After buying books obsessively through college, I stopped cold turkey a few years ago. Contributing factors included a) the acquisition of cards to a half dozen regional libraries, b) my increasingly digital self finding more and more things to read free online, and c) an increase in

or free magazine subscriptions that pretty much absorb any additional reading time I might have. Yet despite these reasons, it was another factor that proved a breaking point when it came to buying physical books: I got tired of moving them.

Moving into my first apartment with my wife, I probably had three good-sized boxes of books to carry. Moving to our next apartment I probably had twice that. Moving to our house I had even more. It doesn't take many experiences unpacking two floor-to-ceiling bookcases into cardboard boxes, then lugging them down apartment steps to a waiting car, then up another set of steps to be unpacked, then packing them back into the transferred floor-to-ceiling bookcases to get one to say enough is enough.

Not only did all this moving require effort, it also required boxes, commodities I never seem to be able to locate when I need them. That's where

would come in handy. The company rents out reusable moving boxes — dubbed Recopacks — made from 100 percent post-consumer trash mined from landfills. The Recopacks come in three sizes and are crush-proof, dust-proof and water resistant — other traits that would make them great for moving things like books.

The company — which unfortunately only serves Orange and Los Angeles counties in California, though they've begun franchising across America — will drop them off and pick them up free and claims using their Recopacks can cut your moving costs in half (see point number seven in their

for more on how the Recopacks could save you money versus using traditional cardboard boxes).

In addition to "green" moving boxes, Rent A Green Box also offers environmentally friendly packing materials, labels and even a "Poopy Pallet" made from used baby diapers. For more about the company, check out the video below from CNN Money.

What do you think: If Rent A Green Box services were available in your area, would you use them? Do you think it would save you money? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or email me at

.

Check out our regional Shopping Deals blogs to find great local deals and shopping tips:

Grand Rapids:

Jackson:

Kalamazoo:

Muskegon:

Follow us on Twitter:

.