Sustainable Ideas...

Anyone who has moved knows there's no better time to get rid of the ridiculous amount of stuff you have accumulated before you move. Trust us.

• TRY: You've heard about it before, but oh, just sign up already: freecycle lets you give away your unwanted items to people who do want them. Then you can also use this free service in your new home to snag patio furniture, planters, what have you.

• DIY: Throw an old-fashioned yard sale—it's one of the most established forms of recycling, and it’s one that pays. Donate everything that doesn’t sell to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or charity shops.

PACKING:

•  TRY: Earth Friendly Moving: This is a service that allows you to rent their boxes (they use the "Recopak, pictured) so you don’t have to buy new ones--they call it "do it yourself."

• DIY: But this is even more do-it-yourself: There’s no reason to buy new boxes from your moving company when businesses all around you are throwing them away. Go into local liquor stores, convenience stores, and supermarkets to find out what day of the week they get rid of their boxes; then let them know you’ll come in that day to pick them up. Liquor stores may also be able to provide you with sturdy wooden wine crates, which are great for packing breakables like dishes and (duh) wine. Plastic bubble wrap? Hopefully you’ve saved the stuff that comes to you around other items, and you can reserve it for your most delicate breakables. Use your sheets, towels, and blankets to pad furniture and breakables. All those plastic bags you’re hoarding to reuse make great cushioning for inside boxes. Newspapers are another readily available, not to mention recyclable packing material. Pad the bottom of your box in a jiffy by twisting a double sheet of paper and laying it diagonally across the bottom, then put another one across the opposite diagonal, making an X.

MOVING/TRUCK RENTAL COMPANIES

• Try: Go Green Moving Solutions, which uses low-emisson biodiesel trucks and recycled cotton moving pads, among other innovations.It's a Southern California company, but hopefully more like this will be springing up.

• DIY: A flawed solution, maybe: carbon offsets, the kind that improve your new home: plant some trees!