5 Top Tips for an Eco-Friendly London House Clearance
These days, people are becoming more conscious of their carbon footprint and doing their level best to engage in sustainable behaviors, such as recycling and cutting down on toxic emissions. When it comes to moving house, however, you may think that there’s no way to offset the energy used, petrol required, and waste that can occur.
Don’t worry, though, there are steps you can take to make sure your house clearance in London is as sustainable as possible.
OnePlace2Save provides quality house clearance services in London and beyond. In this blog, we’ll run down some of our top tips for achieving an eco-friendly London house clearance.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Use Recycled Packing Materials
- Take Sustainable Habits Forward
- Limit Your Journeys
- Use an Eco-Friendly Agency
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Whether you are moving house, clearing out a property after the death of a loved one, or emptying a shed, garage, or storage locker, the first thing you need to do is sort everything into categories, such as ‘yes’ ‘no’ ‘maybe’. Next look at the no pile, is it junk? Can it be mended? Or might it be of use to someone else?
Charity shops are always looking for donations with even some taking furniture and IT equipment, while some places operate regular recycling collections for small electricals such as irons, kettles, and hair dryers.
If like many of us, you have a collection of old mobile phones, cameras, or laptops lying around, shops such as CEX and sites like Envirofone will either refurbish or recycle your mobiles and IT equipment for you.
Sites such as eBay and Gumtree make if infinitely simple to sell all manner of unwanted but good quality items from clothes and toys to white goods and computer equipment. You could even make some decent money for belongings you no longer have a use for.
If you don’t want to put list individual smaller items, consider taking your goods to a car-boot sale, or holding an American-style ‘yard sale’ before your moving date. You could even combine it with a party or barbecue to say goodbye to your neighbors. Just don’t be tempted to buy more than you sell, if you do go the car-boot route, remember the goal here is to reduce and streamline ahead of your move. Do the same with the maybes, and try to be ruthless, after all, if you didn’t immediately place it in the yes pile, you probably don’t need it.
Use Recycled Packing Materials
Now that you’ve decided what you are taking with you, you’ll need to pack. If you have newspapers, old magazines, or even just documents you no longer need, you can use paper to protect your valuables. China, glass, or delicate items can be securely wrapped in paper before being boxed up, to prevent chips. You can also use towels, tea towels, pillowcases, and even clothes to provide a cushion between items.
Recycled bin liners, tote bags, and of course, boxes, are great for moving. If you don’t have any, ask friends and neighbors in the run-up to your move, or purchase recycled packing materials from a reputable source, such OnePlace2Save’s online shop.
Take Sustainable Habits Forward
If you are moving into a new home, you have the opportunity to make a fresh, more sustainable start. Find out what the recycling rules are for your new dwelling. For example, some apartment buildings often very limited recycling options such as communal bins, whereas some streets may be far stricter in the collections than others.
You can ensure your new home is operating with maximum energy efficiency by taking steps such as using energy-efficient light bulbs and having an energy-efficient boiler and meters fitted.
If you are willing and able to invest, you can look into solar paneled roofing and devices, you can even look into machinery which is operated by pedal power, for example.
Non-toxic paints and wallpaper are now readily available, meaning you don’t have to compromise on style to create a sustainable and eco-friendly home.
Growing your fruit, veg, and herbs is an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint, as is reducing the number of car journeys you take. Try to walk or cycle whenever possible and encourage family members to do the same.
Limit Your Journeys
It may sound obvious, but the less you have, the fewer journeys it will require to transport your worldly goods, and the less of a carbon footprint your house move will leave. It can be tempting to ‘do a bit each time’ when you’re moving, but unless you combine the pick-up and drop off with another car journey – such as your commute to work, for example, you’re likely just using unnecessary petrol and energy for a job which could be completed in one or two journeys.
Unless you have no furniture or heavy goods, you will likely need to hire a van to complete your move, and you may find that hiring a man and van is a better option. This brings us to our final tip…
Use an Eco-Friendly Agency
At OnePlace2Save house clearance services in London, the customer comes first. We wouldn’t dream of compromising your beliefs and can help you through the steps we’ve suggested above.
Not only can we provide fully recycled packing materials, but we’ll also help you pack and unpack, and, perhaps more importantly, we can deal with your unwanted items and waste in a safe and eco-friendly fashion.
We are fully accredited by the Environment Agency and do our utmost to recycle as much as possible. We’ll happily transport furniture and IT equipment to charity shops, new addresses where they can be used, such as community centers or schools, to recycling centers, or the tip if they are no longer working.
Our disposal service complies with GDPR and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives so you can be sure we’ll do everything we can to reduce the carbon footprint of your house clearance in London.
OnePlace2Save is a leading name for house furniture clearance in London, working across the whole of the Capital city and beyond. If you wish to talk to us about an eco-friendly London house clearance, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. If you are based elsewhere, we may still be able to accommodate your request. Give us a call and we’ll see what we can do. In the meantime, you can read what some of our happy customers have said about us in our reviews section.