Our Top 3 Eco Friendly Cleaning Accessories

During this time of working from home, social distancing, and overall remaining in our personal spaces way more than ever before, I know many of us are doing a lot more cleaning than ever before!

So I thought I would share a few of the best cleaning accessories that are earth-friendly and reusable! (Just like our moving boxes 😉)

Reusable Cleaning Cloths

There are lots of options for reusable cleaning cloths!

• Cut up old t-shirts. They are great and free!

• There are lots of places to buy microfiber cloths - Amazon, Norwex (the best, in my opinion. They also make a glass cleaning cloth that requires no cleaning solution - just water!), auto supply stores, and places like HomeGoods!

Extendable Duster

Not to pretend I don’t love Swiffer dusters, I know they’re incredible, BUT they unfortunately are not reusable! So here are some duster options that you can use and toss in the washer to clean and use again!

• Click here for an option from Home Depot

• Click here for a variety of options on Amazon

Steam Mop

In my professional opinion - the steam mop is one of the best cleaning products to ever happen. It means you don’t have to fill a bucket with water, do any wringing, and you don’t have to wait forever for the water to dry off the floor. A steam mop retains its heat, so it always stays at the optimal temperature to disinfect floors. Another plus is that the high temperature of a steam mop helps get tough stains without requiring extra scrubbing, providing a deep clean with less effort. AND you can just throw the pad in the wash after use! I recently purchased this steam mop - it has a bunch of different attachments, and I love it! Some other great options include:

• BISSELL PowerFresh Steam Mop - $90

• Shark Genius Steam Mop - $120

Another great option - if you already own a Swiffer then green-up your cleaning with reusable pads!

Those are three great new eco-friendly cleaning accessories and tools for you to incorporate into your cleaning routine!

We at Elephant Trunk Moving Supplies are big proponents of green cleaning - we personally use non-toxic cleaning solutions, and reusable cloths when cleaning our rentable moving boxes for our customers. Next we’ll make a post about some great green cleaning companies for you to consider, so when you run out of a harsh cleaner, you can have a green option!

COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions

Moving homes is stressful enough, then adding the stress of the current pandemic on top is not ideal. We at Elephant Trunk Moving Supplies want to reassure you that we are considering your safety when delivering or picking up our moving boxes from your home, so you can feel comfortable when ordering from us!

Here is a video covering a number of frequently asked questions regarding our COVID-19 response:

Are You Open?

Yes! Moving is an essential business in every county and we are out delivering. So if you need moving boxes in this time feel free to place an order to rent our moving boxes here, or give us a call at 214-755-4675.

How Are Boxes Being Cleaned?

First of all - the turnover between picking up boxes and delivering them to another house is usually a minimum three days. Past that we are using the Thieves cleaning solution from Young Living, a shop vac for dust and pieces, and sometimes a steam cleaner. I do want to clarify that in the video I refer to the Thieves cleaning solution as being antibacterial - there is nothing on the site that necessarily says that but the base of the product is Anionic surfactants and you can read more about them here. Find the full list of ingredients and more information here.

Can I Order Contactless delivery?

If this is something you are interested in talk to John about it or put it in the order notes! He will call you to confirm your delivery date and time once your order is placed, so you can discuss this option then. He can definitely bring the boxes to your door or put them in your garage without you present.

We want to do everything we can to keep everyone involved safe during all of this!

Though the pandemic is unfortunate, moving is still happening every day and we are happy to be your option to the cardboard box for your Dallas-Fort Worth local move.

Terracycle x Bausch + Lomb: Contact Recycling

I obviously don’t know the condition of the eyesight of those of you reading this – but my eyesight is really awful. On top of that, I live in the south which is essentially HQ for seasonal allergies. Due to all of that – I wear daily contacts. And I feel so painfully wasteful using them once and throwing them away every day, along with the packages they come in.

Some 45 million Americans wear contact lenses. Of them, 15 million wear daily disposables. Statistics show that 10 to 15 percent of those 45 million are flushing their contacts down the toilet or sink! Between six and 10 metric tons of plastic lenses are ending up in U.S. wastewater plants every year, adding to the problem of microplastics in oceans, lakes and even commercial bottled water. Click here to read more horrifying pieces of information on this subject!

I have found the solution to the guilt! Terracycle now has a partnership with Bausch + Lomb to recycle any brand of contacts and the blister packs they come in! And not just recycle – they are able to take the materials of the contacts and the plastic portion of the blister packs and turn it into recycled plastic material!

