Top tips for a green move

My head is hung low this week. I’ve been a very naughty eco-worrier. Caught in the tumultuous process of moving house – in other words heaving vast quantities of stuff that I haven’t the heart to throw away from one location to another – I have managed to send more stuff to landfill in a few days than I would normally in several months.

Such were the quantities of junk that I had to sort out in a short space of time, I couldn’t make the careful decisions that I normally would. Usually I maintain little piles of CDs that go to The Laundry and all sorts of odds and ends, from unwanted kitchen appliances to fashion throwbacks, are gathered up to be distributed among various friends and family. As a final resort, they go to a charity shop. But not this time. As the black bin bags multiplied outside our house, I felt ashamed, very ashamed.

Gervase, the eco-sceptic boyfriend, remarked wryly that if I didn’t insist on keeping stuff for so long, I wouldn’t end up in this situation. In other words, if I edited my possessions more rigorously as I went along, it would all be fine. But he's quite happy to live in a sparse minimalist place. I am not. I harrumphed, saying that I was simply abiding by the second rule of being green: reusing (the one that comes after reduce and before recycle). We were very definitely on eco-argument territory (click here for more details).

Now - you'll be glad to hear - I’m embarking on a period of sofa surfing at friends houses as our new place isn’t quite ready. Surely that’s a green way to go. Not sure how sustainable it is, though. My friends will eventually get sick of their roaming house guest and her tendency to supervise their recycling regimes and wage campaigns to install compost bins.

(below are my five top tips to a green move)

My top tips for a green move.

*Give yourself enough time. The earlier you start sorting through corners of your house, the more likely you are to find green homes for stuff you don’t want.

*Get in touch with neighbours or nearby friends who might like your perishable food stuffs such as last loaves of bread and cartons of milk.

*Start saving bubblewrap, cardboard boxes, padded envelopes and other materials to help wrap up valuables. Ask in your office in case they have spare stuff going. Then you can supply your removals men. Otherwise they will use acres of virgin materials.

* Supermarkets might not have boxes by the tills anymore but they usually have some available behind the scenes. They may tell you to come back in the morning or at a certain time to pick them up.

* You may find it’s cheaper, greener and less stressful to hire a removals van to do one trip rather than using your own vehicle to do several. I’m waiting for the day that a company sets up a green fleet of vans. Alternative Cars, this is your cue…

* When you arrive, what about connecting to a renewable electricity company such as Ecotricity or Good Energy. Best get off on the right foot and make up for all your mid-move green sins.

Comments

[Eugene]

I don't know what drugs you're on but you're certainly deluded about your lifestyle. I can fit all my possessions in a suitcase so I don't see what qualifies you to write this column. Like most environmentalist, you're a complete phoney.

[Ian Murdey]

Eugene - I totally disagree with you. Most of us are trying to be as Green as possible whilst living in the real world surrounded by real problems and real people. This is an extremely useful column that shows how small changes can add up and make a big difference. There are too many people preaching whole scale changes in one go AND IT PUTS PEOPLE OFF FROM DOING ANYTHING. As with any behaviour change programme from smoking to obesity to eco-issues changes have to be made gradually to become permanent. Any evidence based approach should take this into account.

[Anna Shepard]

Eugene - wow, well done you! you must feel very pleased about how your limited possessions reflect green virtue. I take comfort from the fact you will be in a minority of people who can fit all their worldly goods into a suitcase. Fortunately, I don't set myself up to be an environmentalist. I'm just trying to do my bit as a normal person, interested in making green alternations to my life. If you want to pick holes in the lifestyle of a true eco-head, you're on the wrong blog.
Ian - I'm pleased to see that the spirit in which I write this blog (and column) is conveyed to its readers. Thank you for such an articulate defence of Eco-Worrier!

[Hannah Phillips]

I agree, we cant all make wholesale changes. Especially when you have a family, and although we buy toys second hand and fairtrade where possible. You still have to make allowances. We moved recently and like Anna we re-used boxes and gave stuff to charity shops but still did not have time to do this with everything. While I am sure you are very virtuous Eugene we can not all live up to the same standards. Even when we try to.

