Clearing Out Your Wardrobe to Gain Storage Space

There are so many reality television shows that depict how we, as human beings, hoard a lot of things. Typically, items in our homes fall into just two categories: wants and needs. At the start, we would usually be able to tell our desire to buy things as a need or a want. However, as we move along our everyday life, the advent of internet, information is readily pushed our way – that this item is good for you or good for the household, yet our vision gets blurry that we sometimes mistaken the need to be a want. Hence, we end up buying and accumulating items that we usually do not need at all. And the biggest purchases that we tend to mistake our need to be want are clothing and clothing accessories. This does not only goes out to women, but believe me, it also applies to men (as there are more and more metro sexual men nowadays).

Apart from walking down retail shops and shopping malls, attracting us with discounts and promotions, there is also the convenience of online shopping. Our email pops up with all the promotional emails and these tend to be very attractive! Even if categorizing these emails, as spam is as easy as a click, we tend not to do it since we are still ‘wanting’ to have the first option to buy something that we want at a very discounted price. Nevertheless, even if the price is not that attractive, but so long as there is a discount, we just buy the item!

One of the storage spaces that easily gets filled up is our closet or wardrobe. Wardrobes can easily become overcrowded as you buy new clothes with each passing season and some clothes become worn out or unfashionable. Sometimes you can’t just throw these away as you have just worn these once and the cuts and designs are classic designs. However, instead of filling up your clothing storage, there are some simple ways to make sure you can always see what you really have in your wardrobe:

• Give it away - anything that you haven't worn in a while can be given away to charity or thrown out if it is worn out. Usually, you would give away something that you have not worn for 6 months or if you see that the buttons are falling off. Someone would be willing to sew the buttons and use your piece of clothing.
• Sell it – These are pre-loved. If you can find some good clothes that you no longer want, and you have only used these once (and not even for a couple of hours), just sell them on Ebay or in a garage sale to earn some extra cash.
• Store it – These are usually winter clothing that are bulky and take up a lot of storage space. Buy vacuum bags and place these in empty cupboards in your home and even some mobile storage units that you can store in the attic. These are great ways to keep your clothes but free up precious wardrobe real estate.
• Think seasonal – Just like any other inventory, try to move your clothes around in storage season by season. For instance, in summer you can pack all your jumpers and winter woolies away until it gets cold again. You can go back to the previous item, wherein you can store these in vacuum bags and have these in storage somewhere in the home, like an attic. 
• Create sections – It is still best to organize your wardrobe. Create some sections within your wardrobe space and have some small storage for your accessories, or even underwear. Don't let your clothing become jumbled; otherwise it is very difficult to find what you need. Instead have specific sections for your clothes and accessories for easy access. If not, you will end up not using some of the items while some will be worn out in no time. 

Sounds simple? Yes, it is! Although you always hear this from friends and family members, especially if they had the chance to take a peek of your closet, it is still best to see these simple ways on how to clear your wardrobe space. Don’t wait for your pieces of clothing to tumble on you when you pull something out. Treat this storage space as their home, where they also need to be organized and be pretty from the inside and out. Once you have done such, your life will be easier and you will be able to find what you need to wear for the day.

Clearing Household Clutter with a Garage Sale

Doing spring-cleaning once in a while at home is therapeutic for most of us – it keeps you occupied and clears your household with all the clutter that you have accumulated. Some say that by clearing your household with the clutter, you are also giving yourself some much needed space to breathe and be able to have a better and ‘cleaner’ perspective of things. Having some ‘eye’ space – a cleaner and more spacious area for your eyes to roam around in your household, you could think clearly and put things in a better perspective of things.

There are a few of those who would donate to charity some of the clutter that are still in good condition, while for those who are some entrepreneurial spirit in them, although half goes to charity, the other half would be put up for sale. Hence, there comes about the garage sale, which does not only bring about some extra cash, but friends and family members re-kindling friendships and relationships and just have a good conversation!

