Moving time

Oh man, it's been two weeks since my last post. But I have an excuse. Really, it's a good one. I've been busy looking for a new place to live. Now that I've found a place, it's time for the move, which offers up an interesting eco-challenge. How can I reduce my impact on the environment during one of life’s big changes? My coworker said he’d heard that moving is one of the most traumatic events in a person’s life. Which means it’s probably not so great on little ol’ Mother Earth either. Think moving boxes, moving vans traveling across the country and all the stuff you send to the landfill and new stuff imported from China that you buy.

I’ve got a few things going in my favor. First off, I’m moving a whoppin’ half mile away. (And I’ll try to find a local moving company so they don’t have to waste gas getting to my place.) I’ve got boxes from my last move and my office so I don’t need to buy new boxes. And I’m frugal, so I’m down with buying quality used furniture once I move in and figure out what I need.

But there are challenges.

1) I can’t buy everything used. I’m moving from a house with roommates into a one-bedroom apartment so I need basic things like trash cans, bathroom mats, cleaners, oh my!
My solution: I’ll try to buy eco-friendly, local and organic products when I can and when the green alternative isn't ridiculously expensive. I've had one success so far. This weekend I bought the all-natural Mrs. Meyer’s All Purpose Cleaner after reading a list of earth friendly cleaning products on the website for Real Simple magazine (my OCD cleaning bible). At $8 it's more expensive than a cleaner from Target but it’s concentrated so it’ll last a long time and I can use it in all my rooms, which means no need to buy a bunch of different cleaners.

2) I’m renting, which means I don’t have as much control as I would if I was buying a home. There’s a laundry room that I haven’t checked out yet, but I’m guessing the washer isn’t Energy Star. There’s a new dishwasher but I don’t think it’s Energy Star either (not that I’m complaining about new appliances).
My solution: Change what I can, like installing a low-pressure shower head. And I'll try to be energy efficient on my own, like not running the dishwasher until it’s full. That one will be easy since I have a crap load of dishes for one person. Another article on the Real Simple website (which has so much info, I was out of control clicking here, there and everywhere) said that dryers are horribly inefficient. I guess I could try air drying my clothes with a drying rack. OK, I agree to try that but I’ll have to see. If I end up a wet soggy mess at work because my clothes aren't dry, that may be a problem.

So far as I pack, I’ve been taking stuff I don’t want anymore to Goodwill so I haven’t had to throw much away. I even added an old eyeglass cleaning cloth to my donation bag. Hey, why not. Someone could use it. But going green can sometimes be expensive so I have to balance it with staying within my budget. Once I've moved I'll update my blog with how my green move is going. Now, I've gotta go do some more packing!