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T’s Top 10 Tips:
HOW TO PACK EcoDivaliciously AND MAKE MONEY WHEN YOU’RE MOVING!!!
I realized recently that I should write a list for all you EcoDivas and EcoCurious peeps on how to pack and move in an eco way…so here goes!!!
1. BOXES: Get your moving boxes FOR FREE from grocery stores and other local businesses. Call ahead and save yourself some time…find out what time they have boxes available for pick up. Grocery stores are usually 6-9AM, 99¢ Stores are around 6PM, etc. FYI Apple Boxes rock if you want to have one box size and shape. I’m also a fan of Staples paper boxes…they’re similar to banker’s boxes.
2. CLOTHES: I divide my clothes up in 4 piles…
1. My favorite clothes (which I pack in suitcases to save boxes & so I can find again easily)
2. Clothes I like, but don’t have a personal attachment to (to use for packing)
3. Clothes that I can trade at a clothing exchange
4. Clothes to donate to a thrift store
3. PACKING: I wrap my plates and other fragile items in the above mentioned, “clothes I don’t have a personal attachment to”. I also wrap items in my towels, blankets and sheets.
4. CLOTHES AGAIN: Get your friends to host a clothing exchange around the time you’re moving! This way you can narrow your clothing down even more, and someone else will take your excess to a charitable organization or thrift store.
5. MAKE MONEY: Have a garage sale. I actually made $1,000 once from selling random electronics, Anna Sui dresses (to college students), and furniture that I had originally found dumpster diving!!! So I got to make money off of things I got for free!
6. MAKE SOME MORE MONEY: Your unwanted clothing can also make you money at places like Buffalo Exchange or consignment shops. And usually they have a bin to leave the clothes they don’t purchase from you.
7. MAKE MONEY OFF YOUR FURNITURE: You can sell furniture on Craigslist.com or even post on Facebook for your friends to have first dibs. I’ve purchased many dressers and tables from Craigslist, and resold them again when I moved. And the best part is people come to you to pick up your stuff.
8. MAKE MONEY OFF YOUR FRIDGE: You can make $100 from donating washers, driers and refrigerators that are NOT energy efficient to the Department of Power and Water in some areas. They will also pick up these items.
9. GIVE EXCESS AWAY FOR FREE: Take excess furniture, clothes and household goods to Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc. Some thrift stores do offer pick up, but only for items in good condition. Or simply post it on Freecycle.com and people will pick it up. If you have furniture or large appliances in bad shape make sure to call your local Trash Collector to be aware of a “large item pick up.” And if you get rid of old Electronics, make sure to take them to an Electronic recycle center!
10. TOILETRIES: If you have any unopened toiletries, canned goods, any kind of body care, you can donate that to your nearest homeless shelter. And as you go through used and unused toiletries you will find that there may be things that have expired. In that case, be sure to empty and recycle.
…And last but not least, if you have a few days before you’re scheduled moving date, simply put things in front of your apartment. You won’t believe how much of it will disappear over night. I left out 3 bags of fabric, 2 bags of clothes, 2 sets of shelves and an 8’ by 10’ wood frame from an Eco set design display and they were all gone in the morning (the woman that took the fabric actually knocked on my door and thanked me ). I LOVE KNOWING THAT PEOPLE ARE ALSO DUMPSTER DIVING in my own neighborhood!!!
Happy packing,
T. Hipwell