Garage sales happen mostly when people are moving, apart from just doing your annual or regular spring-cleaning. For those who are relocating, throwing a garage sale before your house move not only clears away the clutter but it can also raise a few dollars to pay for packing materials and removalists. It helps you defray some of the costs of moving, no matter how small the earnings will be.

When moving you always have two options when clearing out your items – to keep them in storage or just do away with it. Garage sales or donating it to charity would be good as you create some space, earn some money, and keep your costs down when it comes to storage. While you will want to keep some items in storage, anything you won't need at your new address can be organised and sold. Once you are done with the sorting, creating some publicity for your garage sale would be the next week. You need to sell these off before your big move; otherwise, you are left with the same dilemma of having too many items on hand.

Here are a few ways to make your garage sale a successful one:

• Create strong signage and add it to poles, fences and notice boards in your local area. If you have a lot of items place an advertisement in the local paper as well. Just try to manage your costs on the advertisement page. One of the objectives you have in mind is to earn at least some cash and if your advertisement costs are higher than your projected income, then it defeats the purpose. Might as well give these items away. 
• Make sure your prices are much cheaper than retail price. Remember, you're not trying to make a profit, just clear your unwanted items.
• Have cheap tables and baskets of $1 and $5 items. If not, request people to bring their own bag, and if they do, you give them $1 off. You are at least doing your part of being environment friendly. 
• Make sure you have a power cord and batteries so people can test any toys or electronic equipment.
• Keep your big money items (or things you really want to get rid of) front and centre just like you would in a store.
• Have some plastic covers in case there is a slight chance of drizzle. It is better to sell items that are dry rather than wet and damp. It might reduce the price you set.

These are just one of the few items you need to note when having a garage sale. Regardles of how big the scale is or not, you still need to publicize it; otherwise, you will end up with more items in self storage, or might as well donate these to charity. It doesn’t hurt to earn a little bit to defray the costs of moving.

Tips on How To Move Your Business The Smart Way

“Location, location, location.” This is what you always hear during your management classes or entrepreneurs when they hear you putting up a business. Location means that you are easily accessible by your customers or that you can easily reach out to them when they need you. That is why, it is always good to do your due diligence every now and then to understand where your target audience is and how you can better serve them by being accessible. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of moving and what goes with it. Moving to a new location, indeed, entails a lot of challenges along the way (assuming that you have already found the best location to move to) – sorting your current things on what to bring and what to leave or throw away, seeking self storage facilities near the new location while waiting for the latter to be ready, and unpacking and making sure that everyone knows where you are right now. Don’t fret since despite these stressful activities, relation is good. Change is good.

Relocating a business is always good if it is well organized. It can mean moving to a better location, increasing the size of its premises or simply finding a better deal on its lease. Moving to a new location can give you and your business a new start, even if you are already in the business for a while. It will clear your vision on how to do things and how to do business. It can be challenging, as you need to do a lot of tasks before, during and after the actual move, but whatever countless ways on how you view it, relocation is often a good means of expansion.

Business owners or entrepreneurs looking to relocate should consider their access to a suitable workforce. This means finding premises that are either close to public transport or a population centre. If a business requires educated or specialised workers, this will affect the location decision.

There are a number of things that you, as a business owner, need to consider.  One of the most important considerations is your accessibility to your customers. It is a moot point to relocate to a nice and cozy location if your customers have a hard time finding you or, as a business owner, you hava hard time reaching out to your customers. This will just make your costs of maintaining the business go up, that in the long run, it is not cost effective anymore. But once you are sure and made a good business study that relocation is indeed good for your business, then you are set to move!

Other costs that businesses should consider are the costs of relocating. Apart from being near to your customers and getting the best deal on the lowest lease you can get, you also would like to consider an accessible area that is cost effective for you when you move. Relocation charges can be very expensive, especially if you are moving to a place where it is not accessible to movers or relocation companies and you pay a higher premium for them to make it happen. It is sometimes now cost effective in the long run for moving to a lower cost area further away may save on rent but carry more expensive moving charges.