[Kerry]

Self-righteousness from Eugene aside, I read this entry with a smile. I found myself in exactly the same position last autumn when I moved out of my rented flat into my first bought flat. Although I thought I would have heaps of time to sort through everything, categorising what to take to charity shops, sell on ebay and send to the recycling bin, I found myself drowning in black bin bags the evening before the move and felt huge eco-guilt at throwing so much away! It also highlighted how pathetically small the council recycling boxes are.... I'm now trying to make up for it by chronicling my 'green' flat renovation at diaryofagreenhome.blogspot.com.

[amy]

this is actually what helps keep me from buyign new stuff, i ask myself if i would want to have to move it to another place when the time comes (helps more if you hate to move, like i do, but being a recent grad, end up moving once every year or two).
also, i found wrapping breakables in clothes, sheets, towels, helps to cut down on the need for bubble wrap and offers incentive to unpack when you get to your new place.

[jason]

I didn't notice how much stuff I had until I moved almost a year ago with everything for a family of 4 barely fitting in a 15' Uhaul truck. Everything you have doesn't seem like much until its all removed from closets, storage, or cabinets. Since the move, I've been donating cart full of items every couple of months and giving away some of the excess furniture. Its a huge improvement from a year ago, but there is much more to be done. Its not easy to clean your belongings, but the biggest helper is to make things online, such as music, photos, videos, documents.

[Anna Shepard]

Kerry - I've been on your blog before. Good luck with it.

Amy - thanks for the tip. I also used newspaper to wrap up glasses and crockery.

Jason - you're absolutely right. One of the most satisfying things I did before the move was to put all my cds in a book with the cd and cover in plastic slots. That did, however, leave me with the problem of what to do with all the plastic cases. Anybody got any ideas?

[Skippy in Mississippi]

Shall I laugh now? You cleaned house before moving, as most of us do, and gave us tips anyone who has move twice knows.

That makes you or the article ecofriendly?

Get serious about being friendly. Realize the billions of dollars, marks, francs, and zlotys going to meet the Kyoto protocols are at best going to save ½ degree C by 2050. Know while we’re wasting for that useless savings, 3 – 5 million people die every year from lack of clean water. Millions more starve to death, and you’re sucking up resources that could be used to save them.

Since the greens can't use the money they're sucking up effectively, help get them out of the way so people who can use it get it.

[chopper]

extra jewel cases? give em to your local record store if they're in good shape, i used to work in a record store and many of the used CD's we'd buy had cracked jewel cases. we had a big pile of new ones (which were like 5 cents each), but i'm sure your nearest place would like some free extras.

otherwise, look up the type of plastic and recycle it if you can. if your city (like mine, NYC) just tosses certain plastics you can find local places to get the other types picked up, like the local food coop in my case.

[Ken Geddes]

Changing to a renewable energy supplier is certainly an ideal way forward but often the following questions are asked:

How do I know what supplier is greenest?

Can I afford to pay premium prices?

There is now a simple option, log on to www.fuelmix.co.uk and there you can see the fuel mix of every single domestic energy supplier.

You can even carry out a comparison to see the exact CO2 impact of changing supplier - you will be surprised - you don't even have to go to a renewable supplier to make a massive difference.

Have a look its free.

[mark howard]

Why not join your local freecycle www.freecycle.org it is an email enabled Uk-wide network of communities who offer stuff which may have still life in it but otherwise would go to landfill. One person's junk is so often exactly what another wants. I've recycled top soil, car seats, electrical goods and recently someone in Oxford needed ash and cinders from a fire. So set free the inner skip diver and join up it's free

[Peter Martin]

As they are all free, why not give all the reuse sites such as giveortake.org, reuze.co.uk, etc, or even swapxchange.org a go?

For instance, on http://www.junkk.com there is JunkkYard, which has an image post facility and enables searches radially from local postcode to the whole country.

[Sue]

Am I alone in thinking that Eugene probably doesn't have many friends?

[Anna Shepard]

Thanks for the support, Sue.

Ken - I've been very impressed by Good Energy and very unimpressed by most of the green tariffs offered by mainstream energy companies.

Mark - I've tried to join the Hackney Freecycle group in London by emailing the address given but no one has got in touch. Can you tell me how you managed to join up?
Or does anyone else know?

