When Friday Apaliski moved from her apartment in San Francisco to a duplex in the same city, she sourced cardboard boxes from Facebook to pack up her belongings. Drew Shula, who moved about six years ago within Los Angeles County, protected breakables with old T-shirts and towels. And Sarah Feldstein, who also lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, saves meal-kit delivery boxes so she can advertise them on Craigslist for neighbors who need them.
All three think about sustainability more than most people — it’s part of their job. Apaliski worked as a “sustainability concierge” until recently, helping people green different aspects of their lives. Shula is founder and CEO of Verdical Group, an environmental consultancy. And Feldstein and her husband own, a company that rents out reusable, plastic moving boxes. But the tools they’ve used to make moving more sustainable are within reach for everyone else, too.
Yes, moving is stressful and expensive — and your environmental footprint may be the last thing you want to worry about — but a few tweaks can make the process a little easier on the earth .The best way to reduce the footprint of your move is to get started early. A productive first step is to think about what you actually need and want to take with you. “It’s a good time to reflect on things,” says Apaliski, now director of communications at the Building Decarbonization Coalition.
Limiting the number and weight of the boxes you pack means transporting them will produce less greenhouse gas emissions. Once you sort your stuff, it’s also important to determine what you may be able to sell, what can go