Get Going Already! - My Green Move - Finale

We have made the move, and in retrospect those last few days before liftoff were a little tough. Actually, between saying goodbye to all of our loved friends and family and packing everything into a Tetris expert level space, we knew it was pretty rough going as it was happening!

Two days without sleep does strange things to a man

In addition to those goodbyes, were the numerous trips up and down the gauntlet of the three flights of stairs that stand between the ground floor and our old abode. However, our quest to move as little as possible extended into the wee hours of the morning, and I am happy to report that at final count, we only threw away three bags of garbage and one mangled and heavily used pressboard bureau from Ikea. Yes, their stuff is cheap, but after 3 moves and seven years of use there was just no more life left in this piece of disposable furniture.

All in all though, our casualties were low, and we moved all of our possessions in that 6x8x9 area of rented space on the moving truck (that's 432 cubic feet for anyone keeping track), and trust me, in order to make it work, we were forced to go vertical! But on a sweltering morning in the middle of July, we bid a fond farewell to our hilltop home, and headed West. Once we had creatively, reused, recycled, gifted, sold, and re-homed all of our unneeded possessions, we focused on an environmental move in terms of transportation and moving supplies.

Much of the trip looked like this...

...Except when it looked like this!

Here's how we made sure the final chapter of our move was as environmentally friendly as the first two:

Pack it in recycled boxes - Yes, we still had plenty of stuff left, and once we had filled all of our suitcases, various duffels from college sports, and anything else that resembled a box - bureau, laundry hamper, magazine baskets - the bottom line was that we still needed boxes - quite a few of them! Before heading over to your local packing store to BUY new boxes, ask around. We knew a couple of people, who had moved in recent months, and between them and the just used moving boxes we found at our school's dumpster, we found ourselves with a plethora of boxes!

While I'm not necessarily advocating dumpster diving, it certainly feels much better knowing that you have removed something from the disposal life cycle rather than adding to it.

Don't let the boxes die with you! - Once you get to your destination, don't forget to pass those boxes along for further reuse. Uhaul locations all have a free box exchange program where used boxes can be dropped off or picked up for reuse. Also try to reuse or give away packing peanuts and bubble tape as well. Many UPS locations and pack and ship stores will accept packing peanuts for reuse.

Pack it tightly - Use all possible space. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle of belongings. Fewer boxes=less space on a moving truck.

Last-minute giveaway bonanza - You can bet that everyone who entered our apartment in that final week before the move was exuberantly showered with an array of last minute detritus: One of my friends was very excited about my collection of 2008 Sunday NY Times - (they will supply her rabbit with bedding for months to come), and several jars of pickles went to my in-laws (my father-in-law shares my pickle addiction), and despite our commitment to drink as much as possible in the weeks leading to our departure, our leftover liquor cabinet was a boon to thirsty friends.

Leave a housewarming gift - And no, I don't mean your old toilet brush, but if you are making a long trek, consider leaving behind some nice items (wine, olive oil) that won't travel well and are heavy, as well as some cleaning supplies, which are always useful when moving.

Let Your Boxes Ride the Rail - Although we didn't go this route, another environmentally and economically sound way to move belongings around the country is on Amtrack. Keep in mind that there are restrictions on box sizes and weights, but a couple of my friends have used this service for several moves and all highly recommend it.

Travel Light - However you choose to make your way cross country or across your city, be sure you are driving a fuel efficient vehicle. Ours looked so tiny that a friend at our first stop in Chicago asked why we didn't spend the extra hundred dollars for a more spacious car; she thought it was a rental!

It wasn't - we drove my Toyota Corolla across and kept track of the mileage, which varied depending on weather conditions, road (highway vs. secondary), and speed, but we averaged about 32-34 mpg with a pretty loaded car.

Toonces the Driving Cat says:
"Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your gas mileage:"

• Travel as lightly as possible - less weight = better fuel efficiency
• Remove any unnecessary racks, bikes, or anything else that might cause drag
• Be sure your tires are properly inflated
• Get a tune up before you go - a properly tuned engine will run much more efficiently
• Air condition sparingly - enough to keep you from overheating, but not to chill the car (no sweaters or scarves in mid-July!)
  

For more fuel efficiency tips, check out Popular Mechanic's recent article, "10 Quick Fuel Efficiency Tips to Beat the Gas Crunch".

A Movement in a Few Parts - The Final Countdown

For those of you following our move (and more importantly our quest to avoid the landfill by creatively disposing of belongings we don't want to cart 3,000 miles...again), we are days away from the arrival of the moving truck.

It should be noted that due to both environmental and budgetary concerns, we have also tried to consume as little space as possible on a carbon emitting moving truck. After some research, I found a company that rents smaller spaces on large trailers, and so we were able to rent the smallest size - 6 x 8 x 9 - further emphasizing the need for "net reduction".

