The Allstate Blog » MyMove.com

Green Moving Tips: How to ‘Eco-Boost’ Your Move

MyMove.com — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:22:44 +0000

If your resolution for 2013 was to curb your carbon footprint, you might find it a challenge when there's an impending move: the dozens of cardboard boxes, rolls of packing tape, the white ocean of Styrofoam packing peanuts, reams of plastic bubble wrap. Then there’s the moving truck that’ll haul thousands of pounds of your household goods to the other side of the city, or—cringe—across the state or country. However, if you’re moving, there’s a way to fulfill your resolution, celebrate April as Earth Month and take part in a popular trend: green moving. It’s household moving with a conscious effort to choose the most environmentally-friendly packing materials, share and reuse supplies, and reduce carbon emissions during transport. Read our tips for making your move green, as well as interesting statistics about how moving affects the environment. Also, find out what you need to do to make your household energy-efficient and start things off right in your new digs.

Get Smart about Supplies

The average move uses 60 cardboard boxes—that’s the equivalent of a half-ton tree. If you consider that an American moves 11 times in his or her lifetime, that’s 660 boxes, or 5 1/2 tons of wood, per person. Reusing a friend’s cardboard boxes is a good first step. Depending on quality, a cardboard box can withstand three to 10 uses, at which point it will likely need to be recycled. But there are some more eco-friendly alternatives to cardboard boxes, as well as other traditional packing materials.

Recycled plastic bins. Ask your mover if they offer reusable bins made out of recycled plastic. Plastic bins can be used up to 400 times. They are typically stacked and wheeled into your place on a dolly, left there for you to fill, packed by the mover, and then left at your new place for a week or two for unpacking. The provider then collects the bins, and there’s no worry on your part about collapsing, recycling or donating cardboard boxes. If your mover doesn’t offer bins, there are plenty who do: RentAGreenBox.com, EZBins, EcoBox.com and Zippgo are just some examples. Prices range from $2.50 to $5 per 4-cubic-foot box, per week. (U-Haul charges $3 for a 4.5-cubic-foot box).
Biodegradable replacements. There are green alternatives to plastic bubble wrap, packing peanuts and foam wrap. Often, the alternatives are literally green in color, to alert you to the difference. As effective as their polystyrene forebears, green packing peanuts are made from bioplastics, a form of plastic derived from renewable sources like vegetable oils or corn starch. A 12-cubic-foot bag of green peanuts costs $19 at Uline. Geami wrap, a die-cut recycled paper split by a machine to form protective packaging, is another alternative to bubble wrap.
Getting creative with what you have. Perhaps the most resourceful way to securely pack your fragile belongings is to wrap them with towels, bedding and clothing you already have lying around the house. It’s a two-fer because you need to pack these items anyway. Check out this visual tutorial on how one woman used her scarf collection to pack breakable picture frames.

Know Your Shipping and Fuel Options

Whether you’re moving locally or long-distance will greatly affect the amount of gas your moving truck uses and the carbon dioxide it emits. How much stuff you have, the size of truck you use, and the way you drive will also make a difference—a small truck gets about 9 mpg while a large truck gets roughly 5 mpg. According to carbon dioxide calculations from the Environmental Protection Agency, and based on average truck sizes from national carriers, a short-distance move under 10 miles using a small truck will emit 22 pounds of CO₂; the same move with a large truck will emit 40 pounds. Conversely, a cross-country move of 3,000 miles in a small truck will emit roughly 6,500 pounds of CO₂, while the same move in a large truck will emit almost twice that at 11,760 pounds. Whether you’re staying in the neighborhood or accepting a job offer on the other side of the country, you can look for greener options.

Biodiesel fuel. Some moving companies have converted their trucks to run on biodiesel fuel. Ask each mover who gives you an estimate—you should get an estimate from at least three different companies—if they’ve made the upgrade.
Car shipping via rail. Do you have to transport your car? Instead of having it shipped by truck, consider train transport. On average, trains are four times more fuel-efficient than trucks.
Declutter and donate. Lighten the load. The less stuff you have to ship, the smaller truck you can use and the less waste you’ll pump into the atmosphere.

Start New Habits in Your New Home

Once you’re in your new home, get into a habit of saving energy, creating less waste and recycling. Here’s a checklist for getting started.

Replace incandescent light bulbs around the house with CFLs (compact fluorescent lights), or, better yet, LEDs (light-emitting diodes). CFLs require less energy than incandescents, but LEDs blow the CFLs away in terms of efficiency, and, unlike CFLs, they don’t contain mercury.
Stop air leaks under doorways, window panes and out of the roof. Get a professional to inspect these areas and give you recommendations for how to fix them.
Unplug appliances, electronics and phone chargers when not in use. Buy power strips to make unplugging several electronics at once a one-switch process.
Everyone knows to recycle. Need a new hobby? Start composting your organic refuse.
Upgrade to ENERGY STAR appliances, which have met energy efficiency guidelines set by the EPA
Generate renewable energy by installing solar panels on your roof. Solar panels may require a large investment up front, but eventually they offer clean, renewable energy sans the electricity bills.

