Archive for the ‘moving’ Category

We LOVE Brooklyn-based Movers, Not Shakers!, an environmentally friendly moving company.

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

What I love about Movers, Not Shakers!, a moving company that serves New York City and the entire east coast, is that they’re green movers. Their trucks are fueled by biodiesel from Tri-State Biodiesel, Inc. and they’ll rent you reusable plastic moving bins they call GothamBoxes™ (got them boxes? – get it!) for you to pack your belongings in. They drop the bins off in advance of your move and pick them up after you or they or somebody like me, a Professional Organizer, packs them for the move and unpacks them once you get to your new home. There’s no cardboard, no assembly, no tape, NO WASTE. After they’re picked up, the boxes are cleaned, stored and delivered again to other customers. It’s an easy way to move and, at the same time, reduce the materials used in your move and the impact on the environment created by your relocation.

For years, Fortune 500 companies, pharmacies and supermarkets have rented reusable plastic bins to move from one office to another or ship merchandise. Now the residential moving market has picked up on this idea due to consumer desire for options that are convenient, environmentally friendly and because of the cost of cardboard boxes. Prices for short-term plastic bin rental are comparable to purchase prices for cardboard boxes. A large bin of about 4 cubic feet rents for $3 a week from Movers, Not Shakers!. U-Haul charges $3 for a 4.5-cubic-foot cardboard box.

From the Movers, Not Shakers! website:

Paper or Plastic? Plastic!

“Isn’t paper the better choice for the environment? Not always. Before we disregard oil and its byproducts altogether, let’s remember that certain products made from plastic are actually good for the environment – if they’re reused. Our line of GothamBoxes™ is made from recycled plastic. Over their life span each one will replace hundreds of corrugated cardboard boxes. And since they have interlocking lids, no packing tape is required to put them together or seal them once they are full. That not only produces less waste it is also a big timesaver.

GothamBoxes™ come in two sizes, small and large. They are strong too! They do not crush like cardboard will, keeping your belongings safe and sound. The small bins are 2.3 cu ft. and are great for books, CD’s/DVD’s, small plates and dishes, glasses, wine glasses, toiletries, jewelry cases, and other fragile items. The large bins are 4.1 cu ft. and are used for clothing, linens, towels, larger kitchenware, pots, pans… and anything else that won’t fit in the small one. Even though moving can be an incredibly complicated task, with all of the planning, packing, utility switching, real estate closing, address changing, board approval, school switching, whatever your situation might be, these bins are meant to simplify the whole process.”

Other benefits of using these plastic bins are:

  • Environmentalists generally agree that it’s better to reuse a product rather than manufacture a new one.
  • They have wheels, which make them easier to move and maneuver through the tight spaces of many NYC apartments.
  • You don’t have to deal with disposing of dozens of cardboard boxes, a task that in New York City usually requires collapsing and bundling them.
Also, from a getting organized perspective, another other HUGE benefit, is that there’s no procrastinating about unpacking and items don’t get left in boxes for months – or years! – since the bins need to be returned within a certain period of time. Thank you, Movers, Not Shakers!; that’s definitely music to this organizer’s ears!

Posted in environmentally friendly, moving, procrastination, reduce/reuse/recycle | Comments Off