So we've had our moving sale, we've made a few trips to Goodwill, and we've swapped our books, but what about the X-Box player that doesn't work, or the CDs that have long ago been burned into our Itunes library? We don't have room for them in our precious square of truck space, and we still don't want to hit that dumpster.

There are two resources that I have been using constantly to find lists to aid me in my quest. The first is Earth 911's recycling locator. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am a contributor to Earth 911). The locator allows you to find places to recycle anything from fluorescent bulbs(don't throw these in the garbage - they contain a tiny bit of mercury and can be recycled at all Ikea stores among other places) to old phone books just by entering in your zip code. It is one of the most comprehensive databases out there.

The second resource that I often use is a blog by Coop America titled "21 Things You Didn't Know You Could Recycle" with links to recycling agencies for everything from CD jewel cases to appliances.

Here are a few tough-to-recycle items we recycled using the suggestions from the list (and a little creative thinking too!):

Beanie Babies - No idea where these came from. I know they are not mine, and my husband is also pleading ignorance. No matter, we plan to sell them on Ebay. Craig's List is also a good (and free!) place to post items for sale.

Broken X-Box, Stereo, and Speakers - Used Earth 911's recycling locator to find a place to recycle these. Some electronics stores like Best Buy have recycling "events", which are days when all broken eletronica will be accepted for recycling.

Technotrash - In our case, this included CD jewel cases, various chargers, music and VHS tapes, and an old cell phone (cell phones are incredibly easy to recycle as well as useful for someone else - Collective Good refurbishes cell phones and sells it for use in a developing country: 770/856-9021. Call to Protect gives cell phones to victims of domestic violence. For a fee of $30, Greendisk will send you a box that you can fill with up to 70 pounds of technotrash - totally worth it.

Televisions - We were able to sell both of our sets, but with the switch to digital slated for later this year, there will be a lot of people interested in upgrading their sets. Televisions can contain up to eight pounds of lead, and some municipalities have already banned them from the landfill. Start with Earth 911's recycling locator again, and look for a subsequent blog with complete details on what to do with your old television!

Old Athletic Sneakers - When you are a size 12 (yes, dainty me), these add up quickly when you are talking about cubic feet in the landfill! Luckily, Nike will take back all old athletic sneakers and will recycle them into Nike grind, used to make playground and other sports surfaces.

CDs - We found a CD store that bought used CDs and sold them - I guess this confirms that my husband has good taste in music. Those that were rejected were listed and swapped at Swapacd.com. You can do the same with DVDs at Swapadvd.com.

Books - Paperback Swap! For more on their services, check out the previous blog.

Lightly Used Litter Boxes and Cat Toys - These went to our local no-kill animal shelter - we cleaned them of course! Animal shelters are in constant need of supplies.

Batteries - Single Use and Rechargeable - We ordered a recycling kit from Battery Solutions.

If you still find that you have items to dispose of after perusing my blog, Earth 911, and Coop America, then post your goodies at freecycle.org or bring them to a local Goodwill.

Off to load (..tightly!) those 432 cubic feet with all of our worldly possessions.

A Movement in Several Parts - A Reading Intermission

Happy 4th! With our move now less than two weeks away, I have decided to tackle the bookshelves.

While we are trying to lighten our cross-country load as much as possible, I refuse to part with the majority of my books. I admit it; as a writer and avid reader, I am also a book hoarder. Perhaps there are support groups for people like me?

I did a little searching on the good old world wide web of information, and while I did not find a support group, I did find the next best thing - a place to swap the books I am willing to part with - And yes, there are a few, like From Myst to Riven (which has something to do with two video games, and which seems to be a treasure for someone since it has already been requested). By the way, that book totally belonged to my husband, which, while earning me points for taste, earns me no points for reducing my book pile.

From Nerd to Super Geek

Still, once I make the tough choices (do I really need three copies of Pride and Prejudice?) the process of swapping these books couldn't be easier. Here's how it works:

• Join Paperback Swap and post the books that you would like to swap. Books on CD and hardcovers can be swapped too -I guess Paperback, Hardcover and Book on CD Swap is a bit of a mouthful.
• You will be notified by email when other members have requested your books.
• Print mailing labels from the link provided and send your books off using the media mail rate (it's the cheapest). You pay for postage on your end and another member pays postage when they mail a book to you.
• As soon as your book is received by the requester, you receive one credit towards a book of your choice on the website.
• Check out the millions of books listed (2,308,700) at the time of this writing, and request that they be sent to you. In our case, of course, we will wait to request any books until we reach Seattle!
• If you don't see a book you want, add it to your "wish list," and you will be notified as soon as another member posts the book to swap.
• For the price of postage (generally between $1.50-$3.00), you have millions of new books to choose from - of course, you can see why the book hoarder likes this service!