Cheers to Mother Nature! Carolyn McKibbin leads the MyMove.com editorial team. Her raison d'être is to make moving easier by providing insightful and time-saving advice in articles, videos and blog posts. She loves to share moving stories and photos on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Recommended By the Editors:

5 Strategies for Announcing Your Small Business Move

MyMove.com — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 13:00:35 +0000

By Dawn Allcot, MyMove.com A small business move can be complicated. Not only are you leaving loyal customers and impacting the local community and its economy, but you might have to make the decision of whether to relocate certain employees. Then there are the logistics of planning a move, from packing office supplies, inventory and technology systems to changing your marketing materials to reflect your new location. Follow these five strategies to plan and announce your small business move to help the process go more smoothly.

1. Announce the move to employees.

Whether you have a team of one, five, 15 or more, announce the move—and any details about your new location—to most of your staff simultaneously in a meeting. Uncertainty can be stressful in a time of change.

2. Outline moving responsibilities clearly to employees.

Your IT staff, for instance, may be responsible for packing computer equipment safely and re-establishing the network at the new location. If you don't have an IT department, you may want to hire independent contractors to assist in setting up technology systems following the move. Employees may be responsible for packing their own supplies. You should also outline who will pack general office equipment, kitchen supplies, etc. It's nice to treat employees to lunch on moving day as a thank-you for their work above and beyond normal duties.

3. Create a campaign to announce the move to vendors, clients, your network.

Depending on the size of your small business, your position in the community and your company's impact on the town's economy and tax base, announcing a move can be a sensitive proposition. You might enlist the help of public relations professionals to craft the right moving announcement. If you do your PR in house, don’t forget to communicate the news via Facebook, Twitter and other social media, and send a press release to local newspapers. As with employees, timing and open communication are paramount when it comes to announcing your move to the general public. This announcement may include a significant social media marketing campaign, as well as articles in local newspapers and business publications at your old location and your new home base.

4. Update your marketing materials to reflect the move.

Business cards, letterhead, signage and even your employees' email signatures may need to change following a relocation. Make sure to change your address and phone number on every page of your website, too. Will your move also involve rebranding in the form of a new company logo or new web design? Now may be the time to do it, since you have to change your marketing materials, anyway.

5. Begin to establish yourself and your company in the new location.

Before the last box is unpacked in your new location, you should already be establishing yourself in your business' new community. Research Chamber of Commerce and professional networking organization meetings before the move and prioritize those you'll want to attend during your first months in your new corporate digs. What was the most difficult part of your last move? Dawn Allcot is a writer for MyMove.com You might also like:

5 Moving Scam Red Flags

MyMove.com — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:00:53 +0000

Moving can be one of the most exciting experiences of your life. But if you’re unlucky enough to do business with a rogue moving company, that adventure can quickly turn into a nightmare. The good news is that the vast majority of moving companies aren’t out to take advantage of anyone. But why take a chance, especially when it comes to a whole household of possessions? Choosing a less-than-reputable moving company is often cited as a common moving mistake to avoid. Here are five red flags to watch out for that will help you avoid a moving scam. If you see any of them, you know you need to keep looking for other movers.

The moving company doesn’t insist on coming to your home to perform an inspection prior to giving you an estimate.

Moving companies charge by weight, and, in order to give you an accurate estimate for charges, a professional has to come to your home to perform a walk-through. If a mover offers you an estimate—either over the phone or via email—based on a few general questions, consider it a warning sign. They’re likely to give you a low-ball quote so that you sign on, but when it’s time to deliver your goods the movers can hold you hostage until you pay more.

Requiring payment in full ahead of time, or asking you to fork over a sizeable down-payment.

A legitimate moving company doesn’t ask for money up front. Instead, you’ll receive a bill after services have been rendered. By agreeing to pay any amount of money in advance, you’re basically giving up any leverage you have to ensure that your belongings make it to their destination. Don’t rely on faith when it comes to movers. If they want your money before hand, something’s fishy.

You’re have an interstate move and the moving company doesn’t give you a copy of Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.

By law, movers are required to give you this information any time they transfer your belongings over state lines. In some cases, even movers who are performing in-state moves will go to the effort to ensure you get a copy of the pamphlet. Remember, crooked movers don’t want you to know your rights; therefore they won’t make any effort to help educate you. Take this as a sign that you should part ways and find another moving company.

You’re given blank or incomplete documents to sign.

Although this falls under the category of “good old-fashioned common sense” there are still plenty of people who fall victim to this ploy. Call it whatever you want: a false sense of security, blind trust, or naiveté. Either way, attaching your signature to a blank contract can leave you open to all kinds of troubles including drastically increased delivery fees and the discovery of missing belongings. Always read and verify all documents that you’re asked to sign.

The moving company providing an interstate haul isn’t registered with the FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration).

You can look this up for yourself simply by visiting www.fmcsa.dot.gov and entering in the company’s name. Registered movers have specific DOT (Department of Transportation) numbers—make sure the truck leaving with your goods has the same DOT number as the DOT number on your bill of lading (contract between you and your mover). As a best practice, always do your homework prior to doing business with any moving company. You can find a history of customer reviews, ratings and complaints by visiting the Better Business Bureau website. Ask for customer references and call them. The U.S. Department of Transportation also operates a consumer-protection website, www.protectyourmove.gov, where you can find further information about avoiding moving scams and how to file an official claim against a mover. Vince Font is a writer for MyMove.com