Even the most dedicated recycler faces mountains of packing materials when moving – it can be quite daunting to learn just how much stuff it takes to move your stuff! Appalled at the amount of waste materials involved in moving your family from one home to another in Holland? Check out these ways in which you can reduce your moving footprint.

Seasonal Purging

Many of us learn a horrifying truth about ourselves when moving: we are all secret hoarders. We keep junk, broken items, old stuff, and things that don’t fit any longer all around the house. Let’s face it, we don’t know why we do it.

This is why home organization experts recommend that we seasonally purge our homes, such as after the holidays, in the spring, or after summer has ended. After the holidays, for example, you can recycle or donate all your decorations and wrapping supplies that you never used. As another example, at the close of your child’s sports season, give their outgrown gear to someone with younger children who can put it to good use in the upcoming season. Once you do this a few times, it will become second nature so that when it comes time to move, you won’t have a hard time purging.

Use What You Have, Or Can Get For Free

You may think nothing of spending a small fortune on packing and wrapping supplies, but why? Instead, use what you already have around the house to save some cash that will definitely come in handy later:

Use old newspapers for wrapping. When unwrapping the item at the new place, simply wash it if it has ink residue, then recycle the newspaper.
Use old t-shirts, towels, and linens to wrap items such as small appliances, shoes, and toys.
Instead of buying moving boxes, visit your local liquor store or grocery store. They have tons of unused boxes that are just going to be tossed anyway. They usually are happy to give them away for free or at least for a dirt cheap price. They come in lots of sizes and tend to be reinforced so as to accommodate all those heavy bottles. And you can recycle them later.
Wrap your flatware in strips of old t-shirts and put them all in a roasting pan for transport.

Go Natural

Instead of buying plastic wrap for your mattresses and furniture, use natural materials such as old flannel sheets. You can also buy yards of plain muslin for very cheap at your local big box or fabric store. Because a yard is at least five feet wide, you can easily wrap mattresses in this material and then tape the ends together. You can also use a fabric drop cloth to protect furniture.

Sell or Donate Last-Minute Leftovers

Even when you take the time to do some meticulous purging, there are things you just don’t care to move. In this case, sell or donate those items. Call your local non-profit, such as Goodwill, to pick up anything you no longer need.