How To Prepare For An Interstate Removal | Supercheap Storage Sydney

How To Prepare For An Interstate Removal | Supercheap Storage Sydney

Interstate removals are big moves, and the more you plan in advance, the easier they become. There’s a lot you can do to make an interstate move a lot more painless, including self storage, and some sneaky moves about reducing your load before you even start.

The Safe and Secure Way to Store Documents

The Safe and Secure Way to Store Documents

Besides the documents you might actual need from time to time, any company eventually ends up storing large amount of documents for long periods. You better make sure they’re stored safe and secure.

Technology Advances in Modern Self Storage - Supercheap Storage Australia - Self Storage Facilities with Portable Units

Technology Advances in Modern Self Storage - Supercheap Storage Australia - Self Storage Facilities with Portable Units

Technological advances have radically changed the way self storage facilities operate. Conveniences once only imaginable are now becoming commonplace.

Saving the world ecological diversity – a storage space more important than the rest. - Supercheap Storage Australia - Self Storage Facilities with Portable Units

Saving the world ecological diversity – a storage space more important than the rest.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault located above the Arctic Circle in Norway is a global repository for the Earth's genetic plant diversity.

The Do’s and Don’ts When Deciding to get a Self Storage Facility

The self storage industry has grown now to be a multi-billion industry since the very beginning. There have been studies that showed how it has progressed to where it is right now, and that more and more individuals have realized the need of getting one. Self storage is not just contained to the concept of renting a few boxes and storing it somewhere but it is more than that – it is a piece of real estate, a specialized kind of property that has certain characteristics that could answer several needs for storing items, be it valuable or not. As more and more individuals, families, business and organizations are looking into securing one, there are certain considerations that you need to ask yourself before you join in the bandwagon. There are certainly benefits of hiring a storage facility, but you need to assess and ensure that the benefits outweigh the costs of securing one.

So when is the time that you would actually need one?

Here are some questions that you can start with asking yourself before you hire a self storage facility.

1. Do I have a lot of clutter at home to put into self storage?

This is a common question that I often hear from friends who are looking at extending their home space by securing a self storage facility to put their clutter at home. However, take a moment to reflect on it. Do I really need one? Or should I start de-cluttering first and see what I have left before I secure one? It is just easy for us to extend our real estate thru self storage facilities but it is likely that we end up storing items that we may not need for the next 6 months or more. In the end, we pay for storage of our junk that we eventually have to throw away.

What to do in this situation? Step back and assess if the items in your house or what you call ‘clutter’ are things that you would use in the next 6 months. If the answer is no – then let go (throw or donate). If yes, then set aside and see if you have enough to put on storage.

2. Old pieces of furniture that are still good but needs refurbishing – would I need these anytime soon?

Unless you are going to refurbish these to make it look brand new, then you can keep them for a while until the time you are going to refurbish these. Otherwise, if these do not fit anymore the current design of your place or your new place if you are moving, then might as well let these go, too.

3. My babies are growing up too fast – baby stuff anyone?

Well, if you are thinking of planning to have another baby in the next 3 years and the baby stuff won’t get so old and outdated, then you might keep these. Sometimes having some baby items passed on to one kid to another could bring out the sentimental person in you, but if you have chosen baby stuff that could be outdated in the next year or so, then you can consider giving these away to a relative who is going to have a new addition to the family.

4. Mementos anyone?

Unless you see that your souvenirs or even old stuff from college would appreciate in value, then keep these because you will definitely earn some profit. However, if these haven’t appreciated in value and end up gathering dust in the corner of your house, consider throwing these away, too.

5. Green thumb – the magic is no longer there.

Gardening tools are usually kept for a long time. If you don’t plan to use these for a while but might revive your gardening skills in a few years, might as well keep these. You might want to rent mobile storage that allow you to pay for the number of boxes you keep rather a big room with only gardening tools to store. Otherwise, if there is no option for mobile storage and pay only by the number of mobile pods, then make an effort to clear up some space under your staircase storage or kitchen area.

Extending your living space has become a norm in households nowadays especially ‘livable’ real estate has become more expensive and the desire to create more living space has grown. If the items that you would like to keep in your storage space are not considered ‘junk’ or ‘clutter’, then securing one is worth it. Otherwise, you have to re-think on how you keep items and re-evaluate whether you would like to keep these or let these go. 

Packing Fragile Items for Moving and Storage

Moving to a different location means that you need to uproot yourself from one place to another. It is not an easy task even if you are moving only one part of the house (your room, for example, if you are a college student or sharing an apartment with friends or other people) or the entire house. You draw up a list to get things moving from sorting out your items, throwing or giving away what you do not need and planning on whether to put these for storage for a while or deliver the items right at your new doorstep. We would rely on our movers to help us pack, load and deliver for storage, but there are a few things that we need to do on our own, and one of these is to handle our fragile items.

What should you do when you have fragile items at home and would like to move or store these somewhere?

1. Put fragile items in categories

There is no better way to start handling your fragile items but knowing what these are and sorting them according to how you would like these to be handled. You may put them in a spectrum of super fragile to the not-so-super fragile items. With this, you would be able to know what kind of packing materials that you should have and how to pack these, too. Putting these into categories would also mean easier for you to pack and label these for better handling.

2. Premium services offered by storage and movers

Some storage and movers businesses would offer premium services that would include handling fragile items by providing packing materials, packing and loading/unloading these to your new location or at the storage area. Some fragile items require some airflow and temperature controlled room, thus, you may want to check these out with your service provider. If you do not have a lot of these items, you may secure a mobile storage pod and have it stored at a common area where they keep fragile items. Most households don’t have a lot of fragile items and they would usually seek storage providers that may take economies of scale, i.e. have a common area for all fragile items. This option may be easier on your pocket, too.

