what is going on. They need extra love and care and a close eye while that door is left ajar when you are loading up your things. They can escape, and in my case they did- but we caught those little buggers!
Over and out.