5 tips to make your house move more sustainable
House moves are usually stressful, physically demanding and not properly environmental friendly. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be like that.
You never know what you have until it’s time to move to a new house. As you know, a house move usually involves boxes (lots of them), wrappers and other stuff that doesn’t make this the most sustainable thing in the world.
Fortunately, there are a couple of simple things you can do to minimize its impact and honor your sustainable lifestyle philosophy.
1- Lookup for boxes, large shopping bags and containers that you already have at home
It might not come to your mind immediately, but you probably already have a handful of things at home that can support you in this adventure.
Cardboard boxes from previous online orders, appliances boxes, large plastic containers, resistant shopping bags - like the blue ones from IKEA or Lidl, tote bags… everything that might turn out helpful during your move.
If you don’t own any of these, try to ask for pre-used cardboard boxes at your local stores and supermarkets.
This way you’re giving a second life to items that already exist. Which allows you to save money and the help the planet in one go.
Also, instead of bubble wrappers, use cloths and towels to wrap and protect your delicate items.
2- Re-use these over and over
This one is essential to keep your home move as sustainable as possible. Pack, unpack, carry these back and pack again.
Do this as much as you need. This was my strategy during my last home move and it allowed me to:
Keep track of the things that have already been moved to my new flat.
Don’t need to purchase/ask for more cardboard boxes or shopping bags.
Save money.
Less cardboard boxes ended up in the recycle bin.
3- Declutter, declutter, declutter
No matter how minimalist you are, you might be surprised by some clutter (or items you no longer thought you had) during your house move.
It happened to me a few weeks ago. Papers, old clothes, boxes from appliances, books you won’t read ever again…
What can you do if this happens to you?
Stick to the basics and keep the stuff that you actually need or might come in handy in this new chapter of your life.
Check with your friends and family if they need any of these items.
Donate things that you no longer need to shelters, NGOs or your local church. Write a post about the items that you want to get rid of on groups like Trash to Treasure.
Make money out of it. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Buying second-hand is becoming part of our consumption habits. So if you have time or if you want to get some extra money, sell your stuff in places like Facebook’s Marketplace, Wallapop, OLX, Ebay, Vinted…
4- Make your own detergents
A house move isn’t just about packing and unpacking. You also need to clean and sanitise your new home. Now more than ever.
And the best way to achieve this in a sustainable way (for the environment and mostly for your health) is by making your own detergents at home.
Ingredients like baking soda, Marseille or Castile soap and vinagre are your best friends in your task. Don’t forget to add a few drops of your favourite essential oil here and there.
5- Recycle
Once the unpacking is over and you no longer need to carry these boxes around, it’s time to recycle what you no longer need.
And give a proper rest to these items that helped you so much in this transition period of your life.
Is it possible to do this during pandemic times?
Sure is. I did it myself, right after Madrid’s lockdown was over. You might have some problem while asking small local businesses for cardboard boxes, as some of these are discarding this kind of items more than ever.
But as soon as you find your strategy and the packages that suit you, you’re good to go.
I’ve had nothing more than 3 cardboard boxes and a handful of resistant shopping bags that I already owned (that costed me 50 cents or 1 euro at the supermarket).