3. Recycling old clothing items

If you have the not-so-fragile items but are still considered as fragile, you may look at the option of handling these yourself. However, you may be running out of bubble wraps that you have purchased at a local store. Thus, one way to do it is to use old thick clothing items like cardigans, shirts or even towels to use as a wrap and provide support in boxes. But if you do this, make sure that you label the boxes accordingly in case you would think that the box would just contain old clothing and may mishandle the box entirely.

4. Old newspapers, anyone?

Just like old clothing, you can use old newspapers to provide support on the sides and bottoms of boxes. You can crumple these like round balls to stick to corners of boxes for support and even in empty spaces between fragile items. Crumpled old newspapers would also not add up too much weight on your boxes for easy handling.

5. Packing lightly

One cardinal rule of packing fragile items is to pack the boxes lightly so that it is easier for you to carry. If you stack a lot of these in one box, you might end up with a heavy load and may not be able to handle it properly. It is not only applicable to fragile items but boxes that contain valuable items that you intend to handle yourself. Movers are used to carrying and shuttling boxes back and forth, but for a novice like you, you might want to take it easy on your hands and back. 

How To Transport Potted Plants Safely

Moving can be easy if everything is planned. It is good to have a checklist of the activities that need to be accomplished and require some time to be done. However, we are prone to oversight and might forget some items and one of these are potted plants.

If you have a green thumb, you will have the tendency to have many potted plants in the kitchen, living room and even in your balcony. Some may be big while some will be of small sizes, usually applicable to herbs that you can find in the kitchen. So, what do you do with these? You can’t just put them in storage boxes and leave them inside a storage unit. There are some plants that are sensitive to the amount of water and sunlight that they would just wilt and die too soon. Thus, how do move, store and transport potted plants?

1. Prepare a checklist of the number and kinds of potted plants that you have

You can list and identify your potted plants and arrange them in your list from most sensitive or delicate to the non-delicate ones. Once you are done, you can pack these the last among your items, and prioritize the non-sensitive first then followed by the non-delicate potted plants. Usually herbs would come as the last as these are small and flimsy.

2. Seek a storage specialist that supply storage boxes with holes and handles for easy moving

Some movers would have storage boxes that have holes in order to provide some flow of air. These boxes are usually easier to life with side handles. Storage boxes with holes are perfect for your potted plants.

3. Save the old boxes

If you can’t find any movers that could supply storage boxes with holes, you might want to use the old boxes you can salvage from your storage room. If these are too thick to bore some holes all over, then don’t close the top to allow some flow of air.

4. Old newspapers to secure the plants and refrain them from moving

Gather as many as old newspapers to help secure the potted plants and refrain these from moving while being transported. Old newspapers will also provide protection for your other items in case the soil are thrown all over during the move.

5. For big potted plants, allocate some space in the truck

You might want to alert your movers that you have big potted plants that they can allocate some space in their truck. You neither can stack items on top of plants nor put them on top of storage boxes.

6. Label your boxes that contain potted plants

Even if you can see your plants through the holes, it is still best to label these and list these down on your notebook for easy tracking and which box goes to which part of the house. This habit actually goes to all boxes that you are going to transport, not just only the boxes that contain your potted plants.

Top 5 Tips for Effective Home Renovation

Home renovation can be stressful. Without proper planning the ordeal can consume a lot of time and money. However, there are five simple steps that can help to make sure the renovation goes as smoothly as possible. To ensure a successful renovation make sure to set a budget, create a project timeline, store belongings in a secure location, acquire materials in advance, and develop an alternate plan.

1. Set a budget
Before beginning the project make sure to establish a strict budget. By doing so, you can keep costs reasonable and setup parameters for your renovation. Most stressful renovations are caused by poor budgeting, the homeowners don't plan ahead and often run out of money before the project is finished. By creating a budget you can ensure that you'll have enough money to get everything finished.

2. Create a timeline
While budgeting is important, it's also essential to have a project timeline. By setting deadlines, you can keep track of tasks. A set completion date prevents the project from getting abandoned and going unfinished. It also provides an idea of which areas of the house will be under renovation at what time, allowing for preparations to be made.

3. Temporarily store belongings
As the project nears its start date, make sure to put household items into storage. This keeps the work area free of clutter and prevents any possessions from getting broken or damaged. There are numerous cheap storage facilities that offer short term contracts. By placing your goods in a storage module you can keep them safe for the duration of your renovation. Doing so also clears out space for construction equipment, work tools, and building supplies. This makes it easier for the actual renovations to be made.

4. Acquire materials in advance
While no mandatory, it's always a good idea to order all the necessary materials before beginning a renovation. This allows for things to run smoothly as it eliminates the need to wait for specially ordered items to come in, and reduces that chances that you will run out of certain materials during the actual renovation.

5. Have a backup plan
Lastly, when planning for a renovation, make sure to have a backup plan. In the unlikely event that the process gets derailed it is important to have other options. Having a secondary plan is also a good idea in case there are any additional changes that you'd like to make during the renovation. A backup plan can also save stress, as it lets you know that you have other choices.
 
Making home renovations are a serious matter. They require proper planning and preparation in order to run smoothly. Making plans and thinking ahead is essential to an effective renovation. By creating a budget you can ensure that the project can be funded until its completion. A timeline will keep the work on track and setup a definite start and end date. Storing personal possessions keeps them from getting damaged and provides the necessary space for work to take place. Ordering renovation supplies in advance prevents any delays due to running short on materials. And having a backup plan keeps the project manageable even if hangups do occur. By making the appropriate plans, homeowners can save themselves from a lot of stress during their home renovation.