Learn how recycling and upcycling during your move saves money, reduces waste, and helps create eco-friendly home decor solutions.

The following is a guest post from my bloggy friend Taylor McKnight. Interested in having a guest post on my website? Click here for my guest post submission form.

Green Moving Solutions: How to Recycle and Upcycle During Your Relocation

Moving into a new home is both exciting and stressful at the same time. Packing and transporting your goods, unpacking and making the new house your own is a lot of work. And, if you are like many people, a move is a perfect chance to declutter and get rid of things you simply don’t use or want anymore. Why take everything to your new home when it’s just going to take up space or clutter up the new area? For many things you may decide to get rid of, you can choose to recycle or upcycle. There’s many reasons to do this and many benefits for you.

What Is Recycling?

Certain items can be recycled to be used to make other materials. This is a good way to get rid of old magazines, glass bottles, newspapers, and boxes. So, it can be especially helpful after you move in to your new home and unpack. Recycling is a much better option than throwing things in the trash as they can be used in other resources. Think of recycling as a way to get rid of things you might otherwise consider trash or junk. Some of the types of things you can recycle include:

• Bottles
• Cans
• Cardboard
• Paper
• Certain Plastics
• Glass Containers
• Tires
• Fabric

Recycling is considered good for the environment because we are able to keep things out of the landfills and make use of them again in one form or another. It is also instinctual as this action is instilled within us at such a young age, for example mine was in elementary school

What Is Upcycling?

Upcycling is a bit different from recycling but it has just as many advantages and it is a great way to change your decor as well when you move into a new home. So, just what exactly is upcycling?

Essentially, it is taking an item that you consider unwanted or unneeded and finding a way to use it again in a different way. It’s not sending off something to be torn down and used as a material. Instead, it’s using creativity and some basic supplies to give items a whole new life. While there are certain rules on what can be recycled, anything can be upcycled in some way or another.

There’s a few ways you could approach upcycling. You could take on the projects yourself if you have time and want to tackle the creative effort. You can also donate or sell the items to places that focus on upcycling.

The Benefits of Both When Moving to a New Home

There are so many benefits to both recycling and upcycling when you are moving to a new home. And, let’s start with before you move. It’s always recommended to declutter as much as possible before you even pack everything up. Anything that can be recycled should be. There’s no reason to take stacks of newspapers or magazines to your new home. So, as you begin the packing process, take each room one at a time and find anything that you no longer need and start a recycling or up cycling pile. Next, consider each larger item like furniture and decide if you really want to move it, keep it, or dispose of it. If you don’t then it has the possibility to be upcycled. Do you want to do this on your own or hand the item on to someone who could. Upcycling can apply to much more than furniture too. Fabrics, small containers, and pretty much anything has potential. For example, fabric like thread can be made into bag ties, bin markers, etc. for when you are in the process of moving even.

Choosing to do this before you move is a good way to free up space on the moving truck and to avoid hauling things where they won’t be needed. It could save you money as well, especially if you are paying for a moving truck by the square foot and work or service provided.

After you move, it’s time to go through and look for more things you don’t want to keep. Of course, packing paper and boxes would be some of the top recyclables. You may have other packing materials as well. Just make sure any plastics are actually recyclable because not all of them are and those that are not can end up being very toxic for the environment and hurting it more.

Next, decide if you are happy with your furniture, your decor and your style in your new home. Think about anything that no longer fits or has a place. You can upcycle and save yourself a great deal of money instead of having to buy anything brand new. When you upcycle and take the project on yourself, then you can make something that is exactly your style and taste. You also can get extra creative when picking this route and designate it to every specific desire you want in your new interior design.

Moving is the perfect way to declutter and get rid of anything that is just taking up space. However, just hauling everything to the dump or landfill is never ideal. So, recycling and upcycling can both be very beneficial and cost saving for you during your move. Make sure to weigh out your options when doing both along with carefully coordinate all of your items before and after.

Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for The Quality Thread & Notions Co.