Top 5 Tips to have an Eco-friendly Move

You care about the environment, and so do we. That’s why we know it’s important to you to keep your move as eco-friendly as possible. But, when you’re hauling everything you own across the city (or across the country), it’s hard to keep things green.

Here’s How to Have an Environmentally Friendly Move:

Limit the Cardboard

When most people start packing, they go out and get a whole bunch of cardboard boxes to pack everything in. While cardboard can be recycled, too often it ends up in the garbage. Limiting the number of cardboard boxes for moving is a great way to keep the environment in mind when moving.

Some tips for how to limit the amount of cardboard you use:

• Get reusable boxes – We are glad to have a partnership with Frog Box, through which we can get you great deals on reusable, plastic packing boxes. You can rent the boxes from them, and then return them when you’re finished. They also have biodegradable mattress and furniture covers available.

• Pack in containers you already have – Limit the cardboard you use when moving by packing your belongings into containers you already have. Try suitcases, Rubbermaid Containers, chests, and more.

• Save boxes throughout the year – If you know you’re going to be moving in the coming year, save any cardboard boxes (or other material) you receive and use them to pack later.

DIY Packing Materials

It’s not just the boxes that cause excessive garbage and waste following a move; the materials you pack in those boxes are also an environmental hazard. Plastic bubble wrap, packing peanuts, Styrofoam, and other materials are bad for the environment and, because you usually can’t reuse them, they get thrown away.

Try these alternatives:

• Use dishcloths, blankets, towels, or even clothes

  to secure your dishes and other fragile materials to limit the packing materials you use.

Make as Few Trips as Possible

We all know that doing a lot of driving is not all that eco-friendly. As a moving company, there’s not much we can do to avoid driving. But, hiring us to move you can actually save on gas usage.

• One trip in a large truck

  – Instead of you having to make many trips in your small vehicle, we can limit it to one trip in our large truck. To help limit trips as much as possible, make sure you double-check your old home before leaving so no one has to return.

Donate Extra Belongings

Have some things you can’t, or don’t want to, take with you to your new home? Don’t throw them away and create waste; donate them. There are a lot of great organizations out there that can use the furniture, clothes, and food you aren’t moving with.

• Our partnerships

  – We are proud to have partnerships with the Cerebral Palsy Associations of Alberta and BC for you to easily donate clothing and small furniture items. For larger furniture items, we are partnered with the Habitat For Humanity Restore. And, through our new partnership with Move For Hunger, you can give us food you want to give away and we’ll take care of the donating.

Clean Green

Pretty much everyone cleans their old home before they move out and their new home before they move in. But, cleaning products can have environmentally harmful chemicals in them. Part of having an eco-friendly move is cleaning prior to and after your move with natural cleaning ingredients.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your move is as eco-friendly as possible. Planning a move? Contact us today to get a free moving estimate and let us help you move green!