Moving is a strenuous task that involves a lot of material, manual labor, and time to complete. It isn’t exactly known for being an eco-friendly process. Each year, more than 70 million people around the world move to their new houses. The packaging material and the fuel used in the transport can leave quite a big carbon footprint, even if you’re trying to be eco-friendly. Luckily man and Van in Ilford are here to deliver some green moving tips that might educate you for your next move.
At Supreme Man and Van, we believe we have a responsibility to care for our clients and the environment we share with them. So, make your move greener and more manageable with these nifty, professional green moving tips and packing hints.
1. Start Planning
Just like any other task, moving also requires planning ahead of time. Planning early allows you plenty of time to think and rethink about the possessions you want to move. It helps you to get things organized and packed away neatly without fuzzing about it at the 11th hour.
Based on previous experiences, Man and Van in Ilford advise its customers to plan early and not on the day of moving. The entire moving process is very stressful. People sometimes under pressure move irrelevant stuff, which; (a) requires more boxes and packaging material, and (b) increases the fuel consumption of the transport moving back and forth between the houses. So, be realistic and start planning your move as early as possible. You can begin with the least visited areas of your home, like the attic, basement, and closets, to get a jumpstart without getting ahead of yourself!
2. Donate Unwanted Items
While sorting out your possessions, make sure to categorize them into ‘toss,’ ‘recycle,’ and ‘donate.’ Be mindful that the items that you toss away are genuinely useless, and nothing good can be done with it.
Man and Van in Ilford deem that moving presents a perfect opportunity to clear out things that you no longer use and send them on for a better purpose. There is always someone who could use your clothes, gadgets, kitchenware, etc. So, get in contact with charities, give your unwanted items a second chance at life, and reduce their chance of ending up in a landfill.
3. Store Cardboard Boxes
This can only be done if one plans ahead of time. You order multiple things online throughout the year delivered in various boxes, all different shapes and sizes. You can start stocking up on the boxes in advance and keep them ready for your move. Re-using these boxes reduces waste and makes the process eco-friendly, and saves up the cost of buying new ones. Man and Van in Ilford suggest breaking down and storing these boxes in your attic, garage, unused closet space, or even under your beds, anywhere they’re out of sight. Although out of sight, they should never be out of your mind, and you should remember to use them when moving.
4. Use Eco-friendly Packaging Material
Go all out on the zero-waste policy. Man and Van in Ilford strongly believe in reusing and advises its customers to use the containers and totes they have at home before buying additional packaging materials.
- Newspapers – are well suited for filling the empty spaces inside the moving boxes. Since newspapers are easily found in every house, they’re much easier to get hold of and can also be used as protective packaging for plates, glassware, and other delicate items. However, you might want to avoid using them over delicate surfaces as the ink can leave bad stains and marks.
- Socks – thick winter socks can appropriately serve as protective packaging for fragile glasses, especially glasses with a stem (stemware)
- Towels and Bedsheets – Instead of purchasing bubble wraps, you can use bed sheets and towels to pad fragile boxes for safety reasons. They’re also great for packing breakable household items.
- Blankets – Professional movers and packers use specialized furniture blankets to protect furniture while moving. But the regular household blankets are just as good. They can be used as an alternative for these blankets to protect easily-breakable items and furniture pieces.
Man and Van in Ilford promote sustainability and advises their customers to use their household items in the methods mentioned above to save costs and make an eco-friendly move.
5. Use the Packing Supplies You Already Have
Take a good look around your house; there is a lot of material that can serve as a protective container or holder of your goods while shifting. According to Man and Van in Ilford, organizing an eco-friendly move requires creative thoughts and ideas. Listed below are some great ways of using your house supplies as moving containers;
- Suitcases – are arguably good containers to transport goods and clothes in them. But don’t make the mistake of packing delicate and breakable items as it will eventually be held vertically and dragged, which might damage or break your possessions. Suitcases are ideal for transporting books. Books are cumbersome when packed together, so the wheels at the bottom of the bag will help you transport them easily.
- Bags – are the most versatile items when it comes to packing. You can use zip lock bags to store small items that might get lost during the move. Clean trash bags can be used to cover apparels that might get dirty or stained. Vacuum seal bags are ideal for packing heavy winter clothes or bedding, comforters, etc.
- Trash cans – you don’t need to move the trash holder empty. It can be used as a container too! You just need to clean it thoroughly to make it an excellent container for all household items.
- Baskets and Buckets – are ideal for holding bed sheets, pillows, bathrooms items, toiletries, etc.
Although reusing existing containers seems like a minor step but according to Man and Van in Ilford, hacks like these go a long way to reduce the environmental impact of your move.
