650 mile move - transport or replace?

500yearvision

Can anyone give me advice?

I'm about to move house, and move a long way.

Do you think it would be better to freecycle my washing machine, fridge, freezer etc and replace them with new, energy efficient versions, or keep my old white goods and transport them?

All items were second hand when I got them, and are 10 - 20 years old.

Likewise with furniture.

I'm not yet sure if it'll be more expensive to transport or replace.
Thanks!!!

Justie

are you hiring a removal firm or doing it yourself? If it's a removal firm then it'll probably not cost much different to take it all as you'll probably have a full load.

Otherwise it's your choice - if the white goods work and the furniture is in good condition then the 'ethical' thing would be to keep using them but if you want to make a fresh start then this a good time to have a big sort out and buy new A rated appliances (although getting the timing for everything right can be fun).

Personally it wasn't the big stuff that was a problem when we moved it was the boxes of books, papers and other stuff that we should have sorted out and recycled beforehand that we ended up transporting and then getting rid of... all that time and effort packing and unpacking that was wasted.

My experience of older white goods is that they last longer btw - new white goods seem to have an inbuilt destruct button after about 3 years so don't expect new purchases to last you as long...

Good luck with the move, it's a stressful time but good fun too.

savvy

Justie wrote:

My experience of older white goods is that they last longer btw - new white goods seem to have an inbuilt destruct button after about 3 years so don't expect new purchases to last you as long...

I'll agree with that! My washing machine is now about 17 years old and has needed attention only 3 times in that time, the last time was only due to clogged pipes! The machine engineer I use says that I'm better off keeping it as it's a simple straight forward Zanussi, so less can go wrong and it's easy to fix, unlike the new electronic types!!! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

SusanCarter

If you freecycled the old stuff then it wouldn't be going to waste.

C_Ronaldo

the appliances wouldnt go to waste if he kept, if the appliances work well then keep them

its alright us saying to the OP to keep the appliances but have you checked the appliances will fit in the kitchen

SusanCarter

I thought the issue was the "waste" of getting rid of the stuff vs. the environmental impact of transporting it such a long way. I was therefore giving an alternative which avoids either of the two problems.

Sorry if I wasn't clear or have misunderstood the issue.

500yearvision

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

I need to think about both cost and environmental impact.

I wish I was cleverer at maths and could work out how much energy & money I would use by transporting the white goods, which are not energy efficient (but in good working order) versus replacing with new 'a' rated white goods when we get there. (this is sort of a hypothetical question due to the not having the cash for replacements).

We would transport some things. But I will have a good sort out, as suggested, and ensure that we don't needlessly transport things we don't want. Which is what I should be doing right now! All our books are on Amazon, for example.

Thanks for the reminder re the self destruct thing.