How to Make Your Move More Sustainable

As we get ready to start a new year here at Charlottesville Moving Solutions, we’ve been brainstorming ways to make moving more sustainable, and we want to share those ideas to help you make your next move more green!

Choose reusable, repurposed, or recycled materials whenever possible. If you know you’ll have to move again soon, buy high-quality moving boxes you can use next time. You can also buy lightweight plastic bins that double as storage in your new space. Alternatively, if you’re planning to use cardboard boxes, you can find previously used ones and give them a second life! If your move is coming up, ask for those extra boxes from your friends and family. You can also ask around at businesses that get rid of boxes regularly, like liquor or retail stores. Not only could you get the boxes for free, but you’ll also give them another life before they end up in a dumpster!

Another way to think green during your move is to treat your boxes gently. Handle your cardboard boxes carefully to ensure they’re not too damaged to use again. Use a box-cutter when unpacking, so you don’t have to break boxes when opening by hand. If you’re repurposing written-on boxes from a previous move, try covering over the words with tape or paper so that you have a clean slate for labeling. You can also cover up the old labels and use colorful dot stickers to indicate where a box or item goes in your new home. Color-coded systems are a great way to expedite the moving process!

Here at Charlottesville Moving Solutions, we use a large recycling dumpster to dispose of materials too worn to reuse – helping us consolidate waste and minimize the amount of trash that goes to a landfill.

Use clothing, towels, and other materials to wrap your breakable items to reduce your use of packing materials! These imaginative packing materials are heading to your new home anyways, so why not save space by combining your soft materials and fragile items?

Don’t leave organizing and purging your things for the last minute! If you start going through your belongings early, you’ll have time to evaluate what you want to save and what you prefer to donate or sell. If you leave those sorts of decisions for the day of the move, your unwanted belongings are more likely to end up in a landfill than at your local consignment store, where they might be exactly what someone else is seeking!

Save gas by renting a large truck or hiring a full-service moving company. Renting a small truck or van and taking several trips back and forth might save you some cash, but at what cost? You’ll likely be exhausted at the end of the day and potentially have used more gas than a single trip in a larger truck would have. If you can get a truck with enough space for all your belongings, you might be able to make the whole move in a single drive, which could save you time and money in the long run. Not to mention, if you hire a full-service moving company, you skip the headache of driving a large truck yourself!

Turn off the AC or heat during your moving day (weather permitting). Keeping your doors open while cranking the AC or constantly opening and closing them will skyrocket your energy usage. If the weather allows, try turning off your AC or heat for your move. Your energy bill will thank you later that month!

We hope these tips remind you that small actions can contribute to a more sustainable move. If you’ve picked up any green tips and tricks in your own moving experience, we’d love to hear about them!