There are also cases wherein you relocate because you want to downsize your business office. But you have inventory that requires some storage for a period of time, but the movement of the inventory is quite fast and you do not need a big storage space at any given point in time. As a business, you will also have to decide what to do with unwanted stock or inventory and furniture from their current location, especially if downsizing. If your current space is just for office, and it makes sense to hire a self storage facility, work out the costs.

Sometimes it can be cheaper in the long run, rather than have a permanent office and self storage space that in most times, the storage space is under utilized. Find reliable and trustworthy self storage near Sydney. Work out a contract that would allow you to expand you storage space a little when you need it, and shrink it down when you don’t need that much space. Even if this may mean paying a little extra for short-to-medium term storage, as a business may want extra shop fittings and stock at a later date when it expands.

Relocation can be good, especially with proper planning. Don’t be daunted by the costs you are faced, but work out the costs over a longer period of time. Once you see the bigger picture, you will be able to say that relocation is indeed better for you and your business.

Declutter Your Home with Ease

It is sometimes innate for us to hoard items without knowing it. We seem to find things to buy even if these are items that we actually do not have any use of. This is especially true if we think that we have enough space at home, when in reality we do not. We continually build up the amount of items we have at home that we end up with a lot of clutter. If you really check on these items, half of these (or even more than half of these!) are things that you do not actually need. But what can we do, then? It is simple – de-clutter your home!

If you go to every space that you have at home – rooms, cupboards, cabinets or even shelves – you will be surprised that most of the items you will find are those that you have not used for a long time. At least for six months or more! Without a regular cleanup you can quickly find that cupboards, spare rooms, and other parts of the home become cluttered and you need to unload some of these items out of our home. To maintain a clutter-free home, it is important to be ruthless about what you keep and what you throw away. You just have to ask yourself a few simple and heartless questions – “Do I need this in the next 3 months or more?” or “Will I ever get to use this at some point in time?” If you find that you do not find any use for these items then it is about time to do away of these things.

Spring-cleaning is just the way to go. Do a regular general cleaning of the house. If you have kids, make it more fun for them so that they will help you or even have an easier time to clean their closets. Have a contest among your kids – whoever donates the most toys they do not need, they win something of value to them like a free movie with two of their friends. If you are living alone and just need to get it over and done with, why not make it more fun and profitable for you? Why not do a garage sale, instead? Don’t price the items too high, but just enough to get these disposed and earn a little money at the same time. For those items that are ‘un-usable’ just close one eye and throw it away. Sometimes, it is better that way.

During a spring-clean, regardless whether you are moving houses or not, ensure you are not keeping anything you won't need again. This applies to everything from clothes to the food in your cupboard. Give yourself plenty of time to sort through each room.

If you find that there are items that you do not immediately need, but cannot bring yourself to throw away, consider renting some storage space. This will give you extra space to reorganise your home without the need to throw away or sell things you may want later. However, do always remember that renting mobile storage modules in Sydney is not permanent. You will soon forget that you have one, and later on, you end up with more clutter at home and at the storage facility. So, try to re-visit some of the items in stored in the facility, and see if you can throw away most of these.

When you get into the same cycle of de-cluttering, then hoarding, follow this simple steps – look at what you have at the moment, ask the basic and simple questions of whether you need any of the items immediate, sort the items to things you need, things you can donate, and items that you can throw away (be ruthless in this part), and last but not the least do that actual donating or throwing away of things.

Once you have de-cluttered your house, just remember to make sure that you have follow-up by cleaning regularly and packing away what doesn’t get used.

What Can You Put into Storage?

It’s taken as the norm these days that most homes simply aren’t big enough to contain all the items a family owns, that’s why more and more are turning to storage units to take control of the chaos in their house.

Storage facilities offer flexible solutions for keeping household and business items safe when you do not need to use them on a daily basis. However, there are some restrictions common to most storage unit providers around the country. This is due to legal and safety considerations on the part of the storage company.