[Josh Rachlis]

good for you! great to see that people are at least thinking about this stuff. and yeah, it's a lesson for all of us: weed out what you can NOW so it can all go to enviro-friendly places. i was inspired by a great article about decluttering at this link: http://www.metagrrrl.com/discardia/

if you have myspace, please add me at http://www.myspace.com/joshrachlis because this week i'm going to post a new short film i'm just finishing about converting light bulbs to cfl's. it's called An Inconvenient Ruth. if you like it, please vote for it at the contest at http://truths.treehugger.com

[D]

Get in touch with neighbours or nearby friends who might like your perishable food stuffs such as last loaves of bread and cartons of milk

Completely useless 'tip'

Why on earth wouldn't you use it up at your next home/sofa bunkdown?
Haven't you heard of a coolbag?
Surely making the removal men a few cuppas would use up any milk dregs?
How much perishable stuff would you have? It's not like the move was sprung on you overnight!

[Anna Shepard]

Josh - thanks for the link. Discardis is a great concept; I love the way it comes across as very technical.

D - steady! I had a nightmare trying to transport leaking milk cartons and half eaten food that I had to store in my father's shed (with the possibility of rats) so that's why I advised giving it away. Glad to see you taking the eco-debate seriously, though.

[Victoria]

Anna - have you tried emailing neighbouring Freecycle(s) to explain your problems - there often seems to be co-operation between near-by groups.

As for CDs, DVDs and their cases, you can post them (or persuade your work to have a collection bank) to http://www.polymer-reprocessors.co.uk/

[Eugene]

So many highly sensitive, overly defensive people! The truth hurts. Keep deluding yourselves that you're making a difference - whatever makes you feel better. But, please, tell it to your grandchildren, phonies.

[Eugene]

"I take comfort from the fact you will be in a minority of people who can fit all their worldly goods into a suitcase." Acutally, Anna Shepard, most human beings can fit all their worldly possessions into a suitcase. Your world is not THE world. And Sue, only phoney people have 'many' friends.

[Victoria]

Eugene - you know the saying "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"? Well, I admire you and think the rest of us do need to remember there's along way to go. No good saying - "right, that's the low energy lightbulbs installed, now to book that weekend in Rome".

I also think it would be better if you encouraged and gave advise for those first steps, rather than criticising.

And then there's those of us who can't be as frugal as you, or even a frugal as they would wish.

I don't like playing the "disability card", but as a personal example - I am virtually housebound, unable to work or even socialise very much (including on the phone). So, on top of the equipment I need, I also need stuff to do to keep me sane.

A more general example would be that not everyone can live close enough to shops (or even to decent public transport links) so, they are going to need a fridge.

Having said all that - I strongly believe we all need to think really hard about buying stuff:
Do I really, really need this?
How soon do I need it - can I wait to get it second hand?
Can I borrow it instead?
If it's something I just want (after, it's hard to be good all the time) I must wait to get it second hand.

Oh - and I've thought of a better use for unwanted CD and Dvd cases - your library will probably be delighted to have some to replace their broken ones.

[Iris]

I think it's a very good blog - I am planning to move in two weeks time and I will definitely take on board some of the advise, e.g. starting freecycle earlier!

[Eugene]

Victoria, please don't admire me. I don't care about the environment. Life appeared, life with disappear - the end. I'm just not materialistic: I don't feel the urge to fill my personal space with useless superfluities. I also don't have the fear which drives others to accumulate wealth, property and 'things'. What makes me laugh is that those who are destroying the environment seem to be seeking plaudits for offering crumbs from the table of gluttony and waste. The truth is that no real sacrifices will be made until it's too late. If bloggers really had the courage of their convictions they wouldn't even own a computer.

[Eugene]

Perhaps I'll be constructive and play along. Amy needs an incentive to unpack when she moves house. Eugene say: Amy, you obviously don't need this stuff so dump it. Someone says pack with newspaper not bubble wrap. Eugene says: things will break and go to the landfill. Also, newspaper is heavier and so more fuel will be needed to transport it. Anyone thought of shaving their head to save on shampoo? Come on, ladies. Think of the environment!

