Suddenly Frugal Blog

Got a move in your future? If so, consider employing one or more of these green strategies that should also save you some green.

1. Sell your stuff before you pack the truck. Put some cash back in your wallet by offloading your items via a yard sale, Craigslist or Freecycle before packing up your home. I know we were able to get about $100 spending money just by taking the time to identify items we didn’t want or need to take with us when we moved, so we sold them. Plus, by doing this, we created less trash after our move. Also, the fewer things you have to the move, the less you’ll spend paying movers.

2. Rent boxes instead of buying. This saves big time in a number of ways. First, you don’t waste gas driving around looking for empty boxes to use. Second, you don’t have to drive to the store to buy boxes–companies like Rent Your Boxes will drop off the boxes for you–and then pick them back up when your move is over. And third, renting is cheaper than buying. A typical family spends about $45 on moving boxes. If you rent them, you’ll spend about $23. Plus, you’ll get part of your money back when you return the rented boxes. I doubt you’ll find the same deal from a retailer.

3. Use environmentally friendly packing materials that are also free. I’m talking about using your clothing, throw rugs and rags to wrap your goods so you don’t have to spend money on packing peanuts or bubble wrap. Shredded paper also works great to cushion breakables. Then, when you’re done with your move, you can put the shredded paper in the compost, and the clothing,rags and rugs in the laundry to clean up.

4. Rent the smallest truck possible. The bigger the moving truck, the more it will cost–and the more gas it will suck up. If you’d like to save some green–and do right by Mother Nature–figure out how to move yourself efficiently without having a big truck hauling all of your stuff. The folks at Flat Rate Movers also suggest asking if your mover has any green options, such a trucks that use biodiesel.

Any other tips to have a green move that saves green? Let us know.