Common restrictions include: 

• Combustible materials such as chemicals, gas and fuel
• Live animals or plant materials
• Firearms - although there are some conditions where these are allowed
• Illegal goods, stolen goods or restricted substances.

Some goods may not be subject to restriction but could require specialised storage, such as wine which requires a controlled temperature.

Large items for weekend and holiday entertainment purposes are common things that end up in storage units as people simply don’t have the space for them. These include things like canoes and small rowing boats, windsurfing and parasailing gear, surfboards and other similar items that take up a lot of space but aren’t used on a regular basis.

There are some people that like to collect cars, or have a spare vehicle that is taking up space outside the home but rarely driven. Everyone has their reasons as to why they don’t want to sell these vehicles and so putting them into storage means they are safe and kept out of the rain and wet, this also applies to motorbikes, and boats that need to be sheltered.

Most things you keep in the house are allowed to be put into storage; this includes furniture and household items, kitchen utensils and carpets, shelving, wardrobes, beds and sofas. Self storage gives the perfect opportunity to declutter the premises, store belongings safely, or put away items that you want to keep but are simply in the way at home.

Facilities generally offer two types of storage services that can accommodate businesses and private clients. Business storage is ideal for archiving sensitive or confidential documents, client records and files, and is generally much safer than keeping them under lock and key in the company office. Excess stock, surplus materials and promotional equipment and literature are also often put into storage until they’re needed again so they don’t take up all the space at the business premises.

People like to put their personal possessions into self storage if they are sharing a house with other lodgers or the house is simply too small to hold all their belongings. It means they can go and look at them whenever they feel like it and don’t have to throw things away that could offer memories from their childhood or some other happy occasion.

Ask your storage provider if you have something that requires storage but are unsure if it is allowed. Most household items will be fine to keep in storage and you will only be limited to the size of the mobile storage module or facility.

Moving Your Mattress Safely

Whilst moving your bed to a self storage facility is more than likely quite easy as it’s able to be separated into easy-to-manage pieces on moving day, you will have no such luck with your mattress. Mattresses are bulky and unwieldy, making them particularly difficult to maneuver and move from place to place if you don't have a large van or truck to accommodate them. This can mean that the only option available is to throw them up onto the roof rack of the car and, while it may not look pretty on the move, it is possible with most standard sized vehicles, as long as you don’t have  a small mini car or something similar in size you should be ok!

Start off by preparing for the move to the storage facility by getting hold of the right materials for the job, this includes a good length of rope or ratchet tie downs, tape, and a big piece of plastic or a waterproof bag large enough to fit your mattress. You could try asking around some of the local warehouses in the area to see if they have any spare heavy duty plastic lying around they might give you for free or for next to nothing. Get help too when moving the mattress especially if it’s a king size – it’s definitely not a 1 man job!

It’s best to wrap the mattress in plastic so that if it rains it will remain dry and clean. Even if the weather is fine, you still don't want to expose your mattress to dirt and exhaust fumes on the road. Leaving a mattress uncovered can attract dirt and gives the possibility of being torn during the moving process, and as they don’t come cheap you don’t want the extra expense of having to replace one.

Once it is wrapped up securely get some help from a friend to lift it up onto the roof rack, if you don’t have a rack and don’t want to buy one just for the sake of one trip then you can actually just strap it onto the roof of the car instead. An important point to mention again is that you need to really secure the plastic tightly with strong packing tape, normal sellotape just isn’t up to the job and if a corner gets loose then it’s very likely to tear and your mattress will be open to the elements and for all to see!

Throw the rope over the top of the mattress and then either under the roof rack, or if you don't have a roof rack, through the car windows. Make sure that you secure the rope going in both directions of your mattress, lengthwise and width ways, as this will prevent it from moving around, and then tie the end of the rope very firmly making sure it’s taut so it can’t come loose.

