Mobile Storage

So you’ve opted for moving storage as a safe and economical way to move, and you’re pleased with how little energy it takes to transport moving storage. Storage containers are indeed an excellent green option. But you’re appalled at the waste involved in packing. How can you pack your things into your moving storage container safely and securely while staying friendly to the environment?

Moving boxes, a prime source of waste, are the place where a little effort on your part can make the biggest impact on the environment. Rather than starting your move by running out and buying a pile of boxes, check Craigslist, Freecycle, and other free boards in your area for used boxes that other people are throwing out. Even a small population center will have more boxes available than you will ever need, so place some calls, do a little extra driving, and stock up. The only boxes you will need to buy are specialty boxes like picture boxes and glassware boxes.

(Please note that this is not advised in areas that have problems with bedbug infestations or that have a lot of cockroaches. Both cockroaches and bedbugs can ride on cardboard boxes, whether in adult or in egg form, so you may open your storage container to find an infestation you didn’t have when you packed. This is also why getting boxes from grocery stores should be an emergency measure; even the cleanest groceries have roaches.)

Packing materials are another area where traditional packing generates too much waste and going green can make a sizable difference. Get used packing materials at the same time that you get used boxes, and supplement them with your own soft furnishings. Towels, pillows, and blankets should be used as packing materials, not folded in a box. When your soft furnishings run out, plastic grocery bags are excellent padding. (They’re not green, but most people have drifts of them in their kitchen anyway.) Newspapers are another superb green packing material. If you have no newspapers because you went green by switching to online delivery, shredded junk mail makes great “packing peanuts.”

Depending on the type of moving storage you chose and how full you were able to pack the container, you may need to lash down your possessions with rope. Used rope is yet another packing material you might be able to pick up from people who just finished moving. However, if you must buy rope, choose a type of rope that is made of natural fibers, such as cotton or hemp, or a recyclable synthetic such as nylon.

Packing your moving storage container in an environmentally friendly way takes a little more care and consciousness than the old traditional method of using new boxes and packing peanuts. However, green packing materials are just as good at protecting your belongings, and are far better for the environment. When you are done, your moving storage container will be not only a green moving option, but a green option, period.