How to Make Your Move Green

If you have a move to make in the near future, consider planning it now so you can start thinking about ways to do it that will be friendly to Mother Nature. After all, even though you’re changing addresses, Earth is just as much your home too. Boxbee, based out of the San Francisco Bay Area, can help show you how to make your move green.

Get Rid of Stuff

This is always a good place to start when it comes to moving, whether you’re concerned about being environmentally friendly or not. The less unnecessary things you take with you, the less work you’ll have to do. Of course, you can also save or even make a good amount of money this way too. However, for the sake of being green, don’t just throw things away. Be smart about recycling them. Now is also a great time to hand off some items to friends and family members who you know could use them more. They’re great for bartering too if you’re hoping some of those friends and family members will find the time to help lift some heavy objects for you. You may also be able to offset some of your moving costs by selling those items you no longer need for a little extra cash. Whichever way you do it, the less you’re moving, the less gas you need to spend in order to do so, meaning a smaller carbon footprint for this adventure.

Avoid Cardboard Boxes

Cardboard can come in handy if you want to provide a buffer between different objects you’re moving, like plates, picture frames, and even books. Just be sure you find used cardboard boxes for the job. That being said, cardboard boxes are no longer the best option when it comes to actually pack up your things. Nowadays, it makes way more sense to rent plastic moving boxes instead. They’re incredibly cheap and provide much better protection to your belongings. You also don’t need to waste daylight putting them together and tearing them apart, as you do with cardboard boxes. Best of all, though, Mother Nature will appreciate that they’re reusable. Just rent them from Boxbee —which comes with free delivery and pick up—and don’t worry that you’re creating needless waste.

Use Packing Materials Sparingly

Along with using environmentally-friendly, plastic boxes, make sure you take it easy on other moving materials or you could be canceling out the positive work you just did. Packing paper and bubble wrap are both definitely necessary elements of a successful move, but that doesn’t mean going overboard. Plan out your move ahead of time so you know what you’ll be packing up and what box you’ll be putting it in; this should help you strategize the use of these extra materials. Don’t forget that you probably have plenty of packing materials on hand right now too. A lot of your clothes are probably perfect. The same goes for towels, your bedding, and much of the rest of your linen closet.

Go with Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products

Lastly, you’ll no doubt have to tidy up your old home and you’ll definitely want to clean your new place before moving in. While this will probably mean a number of cleaning supplies, if you spend just a little extra, you can get the kind that won’t cause undue harm to the environment, yet they’ll still give you a beautiful finished product.

Pick Green Movers

Did you know you can even choose a green moving company? San Francisco has a number like Ninja Movers and NorthStar Moving that use biodiesel trucks to get your things from point A to point B a little greener. Sources: http://blog.allstate.com http://homebuying.about.com