As I look around my new digs in Connecticut, I can't help but compare it too all of my past moves...and there have been many! This time around I found a few ways to lighten the impact of my move on the environment and my wallet. The next time you move try a few of these suggestions to save some green. If you have other ideas be sure to post them below.
1. Moving Boxes/Packing Material can cost you an arm and a leg if you buy new - not to mention what that does to the environment. But I'm happy to say I didn't pay a single penny for any of it. Beyond what I had been squirrelling away from previous shipments, I took full advantage of Freecycle to locate more moving boxes than I even needed.
2. Don't forget to re-Freecycle. Many of my moving boxes originated in Puerto Rico and landed in Florida then headed to South Carolina with another family. That's where I picked them up and took them to Connecticut and now they're being used for another local move. Think of all the dollars and trees saved in this one chain of Freecycling!
3. If it's broke, fix it - or repurpose it. It's bound to happen, no matter how careful you are you're bound to have some kind of breakage. I had a small bookshelf that wasn't very sturdy to start with and the move really did 'er in. But instead of tossing it, I was able to salvage some of the shelves that were just the right size for one of my closets. And what about all that fragile stuff? I kept a bowl where I collected all of the broken glass and ceramic. To the average Joe it looks like a bowl of broken glass but to me it's a bowl of endless possibilities. That coffee mug with the broken handle is actually a fun pot to put a small plant in. That gorgeous animal print glass bowl (well the pieces of it anyway) is actually several pieces of handmade jewelry (with proper filing, of course) and all those funky ceramic bits are actually the makings of a stepping stone or trivet.
4. The only packing material that I actually paid for was tape - six rolls of it to be exact. And, yes, I kept the cores. They are the perfect foundation for lots of crafts, like a pin cushion or a pencil pot.
5. The food in your cabinets often ends up falling victim to the trash as you're locking the door one last time. I was so happy to hear that the moving company I used gives you a "food box" that you can fill with non-perishables. On moving day they pick up the box and deliver it to local food pantries. This is not an uncommon practice for these companies either. If you're going it alone, why not follow that example and hand over that box to someone less fortunate - or even someone that's just plain ole convenient, it'll keep it from the landfill!
Well, I'm off to craft with all my broken stuff. Wish me luck!
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