Green & Frugal Moving

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This is one of our peaceful pockets ideas, which are ways to save money by making earth-friendly choices.

We recently moved from our little urban homestead on less than a tenth of an acre in Salt Lake City, Utah, to a 5.45 acre homestead in the country in Northern Utah. We moved in two days before Christmas and things were super crazy! Here are ways we saved money while moving and some ways we wish we would have done better.

Downsize/minimize

Once we had decided to move, we started to take a good, hard look at our stuff. The less stuff you have to move, the less money you will spend on a larger truck and more time loading the truck.  We asked ourselves these questions to guide our minimizing:

Did we really need it? Was this something we would really use in our new home and lifestyle? Was there something else we owned that could replace this item?

Did we really love it? Was this something that we would always regret leaving behind? Does it make our house a home?

Where will we put it? In our case we moved down in house for more land, so we went from 1900 sq ft to under a 1000 sq ft. We really had to think about how everything would fit and if it could be stored out in the barn. If you can't find a place for everything, you have to consider getting rid of some things. Then comes the hard part... will you get rid of it or what will you get rid of to make room for it?

After we figured out what had to go, we had to figure out how to let it go. We listed things on our local Buy Nothing Project Group Facebook page to give away, donated everything to our local thrift store that we didn't give away, recycled everything we could, and we finally trashed everything that was left. Yep, I threw some stuff away that I had been keeping out of guilt that it couldn't be reused in some way.

Find Free Packing Supplies

Check at your local stores you shop at, tell your friends, co-workers, and local family that you're moving and need boxes, check on Craigslist, Freecycle and local Buy and Sell Facebook Groups for free boxes. There are so many of these thrown away in near mint condition, that you rarely need to pay for them. Pack your things into boxes by wrapping them in linens and off-season clothing that you don't need first, and label really well so that you know where your extra towels, etc. are. Then wrap in any paper that you're no longer using, including junk mail and old documents you're going to shred. Once you've used that up, ask your friends, and acquaintances for their scrap paper to wrap your things in too.

[caption id="attachment_328" align="alignleft" width="78"] Paper Tape[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignleft" width="78"] Cellulose Tape[/caption]

Use tape that gives you compost, not a trash bill

Once you've wrapped the item in paper, secure it with paper tape, rather than "regular" plastic-tape. That way you can recycle/lasagna garden/make free paper pots/compost the paper with the tape and save on your trash bill. You can also use paper tape to wrap boxes, or biodegradable packing tape if you need something clear. Try these tips to keep it wrapped better, if you use paper tape-

"Wet a strip of water activated (gummed) tape.

1. First, apply that strip across the box, perpendicular to the seam that you are sealing to hold the flaps closed.  Press it down and smooth it out.


2. Wet and apply a second strip of tape along the flaps seam.  Press it down and smooth it out well, so that there are no air bubbles or areas of tape that are not completely stuck to the box.


3. Keep in mind that the tape is only sticky when it’s wet, so work quickly.  If it dries before you get it on the box, you will have to apply more water and try again."-My Plastic Free Life

Get free packing help

If you are strapped for time, have volunteers help you pack your things. Be ready to explain how to use the paper tape, what you want packed, and how to label the box so you can find it on the other end. We had the Mormon missionaries help us as part of their weekly service, but you can list your move on the Just Serve website and have volunteers from your community help you out. This saves money on having professionals pack for you.

Rent your own truck and get free help

In the past, we've rented a truck that you load yourself since it was the cheapest option, besides borrowing a friend's vehicle and rewarding them with treats/gas money. Part of the community advantages of my faith is that we volunteer to move each other in and out of our neighborhood churches. However, this time around we had an incredibly heavy 131 year old piano that we had just had put back into working order. We did not want to have non-professionals lift that sucker. If you want to get free help loading your truck, list your move on the Just Serve website and have volunteers from your community help you out.

[caption id="attachment_334" align="alignleft" width="150"] Just Say NO to Stretch Wrap![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_335" align="alignleft" width="300"] Say YES to bungee cords![/caption]

Avoid the Stretch Wrap

Don't wrap furniture or let furniture be wrapped in stretch wrap that you'll only get to use once and have to pay to throw away. Plan ahead and borrow or get several used bungee cords that can be reused for any number of other projects instead.

Reuse/Recycle/Rot your packing materials

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tAxOhR61nM[/embed]

As you unpack your belongings, be sure to "get rid" of the packing materials responsibly. You'll pay less for your trash and you'll get your money's worth from your free materials by using it two or three ways. Our little town doesn't recycle anything beyond cardboard and metal, so we can recycle just our boxes or give them away.  You can also save your boxes for lasagna gardening or for starting fires if you have a fire pit, camp, or if you have a wood burning fireplace. You can reuse the packing paper for lasagna gardening, to make a free trash bag, paper pots for starting seeds, or shredded for livestock bedding instead of straw. (Our chickens love shredding it themselves.) You can also put it in your compost.

What ways have you saved money moving?

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