Prepping Your Belongings for Storage

When you are moving your belongings into storage near Sydney, whether it’s to keep them safely out of the way until your new home is ready or whilst some major renovations are underway, then it’s easiest to treat the process the same way that you would deal with moving house. Make a start by listing all of the items you are intending to move, begin with the smaller items that can be packed into boxes and work your way up to the larger ones that include furniture or appliances if applicable.

Start with the things that aren’t needed on a daily basis and make sure they are packed neatly into the boxes as tight as possible to avoid them moving around and possible damage. Put the heavier stuff in the bottom of the box and lighter stuff on top to avoid them getting squashed. Try to use boxes that are all the same size as this will make loading the portable storage unit so much easier than trying to fit irregular shaped boxes together.

Label each box with which room it belongs in and even a short list of the items inside if you feel that is necessary. Try to avoid the 'miscellaneous' tag as this is sure to confuse you later on. Make sure any linen and clothing is sealed inside the box to avoid them becoming damp or mouldy, or from taking on the smell of the storage unit. You can also buy special wardrobe closets that make packing clothes so much simpler; you just transfer your clothes, still on their hangers, to the wardrobe boxes and seal them up.

Larger items need to be stacked at the bottom of the unit, preferably on pallets to avoid contact with the floor as this can also cause mould due to no air flow. Do not pack any large or heavy objects up high as they could fall over at some point during the storage and cause injury or may damage lighter and smaller items stacked underneath.

Make sure you do not store any perishable items as these can attract rodents and other unwelcome creatures that you really don’t want sniffing around your possessions. Also it’s a good idea to take a storage insurance when putting belongings that are highly valuable, such as jewellery, into self storage as, although they are very safe, it would be devastating if for some reason they did get lost. While as long you have a good insurance, at least the value is covered.

Anything fragile that can get broken easily, such as mirrors and china ornaments should be carefully wrapped in lots of newspaper or bubble wrap before being stored. There is nothing worse than paying for all that storage time only to find lots of broken items when it comes to unpacking, simply because you didn’t take the care and time to pack everything properly in the first place.

Be aware that storage facilities have certain rules and regulations in place as to what items can’t be stored. For instance you won’t be allowed to store chemicals or flammable items in your portable storage units as they could cause a fire, and it goes without saying that anything illegal won’t be allowed either.

Protecting Fragile Household Items During a Move

Moving belongings to a new house can be a mammoth task and can be quite stressful for the home-owner, and there is enough going on when moving without the added factor of worrying about things getting broken.
While some household items can be packed without much chance of damage, others need to be packed very carefully if they are to arrive in the same state as they left.

Anything fragile, such as glassware and china, are the most likely items to be damaged in a move. Provide fragile items with plenty of protection by wrapping each piece separately and placing them carefully in a hard box, this can be cardboard as long as it’s tough and good quality, or invest in durable plastic boxes with handles, making sure there is no room for the items to move around. Stuff the empty space around the items with extra padding, newspaper or old magazines are fine and do the job just as well, but if you have bubble wrap then even better.

Padding in-between each item will stop them from banging against each other which could lead to breakages or cracks, plates for example should be packed separately and placed on top of each other at the bottom of the box as they are flat and heavy.

Art pieces can be easily damaged in a move because they are often delicate, large, or irregularly shaped.

These kinds of valuable things should always be kept separate from regular household items; you might even want to take them to the new house yourself by car. For smaller items wrap them well in bubble wrap or similar padding and pack them in sturdy boxes, if they are quite large then a moving blanket might make more sense as it acts as a very effective padding material. Consider hiring an art transport company to do the job if you are really anxious, or at the very least insure expensive artwork before the move.

Always check boxes containing fragile items are labelled accordingly, so that others helping with the move treat them with the care they need. You could even colour code the boxes, a bright colour for the fragile items would make these boxes stand out and remind the movers that there are breakables inside.

Large or oddly shaped furniture can be awkward to move. Ask others to help lift heavy objects to avoid damage to the furniture or physical injury to yourself. If you really do have a lot of things and are daunted by the thought of moving then why not hire the services of a professional moving company and make life easier?