[Julian]

Oh Eugene,

What a sad life you must have, reading articles that you say you say you clearly have no interest in and then furiously typing your negativity into a blog so that you can be heard. But no one is listening. You don't have anything productive or important to say whatsoever. Everybody else makes excellent points, put you don't. You are clearly one of those people who doesn't get out much, is mad at the world, you see yourself as a victim and think that because you ALSO know that things are f*ck*d up right now, that you know something that other people don't (this goes for 'Skippy in Mississippi' as well). When it all goes down as it will, in 2012, those who have done their work will thrive and those with lower vibrations will not. You have a lot of work to do Eugene, your happiness and survival depends on it. Turn your computer off and go look in a mirror.

[Richelle]

Great suggestions here. We're planning on moving in the next couple of months and I do not want to spend the last few hours and the last few precious boxes throwing stuff that I know I will never use or even where I'll put it in my new house again. Early intervention is a great idea as well as Freecycle. I look forward to moving with less stuff and will choose to hire a moving van to take 1 trip instead of the many with the army of cars of my friends.

[Emma]

Skippy - Do you know how many lives will be lost as a result of a further global temperature increase of 0.5 degrees? People are already dying as a result of climate change and it may well be too late to stop it but we can slow it down.
Also, you're wrong about your numbers - you clearly haven't heard of the positive feedback mechanisms we're busy kick starting with our carbon emissions.
Of course it matters! It all matters and actually sometimes it's more important that people are doing something because at least then once we work out what the right thing is they will be prepared to do it rather than doing nothing at all.
Please do everything you can - everyone. It is important, if not even for the human race then at least for all the knowledge we have accumulated that will be lost if our civilisation collapses as countless others have in the past.

[Anna Shepard]

Victoria - I like the list of questions you ask yourself before you buy something. I shall start doing that myself.

Iris - thanks. But watch what you say when you're joining Freeycycle. I've been rejected from my Hackney group. A post on this is coming.

Richelle - good luck with move. We decided to use a removal van and it was enormously helpful. It was all done in one trip and the guys driving the van were brilliant at getting furniture through our narrow front door.

Emma - quite!

[Erin]

I'm with Eugene. Sure, it's tough to minimize. It's tough to think Green. But, Eugene is on to something here. How many valuables do you really need? What is valuable?

I'm a college student getting ready to move to grad school. I realized recently that I've accumulated enough stuff to furnish and literally fill a 2-bedroom apartment. I have a feeling most of us are this way. We pick up a gadget after reading about it's green specs, second-hand (or new organic) clothes, books, etc. and soon our house is bursting at the seams. Then we have to move it all! What to do with the stuff?

My solution: get rid of it. How many clothes do you really wear? I bet most will fit in a single suitcase. How many valuables do you really have? I bet most of the truly valuable things (family pictures, heirlooms, treasured gifts from friends, etc) will fit in a single trunk. Then you have all the dishes and kitchen appliances and all of that. Donate them. Give them away. What do you really need in a kitchen? A couple of good knives, a whisk, a spatula and a couple of good pans. Once again, even with the dishes, you could fit everything in a single trunk.

Now you've minimized the core of your house to three suitcases, and anybody can do it. It doesn't matter if you have kids. Teach them at an early age that it's okay to have few things. Teach them to cherish what they have. You're not living in poverty, but you're living sensibly.

So, what does all of this come down to? We need to be sensible. You might need to learn to cook a little differently. Blenders are damn useful, but not absolutely necessary. Learn some good knife skills and build up your forearms! You might need to think of your clothes differently. I LOVE clothes, but even when I go shopping, I still end up wearing the same half-dozen outfits on a regular basis. Buy something good quality that wears well, and realize you don't have to wear something different every day for the next two weeks. You might need to learn to think of your possessions differently. What are the valuable things? It's not the comfy sofa or the kitchen aid mixer or even the china hutch. Those are useful possessions, but not valuable ones. Family, friends and those heirlooms are what are important. The letters you exchanged with your friends while you were in college. Pictures of your parents or grandparents when they were kids. Those are the important things.

It's all a matter of prioritizing and living sensibly. Anyone can do it. Way to go Eugene!

[spencer Brown]

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