Preparing a Green Move – Moving Sustainably

The process of moving house leads to a lot of waste and mess being created and left behind. 

However, the mess doesn’t have to lead to waste in all instances, as there are several ways you can make your move eco-friendlier to lessen your carbon footprint and make a better environmental impact.

While your moving mess might not compare to a corporations’ greenhouse emission rate, every little bit counts and we’re here to help you move in a sustainable way.

Thinking Ahead

To start any moving process, thorough planning must be arranged before all else. Planning your move not only allows for ease of mind but also allows the chance to reduce carbon output, as preparation will decrease the chance of uncoordinated trips from point A to point B.

Planning also prevents the purchase of items you could already have in your home, whether that be cardboard boxes lying around in storage or even some packing tape in the kitchen drawers. 

By preventing further purchases, it eliminates a huge amount of potential waste of items you’ll have an excessive amount of (that is if they’re not reusable or can’t be recycled).

A great way to prepare ahead of time is by decluttering through the use of a garage sale. By selling items you most likely wouldn’t use in the new home, it reduces the amount of effort needed to move items from one point to the other while also reducing any mess left from said items, maintaining a sustainable move.

Being prepared doesn’t just include planning your GPS for the trip or arranging your moving checklist (which you can find here), it also includes simple tasks like collecting reusable moving boxes ahead of time and preparing eco-friendly packing materials.

Green Move Packing Supplies

Moving sustainably mostly comes down to how you pack, and many movers may not realise the conventional ways of packing are pretty detrimental to the environment.

For starters, packing materials like plastic wraps (cling wrap, bubble wrap) and styrofoam packing peanuts are all single-use products that you can’t recycle after use and will be stuck in the landfill once you’re finished. If you must use bubble wrap for fragile items, order a roll of eco-friendly bubble wrap instead of the single-use plastic form.

Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives that are biodegradable, including corn-starch packing peanuts or even some leftover newspaper that can fill a moving box whilst leaving zero waste in the landfill.

There’s also the alternative of utilising items you already possess in your home as packing material. This could include old clothes you find when beginning to de-clutter for the move or even loose linens that won’t find usage in the new home.

Consider not solely relying on cardboard boxes as well, as this is most likely a single-use necessity and while cardboard is recyclable, it’s not necessary compared to alternatives.

Instead, lean on the use of suitcases and bags you already own, as it will not only prove to be cost-effective but also leave less of a mess when packing.

New Home Reuse

Now that you’ve begun your eco-friendly move, you can begin to prepare to make the new home as green as possible, which can be done with some minimalism and handy ‘hacks’ seen below.

Simple tricks like composting food waste to using natural resources to create your own cleaning products are amongst many eco-friendly techniques used by pros. Try to also consider what you need in your home, and you’ll be surprised by the number of items you could cut out of the living space.

However, the greatest tip for the new home is to be mindful of recycling and start to get into sustainable habits (if you didn’t have said habits already of course).

There are plenty of recycling outlets to utilise, like finding your local electronic recycling centre for the disposal of old electronics and cords or investing in a paper shredder to break down old documents.

Ultimately, sustainable moving and living can require plenty of planning, but it’s a necessary plan to act on to lessen your carbon footprint on the earth and leave your mind guilt-free for your next move.

For any other questions about moving home as a whole, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to moving house, which you can check out here.

If you need help getting your utilities connected sorted anywhere in Australia, please call MyConnect on 1300 854 478 or use the Get Connected form here! If you’re unsure about using a utility connection company, hopefully, this post here can assist you.

Joshua Chadwick

SEM COORDINATOR