You've taken the time to research green materials and building systems to ensure that your home renovation project is as environmentally friendly as possible. Now the contractor is coming and you must gather your belongings and store them away. Renovation storage isn't much different than packing for a move, a process that generates plenty of waste and burns a lot of diesel fuel.
Cardboard Box Alternative
Mark Ehrhardt, founder and owner of Movers, Not Shakers! in Brooklyn, NY, came up with a novel idea to "green" the packing process. "Cardboard, even though it breaks down in the landfill, consumes a lot of energy in the manufacturing process," he explains—not to mention the fuel burned to transport it between several middlemen before it ever reaches the consumer. Besides, putting together boxes is time consuming and annoying. How many times can you lose the end of the tape roll?
One day, while stuck behind a drugstore delivery truck, Ehrhardt had an epiphany. The plastic crates that distributors ship to drugstores could be the perfect moving and storage vessels. They are sturdy, infinitely reusable and stackable when they are empty or full. He purchased a load of the boxes and dubbed them Gotham Boxes, which he rents to customers for around $2 each.
Ehrhardt recently remodeled his own kitchen and used the Gotham Boxes to prepare: "the night before the contractors were due to get there, I started packing before dinner and finished the entire kitchen in just under one hour." Since the boxes remained onsite during the renovation, he didn't bother wrapping fragile items, which saved on packing materials. Another benefit was that the kitchen supplies were still accessible, though they would not have been had he used cardboard boxes. If you must wrap delicate glassware, Ehrhardt suggests using popcorn or Geämi, a paper-based packing material, instead of styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap.
Green Self-Storage
If you're embarking on a larger scale home renovation, you may have to relocate your belogings for the duration. In this case, most people opt to use self-storage. Here a few tips to green the process:
- Look for an environmentally conscious moving company to transport your belongings from your home to the storage facility. For example, Movers, Not Shakers! trucks run on bio-diesel.
- Consider storing your belongings in Pods on your property to avoid transporting them at all.
- See if there is a "green" self-storage facility near you, such as iStoreGREEN in New York City, a facility that was remodeled using reclaimed wood and other recycled materials and is powered by 100% certified renewable energy sources; or Go Green Self Storage in Colorado, which runs on solar energy.
- If there are no eco-friendly storage facilities in your area, choose the facility that is nearest to your home. The less travel time, the less fuel you burn.