The process is very simple – just create a container where you put all blister packs and contacts, print a free shipping label, collect them for as long as your container allows, and mail them away! Or you can drop them off at a nearby participating optometrist’s office. Click here to either sign up OR find an optometrist near you!

This is one of my most wasteful areas, and I cannot express how excited I am to finally have a better option for what to do with the trash!

Terracycle has a lot of different recycling partnerships, and I will be writing more blog posts about their programs in the future – but I highly recommend giving their website a quick browse. Maybe they have a program for something that helps you reduce the waste you create! Comment below if there is a program you see that interests you!

Elephant Trunk Moving Supplies is doing its part to reduce the number of cardboard boxes and tape ending up in landfills by offering our reusable moving boxes and supplies! We have prevented thousands of cardboard boxes from ending up in landfills, and made hundreds of people really happy with their moving experience thanks to our service!

We Really Have Been Everywhere!

So a few months ago we wrote a blog post proclaiming that we have been everywhere! Well, our owner (John) felt that blog post did not do the everywhere justice. Where is everywhere? Huh?

Well he compiled a full list of exactly where “everywhere” is! He even put them in alphabetical order! Do you see your city?

A’s

Addison, Allen, Alvarado, Anna, Argyle, Arlington, Aubrey

B’s

Balch Springs, Bedford 

C’s

Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Celina, The Colony, Commerce, Coppell

D’s

Dallas, Denton, Desoto, Double Oak, Duncanville

E’s

Euless

F’s

Fairview, Farmer’s Branch, Farmersville, Fate, Ferris, Flower Mound, Forney, Fort Worth, Frisco

G’s

Garland , Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Greenville, Gunter

H’s

Halthom City, Haslet, Heath, Hickory Creek, Highland Park, Highland Village, Hurst

I’s

Irving

K’s (no J’s yet!)

Keene, Keller

L’s

Lake Dallas, Lancaster, Lantana, Las Colinas, Lewisville, Little Elm

M’s

Mansfield, Mckinney, Melissa, Mesquite, Midlothian, Murphy

N’s 

Nevada, North Lake

P’s (no O’s yet!)

Parker, Plano, Princeton, Prosper, Providence Village

Q’s

Quinlan

R’s

Red Oak, Richardson, Richland Hills, Roanoke, Rockwall, Rowlett, Royce City

S’s

St. Paul, Sachse, Sherman, Southlake

T’s

Terrell

W’s (no U’s or V’s yet!)

Waxahachie, Whitesboro, Willow Park, Wills Point, Wylie

(No X’s, Y’s or Z’s yet!)

Our reusable moving boxes have helped hundreds of people and families move around the Metroplex in LITERALLY 82 cities! These boxes smooth the process of these moves for every step of the process. The packing itself is much easier because there is no assembly required - just put your items in, close the box, and label it! Then having to organize boxes around the house, they stack nicely when full and when empty, and they are easy to move from place to place throughout your home while packing! The moving process itself is much faster because of the handles on the boxes, and how well they stack and organize when full!

Give Elephant Trunk the opportunity to bring ease to your next Metroplex move!

A Thanksgiving Message

A happy thanksgiving from the Elephant Trunk family to you! And in case you didn’t know, the Elephant Trunk family really is a family. A local family comprised of, from left to right, Chloe, John and Mollie Hancock! You all are probably most familiar with John, since he is the one who graces your homes with the wonderful Elephant Trunk boxes. But Mollie and Chloe do a lot of work regarding spreading the good word (and sometimes cleaning containers)!

John thought about some wise words from Ray Wylie Hubbard last week that seem very appropriate for the holiday and we want to spread them to you and yours this holiday season as well -

“The days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations - well, I have really good days.”

Remember these words - even give the song a listen (he tells a good story) - when you are preparing for Thanksgiving day and all other days! Be grateful for the day and the people.

So Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely, the Elephant Trunk/Hancock Family

Elephant Trunk Moving Supplies Featured on Hot On! Homes

The process of moving homes is stressful to anyone. You have to pack, find a reputable moving company, make sure nothing breaks during the move, unpack. Imagine the trouble you have go through to find the right boxes to pack your personal belongings, whether they are from the Kitchen or bathroom or any other room in the house.

Elephant Trunk Moving Supplies can help you eliminate the hassle of finding the right boxes, by providing you with economical, ecological & plastic moving boxes. Boxes come in various sizes and with various rent options, depending on how long you need to keep them. We bring the boxes to you to pack and come back and pick them up when you are done unpacking in your new home. These boxes stack very easily and reduce amount of space they take in moving vans.

Here is a demonstration of the process, as featured on Hot On! Homes TV Show.

Call us at 214-755-4675 or Order Online.