6. Don’t Pack Everything Right Away
Supreme Man and Van says this with experience. Over time we’ve seen families packing everything right away—even the items that come handy during the last days and the moving day. As a result, they end up purchasing new things just to avoid unpacking and packing again. Issues like these persist with almost every move. Therefore, Man and Van in Ilford suggest leaving out daily routine items such as utensils, towels, etc.
7. Stop Purchasing Cardboard Boxes
If you’re thinking of moving green, you’ve got to drop the idea of purchasing cardboard boxes as it is not sustainable. If you haven’t been able to plan early, store boxes, or whatever the reason might be, for not getting your hands on the old cardboard from anybody, then don’t bother purchasing new ones either. Man and Van in Ilford suggest opting for big plastic containers. They’re sustainable as well as safe to keep your precious possessions. Plastic containers are a one time buy and can be used for the next move as well.
8. Hire Eco-friendly Movers and move with Covid-19 precautions.
Moving trucks most typically run on diesel fuels, which emits harmful and toxic byproducts into the atmosphere. This is terrible news for both the earth and its people who inhabit it. To tackle this increasing problem, the green movers run their trucks on bio diesel fuel, which burns greener and less impacts the air.
One of the best ways to make a change while moving is to hire Man and Van in Ilford. Our services are committed to eco-friendly practices. We ensure bio diesel in our trucks and help you set with reusable moving boxes instead of the cardboard box.
Here are some things you might want to check before hiring a moving service other than Man and Van in Ilford.
- The moving trucks should use bio diesel fuels
- The company should offer recycled boxes
- The movers should help you organize and pack to use the fewest boxes possible
- The company keeps a check on the truck rounds
9. Think About the Garbage
Doesn’t matter if you are seeking man and van in Ilford or London, moving is a big task, and with big jobs come lots of garbage. Think twice about the waste you put out when packing. Supreme Man and Van, advises you to re-evaluate every single thing that you throw out. From electric appliances, gadgets to worn-out shoes, and outdated decor items, every item can be reused if thought progressively. Be sure to check out your local charity websites and other pages that accept waste and turn it into something useful.
10. Recycle Before and After Moving
Supreme Man and Van believes that recycling is not limited to your ‘before moving’ period. One can recycle even after they have moved into their new house. Be careful while unpacking your moved possessions. The cardboard boxes can be used again by someone else, or the plastic containers can be used to store items in an organized way in your attic or basement; there are plenty of other ways to re-purpose them. Be mindful before you throw them away;
- You could hand over them to your friend who’s moving soon
- Offer them to your social media friends by posting an image
- Call up your moving company and ask they would like to keep them
- Inquire with the needs of the local charities
- Get creative with your kids and teach them to make something out of scrap
11. Make Lesser Possible Trip Between Both the Locales
As mentioned earlier, moving trucks can be a significant contributor to the increased carbon footprint. This usually happens when either there’s too much to be moved between both the houses. Or the items have not been well packed or organized, which take up space in the truck, allowing less room for other things to be transported in one go.
The services of Man and Van in Ilford advise its customers about the negative impact of the extra emission of fuel. Our employees help customers pack their items so that it takes up less space in the truck. We sit and plan with our customers the best possible route to take to avoid long trips and unpleasant traffic stops.
12. Get Rid of Hazardous Materials in an Eco-friendly Manner
Did you know federal law has prohibited moving companies from transporting any corrosive, flammable, or explosive items? Moving such hazardous material can impose high risks of fire, explosion, corrosion, or severe damage during transport. Man and Van in Ilford abide by such laws and advise our customers to follow them too.
Materials like acids, ammonia, kerosene, motor oil, dyes, pesticides, fertilizers, paints, and paint thinners, cleaning agents, and even aerosol cans, could be harmful to the environment.
The team of Man and Van in Ilford advises their customers to follow the disposal instructions on all dangerous items to dispose them without harming the environment in any way. Give away the stuff that is forbidden for transport to neighbors or friends who live nearby. Or figure out ways to dispose them in an eco-friendly manner.
Continue Being Eco-friendly After You Move
Moving into a new house means practically starting all over again. And what could be a better time to adapt and be consistent with being eco-friendly throughout your life than now? Man and Van in Ilford share with you some ways of adapting the green life you can begin with;
- Say no to toxic cleaning agents – it’s time for an eco-friendly change. Avoid purchasing cleaning supplies from the supermarkets and instead opt for eco-friendly cleaning supplies.
- Install energy-efficient LED lights in your new house
- Do not throw off the packaging supplies; donate them to someone you know or give them away to the local charities.
- Use only non-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints for your home as VOCs are dangerous to human health.
The team of Supreme Man and Van in Ilford cares deeply about being environmentally cautious with our practices. Contact us today to hire us for your next or speak with our professionals to discuss green and sustainable moving practices.
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