Many people use local storage facilities to house items that they want keeping safe and sound away from the home – you may be redecorating or moving home, you may be storing items for a business, or simply decluttering and keeping seasonal items until needed at a later date – there are many different reasons that people rent storage facilities. In doing so, however, more and more people are conscious of their responsibility to the environment and want to keep their everyday actions, such as moving items into storage, as eco-friendly as possible – here are some tips on how to make your next move as sustainable an exercise as possible:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Consider the modern storage equivalent of the three “R’s” – sustainable storage is the responsibility of the individual and applying the three R’s can help achieve eco-friendly storage. Reduce the number of items you retain – don’t hang on to items that are unnecessary or haven’t been used for a time. Adopt a policy of reusing existing items instead of replacing them with newer items and, of the items you want to dispose of, wherever possible recycle them as opposed to sending them to tips and landfills.
Unwanted Items
Whenever you are sorting items for storing there will, inevitably, be some pieces and things you will no longer require – it is easy to just dispose of them through the local tip and, hopefully where practical, recycle them. There may, however, be an alternative that safely disposes of your items but in the process can help others – just because you no longer want them doesn’t mean they have reached the end of their usefulness. Some of your items you may be disposing of simply because you no longer like them – but that doesn’t mean nobody else will, so you could sell them online making yourself some money as well as extending the useful life of the items! Alternatively, consider donating them to the many high street local charity stores where others may find a use for them – not only helping others, but reducing the already overcrowded landfill sites.
Packing Materials
An important part of submitting items into storage is the preparation and packing of each object – and in selecting your packaging materials you can make a positive contribution to sustainability. You will need materials such as boxes, tape, bubble wrap and other padding. In choosing biodegradable packing options you can help the environment – cardboard boxes (not the plastic-lined boxes), bubble wrap, and starch-based ‘packing peanuts’ are all 100% biodegradable, recyclable and compostable.
Green Moving Companies
Another eco-friendly aspect to consider when storing your items is how to transport them to your chosen storage facility. Look for a removal company that prioritises and employs sustainable practices – there are many such businesses that have sustainability as one of their core values, and using such a company will enhance your eco-friendly efforts to make storing your items an environmentally responsible exercise!
Energy Efficient Storage Facilities
When selecting the storage facility to keep your items, you will want to choose a facility that offers you all the important features for safe storage, such as a dry or climate-controlled environment, easy 24-hour access, and state-of-the-art security systems. You could though, also consider the storage company’s policy for energy-efficiency and sustainability – ask about their core values and mission policy on these eco-friendly issues.
