Guest blogger Danielle Lovell with Lovell Relocation Solutions shares some fantastic moving tips.

Moving or relocating across town or halfway around the world can be a stressful, busy, and worrisome time. It's a time when bubble wrap, cardboard boxes, packing peanuts, and the paper you use to safeguard Aunt Ida's last birthday gift to you can add up. As a relocation consultant in Vancouver, it's my pleasure to work with families who are setting out on international adventures or who are arriving in our fair green city. Thankfully there are a growing number of options available for people interested in lowering the environmental impact of their move. Again, this changes wildly when someone is moving from one end of town to the other, versus moving from Calgary to Kuala Lumpur.

Here are some tips of ways when you are moving to reduce your impact:

1. What is holding your things? If you're in Vancouver, Toronto, or Seattle, (or one of the cities we will soon be in!)  you're lucky enough to be able to use FrogBox for your move. Otherwise, look for post-consumer recycled cardboard.

2. What is protecting your things? Is it recyclable? If you are moving short distances, older towels, dish rags, sheets and t-shirts make great padding for your dishes.

3. Who is moving your things? Are they a company that is interested in their environmental impact? Are they making sustainable changes in their business?

4. How are you getting where you are going? Planes? Trains? Automobiles? All have different impacts on the environment.

5. What are you using to clean your home before you move out? Non-toxic household cleaners are available everywhere, and they make cleaning before the damage deposit inspection or home sale an environmentally sound breeze. (We love Vancouver's Aspen Clean)

6. Where are you staying if you are in temporary accommodations? Is your hotel or furnished rental somewhere that is looking to impact the environment in a positive way?

And with all of these, the simplest way to find out is to ask. When you're finding a moving company, scan the website to see if they proudly display their eco-friendly initiatives. Call your hotel and ask if they recycle. Even if they don't now, hearing from a consumer about environmental changes starts the wheels turning to corporate change.

There are numerous ways to make incremental changes in your move that make a difference, so start with your next move!

 

Guest Blogger Danielle Lovell is the principal consultant at Lovell Relocation Solutions, a sustainably minded relocation company in the Vancouver Area. She has packed many a box of t-shirt wrapped dishes in her time.