15 Environmentally Friendly & Money Saving Ways for Moving House

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Moving house is said to be one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. It is also well known for being extremely expensive. Below I have written some money saving ways for moving house, as well as some tips on how to be more environmentally friendly during the home move.

Moving house can be a long drawn out process but there are some things you can do before you get your moving date.

DECLUTTER AND BE RUTHLESS

Start to declutter and be ruthless but don’t throw unwanted items away.

* Try selling at a car boot sale to raise much needed funds.
* Give unwanted clothes and goods to a charity shop.
* Offer other items free on Marketplace and local Facebook groups.

You’d be surprised at what items individuals, community groups and schools can make use of. Always offer items to others before taking to the tip or throwing in your wheelie bin.

Pin for later – original photo by cottonbro from Pexels

SOURCE FREE & CHEAP PACKING MATERIALS

It’s very easy to find free and cheap recycled packing materials when you’re moving house meaning you will be saving money and being environmentally friendly.

Start to pack the items that you don’t need to use often early.

Search on local Facebook groups, Gumtree, etc, for packing boxes. Many people will offer the boxes that they used for their own move free of charge.

Ask for unwanted boxes at supermarkets. The boxes that bananas come in are fantastic, as they are sturdy and also stack on top of each other meaning they are perfect for storing in the corner of a room until you are ready to move. Crisp and toilet roll boxes are good for larger items.

Shoe and sports shops often give away shoe boxes, perfect for small breakables and sentimental items.

Some supermarkets still have sheets of bubble wrap in between their fruits. If you ask nicely, most are happy for you to take them away as it saves them disposing of it.

Newspaper is often useful when packing items. Not so many people read print newspapers anymore, but ask friends, family or again on local Facebook groups.

Suitcases are a good way to store and move clothes and additional bedding. Get your own cases down from the loft and borrow from family. You can often pick these up very cheap at car boot sales and on Marketplace.

Make sure you label each box with the room they are intended for and a brief list of contents. Write on the side and the top of the box for easy viewing.

Be sure to pass all your packing materials on for free to someone else afterwards too.

THE CHEAPEST WAY TO MOVE

You don’t need to use a professional removal company to move your home contents. When you get your moving date book a cheap man with a van and rope in a few friends to help you unpack.

PREPARE FOR MOVE DAY

Have a batch cooking day a week or so before you move to use up all the ingredients in your fridge and freezer. You will be thankful to have some ready made meals for the last few days in your old home and first few days in your new home whilst you are busy packing and unpacking. If you don’t have built in appliances, see if a neighbour can store a few meals until you get your fridge and freezer turned on. Failing that cool boxes and cool bags are useful.

Of course, make sure you load a box with the kettle, mugs, tea and some snacks in last of all. Reward everyone’s hard work with a well earned cuppa and some homemade cake, enjoying the fact that you’ve saved money and been environmentally friendly by not creating unnecessary waste.

FURNISHING YOUR NEW HOME

I’m a great lover of buying secondhand or preloved furniture and furnishings, especially if it’s something I can upcycle to make it totally unique in my own style. It’s so cheap and easy to update your rooms if you fancy a change, and of course you can always resell or donate onto someone else afterwards.

The one thing I’d always recommend buying new is carpets and have them fitted by a professional. Did you know that you can now buy eco-friendly carpets and underlay? I love this option of buying a new carpet that is made from recycled waste materials to create a sustainable new product. I do believe that recycling waste products to make new is the way forward.

MOVING TO A SECOND HOME

We’ve sometimes thought of buying a second home for our retirement. I’d love to live near the sea, but still have a home in town. We wondered if we might be able to make it work financially by renting out the empty home, but have always been put off in case the tenants don’t pay.  There are now companies like AMS Housing Group who guarantee your rent, so you can have tenants in without worry. It certainly takes some of the stress away, so maybe that’s something that we can do when the time comes.

HOME IMPROVEMENTS INSTEAD?

Perhaps you’ve had a bad moving experience in the past and would rather stay put and improve your current home. There are so many options nowadays, and local authorities seem to be more flexible when granting planning permission. Building regulations will ensure that your home improvements will be as eco-friendly as possible with regards to insulation, windows, etc..

We had an extension built on our house a few years back and it’s the best thing we’ve ever done. At the time we had 5 adults living here all trying to get ready for work in the morning which as you can imagine was not ideal. We had a downstairs shower room/utility room along with an extension of the lounge built and it made such a difference.

If you can’t extend out, what about going up? Companies such as Live in Lofts can redesign your loft area and convert it into a new living space. Perhaps a bedsit for adult children who won’t leave 😂, a luxury bedroom for yourself, or a home office, which is becoming more and more useful in the current climate.  It’s certainly worth thinking about.

I hope you have found this post useful. Do let me know if you have any other ideas of how you can save money and be environmentally friendly when you move house.

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