New Home? 7 Tips for Starting Out Right

Swap plastic or bubble wrap for old newspapers to simplify your packing and your waste.

Make sure you keep these separate when you unpack and bring them down to your local recycling centre.

That’s right. Pasta (dry and in a sealed packet of course) is one of many alternatives to plastic and polystyrene cushioning to tuck into boxes and protect your objects from moving around in transit.

You could also use sealed bags of rice, cous cous, lentils, nuts, sugar…

Obviously.

And remember that towels, blankets, cloths, pillows, sheets and other soft textiles can also be used to cushion small and breakable objects instead of the mess of plastic wrap.

One of the first things to do when you move in is get familiar with your new bin system.

What colour are they? When are they collected? What can go into each of them? What can’t?

This will stop waste accidently piling up and getting in the way during your first few weeks (while you have 100million other things to think about…)

Get a system in place for recycling as soon as you move in. If it’s there from the start, you’re more likely to stick to it.

Pop a few more wastebaskets around your house bathroom for different types of recycling and food waste so less ends up in landfill.

Moving comes with a lot of packaging.

Sorting it all out into separate bags and boxes (soft plastics, hard plastic, cardboard etc…) as and when you unpack will make things much easier when it comes to disposing of it.

Don’t be tempted to chuck everything into your black bin – it isn’t worth the fuss of overfilling it!

Sort it, and bring it down to your local recycling centre.

Know your new post-code yet? Then find your nearest recycling centre now by following the link below. 

Likelihood is that with all of that packaging, a few left-behinds and some actually-we-don’t-need-thats you’re going to need to make a few visits while you move in.

Getting into the habit of making a regular trip will start you off with a great habit that will make staying organised a lot easier in the future.

And if you’re new to the area, getting out to your local recycling centre is a great excuse to have a look around, get orientated, and meet some people from your local community.