How To Be Eco Friendly When Moving?

Moving is stressful as all get-out. But have you ever considered the stress your move could be putting on the environment?

No? You monster.

Just kidding – it’s not something we tend to consider when we’re all flustered choosing between bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard. But the fact is, moving home can produce a lot of waste. If you’re not careful, you could be giving Mother Earth a big headache without even realising it.

Check out these tips to go green with your next move to make sure you’re being kind to the environment. Because the environment gives us cocoa beans to make chocolate, and grapes to make wine. The environment is our friend.

Recycle Unwanted Belongings

Clearing out your unwanted belongings before you move is a great way to lighten the load, which leads to:

• Less trips required
• Less fuel burned
• Less money spent (winning!).

But wait up. Don’t just start binning things left, right and centre. A lot of your preloved stuff can probably be reused by someone else.

Garage sales and the internet have a couple of things in common: they’re both often crawling with weirdos, yes, but they’re also awesome ways to palm off your old things.

Recycling your unwanted belongings by selling them is a great way to reduce waste and make a bit of money in the process.

Take this quick quiz to determine whether you should keep an item, store it, or sell/recycle it.

Bust Out the Blankets

While bubble wrap is a hoot-and-a-half, providing endless fun and entertainment, it’s kind of a total pain to recycle.

Instead, make use of old blankets and towels to protect your things while in transit. Not only is this kinder on the environment, but it’s also a great excuse to bust out that Superman quilt cover you’re still hanging on to from your childhood.

Although cutting down on bubble wrap can reduce your move’s footprint, we get that some items just won’t settle for anything less (we’re looking at you, never-used wedding china). So, as with many things in life, moderation is the key.

Use Recyclable Moving Boxes

Some super cool, environmentally conscious companies (*cough* us *cough*) recycle their moving boxes. This means you can buy your moving boxes from us, use them, and then we’ll buy them back from you (assuming they’re still in good nick).

If you’d rather use your moving boxes to make a racing car or a castle with your kids when you’re done moving, that’s cool too. Just be sure to take them to your local recycling facility when playtime is over.

Go Green When You Clean

A lot of household cleaning agents contain toxic chemicals that have a not-so-great impact on the environment. They can affect the quality of water and cause harm to animals – in fact, some household cleaners even contribute to air pollution. Not so trigger-happy on the bleach now, are we?

When you’re doing your exit clean on your old house or getting your new one in sparkling shape, opt for natural cleaning agents instead. Vinegar, bicarb soda, ammonia, and lemon are all great replacements for regular chemical-based cleaners, and they work just as well.

Check out some of the ways you can use natural cleaning agents in your home here.

We get it – moving home fills your head with a whole heap of junk (Will everything fit in the moving truck? Will the neighbours like us? Will Netflix still work? How far to the nearest Macca’s?). But it’s downright silly to not make a little space in your noggin to consider the Earth.

Keep our moving checklist handy to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything else.