By Gina Cappiello www.123Movers.com

One task most of us face every few years can create loads of garbage and pollution. That task? Moving! Everyone is hopping on the hybrid green bandwagon lately, here are some ways to keep your move a little greener:

Don’t Trash Everything: Before packing up your belongings, take a few hours every day before you move to sort through it all. Pack away everything you want to keep and put aside everything you do not want. Take everything you do not want and get rid of it in a green way. Set up a moving day garage sale, sell your items online, or donate them to a charitable organization. Not only will you be greening up your life, but your “trash” could be someone’s favorite find.

Rent Reusable Boxes: Sturdier, stackable, and more reliable than their cardboard cousins, reusable boxes are a great way to green up your move. Not only are they delivered to you, but they are also picked up when you are all done unpacking them at your new home. This means no boxes cluttering up your new home or extra waste being thrown into our already overflowing landfills. Along with renting reusable boxes, utilize your suitcases and bags for packing. You’ll be surprised how many things a purse can hold!

Avoid using Non-Biodegradable Packing Materials: Styrofoam packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and foam are useful during a move, but not for the environment. If you’re looking to go green on your next move, try utilizing old newspapers to wrap fragile items, and then recycle the paper when you unpack. Wrap pieces of furniture and art with blankets to ensure they do not get damaged during your move instead of packing them in foam. If you must use non-biodegradable packing materials, ask around to see if anyone has any from a past move to give you. Reusing is always better than buying new for the environment and you wallet.

Use Eco-Friendly Movers: With the green movement in full swing, movers are getting in on the ground floor. New specialized green moving companies are springing up all over the USA to help end useless pollution from moving. Some provide eco-friendly packing services while others only use trucks fueled by BioDiesel that only drive where they must. Less air pollution and waste, here we come!

Offset Your Carbon Footprint: If you are unable to be green during your move or just want to contribute more to the cause, you can donate money to an environmental group to “offset” your carbon footprint. There are calculators you can use online to figure out what your footprint is and how much it would be to “cover” it up. Your donation goes towards protecting land, animals, or planting trees. It is an easy way to contribute even more to the green cause without moving.

Being green during a move does not have to be pricy or difficult. Follow the tips above to keep waste and toxins from polluting your moving day and the Earth.