Smart Move! 7 Ways to "Green" Your Moving Day

A move can be the best time to make lifestyle changes and upgrades to your new home, which will not only be helpful for the environment but usually save you money as well.  Below are seven tips for making your move a "green"  and environmentally friendly endeavour.  

1. Pack less stuff … Sell, donate or recycle items you no longer need to reduce the amount of packing materials you will use. You may be ready to consider parting with books, movies or cd’s in this new age of digital media. Warning: do not start this process a few days before the move, more like a few weeks to months before you plan to move. (More tips for DIY Packing here)
2. Find used boxes … Moving companies can give them to you or try local stores.
3. Use newspaper for packing materials … Save a few weeks or ask a neighbor before their recycling goes out. Be careful of ink staining (especially avoiding any chance that the paper would get wet). Generally this is not an issue but if you have any concerns, just use the newspaper as padding rather than wrapping items with it.
4. Purchase biodegradable materials … Packing peanuts and bubble wrap for your most delicate breakables is available in biodegradable formats.
5. Recycle/reuse your packing materials … Give them to a friend who will be moving or post them online (for example: craigslist or freecycle).
6. Clean green … Keep “green” in mind during the move-out /move-in cleaning process and use green products or hire a certified green cleaning company.
7. Hire movers … Consider the “green” nature of using a moving company to move everything at once instead of making many small trips in a personal vehicle.

That last step is not just because we are professional movers.  In addition to moving everything in one efficient trip, we also can help you recycle and reuse your materials by collecting them after the move.

What are your ideas for making a "green" move or setting up your new place to be greener?