Another good method of saving yourself some trouble is to make the move in little steps, start by moving the larger items to the new property and put other things into self-storage for safekeeping until you’re ready to collect it. This can make a move much more manageable as there is less to deal with on moving day, and as most good storage services will come and pick your things up you don’t even have to worry about getting to the facility for storage in Sydney!

Putting Leather Into Storage

While most of the furniture items that you place into a storage unit will be fine without too much preparation, leather items need a little more care and attention. Leather jackets and boots, and sofas and chairs, can cost a lot of money to buy so it pays to ensure you take the best possible care of them if you don’t want them ruined or being damaged. Made to last a lifetime, leather is worth the extra care and attention needed to preserve its beauty, and the older and more worn it is the better it looks.

• Start by cleaning your leather items with a non-abrasive cleaner.
• Use a good leather moisturiser so that your leather item can avoid becoming cracked or dry during storage, especially if you have not done this in a while.
• Wrap your items up even if they are small, because if they have too much exposure they can become dry or dirty.
• Make sure your leather items can still 'breathe' - avoid any airtight containers or wrapping them too tightly.
• Hang clothes and jackets as this will stop crease lines from folding, and use strong plastic or wooden hangars, then cover with a cloth garment bag
• Leather boots or shoes are fine in cardboard boxes or cloth bags as they are still protected but have air to breathe too.

It is best to get your large leather furniture cleaned by a professional before storage as this will ensure it is in tip top condition when it goes into the unit, and should remain this way until it comes out again. It should also be completely dry as any moisture could lead to damp.

When you place leather furniture or small leather items in storage first lay out a large sheet of plastic on the floor as this prevents moisture from forming which leads to mould and can be very harmful for all your possessions. Then make sure the items are not sitting directly on the ground to prevent damp or mildew; wooden pallets are fine for this purpose and easy to get hold of.

While nearly all storage units are dark (and suitable for leather), make sure there is no direct sunlight or too much heat on your leather items. Differences in temperature can cause cracks in leather so you need to store your things in a unit that is kept indoors where the temperature is controlled within the facility. Then drape or cover your leather sofa or chair with fabric to stop dust from settling. Don’t then put all your heavy boxes on top of the sofa or chair as this will press down on the fabric and cause indentations which will ultimately mark it.

If you have any doubts about how to store items properly you can always ask the storage facility as they have experience in everything to do with storing household items, furniture, books, clothes and more. They should give you good advice on how to prevent mould and damp and tips on how to pack your possessions properly.

Reducing the Size of your Move

The cost of transporting your belongings interstate or overseas to a new location can actually cost quite a lot of money. Once you arrive at the new house you might also be waiting for some time until the household goods arrive, especially if they are coming overseas by ship, which can takes months sometimes. Due to this, it is often better to settle in to your new surroundings just with the bare essentials and put other household items into self storage for the present.

If you are going to store your furniture for a period of time, you should think about taking advantage of the services provided by the many furniture rental companies that now exist. Rental furniture is useful for medium term moves, such as a short contract overseas, or if you are trying to sell a property and want to ‘dress it’ so it looks good when potential buyers come to have a look.

Homeowners going abroad for work can store their own belongings in a self storage facility in their own town, hire furniture overseas, and then take their old furniture out of storage once they return home. This is often much cheaper than shipping furniture over large distances and avoids any risk in the process.

Furniture rental services provide practically everything needed for a comfortable lifestyle, from sofas and armchairs to home entertainment systems, rugs, and even kitchen equipment. Quality will be high and they’ll have various styles to choose from to suit your taste, after all if you are living somewhere for up to a year it would be a much nicer experience to have an attractive sofa to sit on!

Meanwhile the storage facility at home will be taking good care of your personal possessions and furniture so you needn’t worry about them. Get some quotes from a number of storage facilities as prices can vary quite a lot, and check out what services they actually provide too, in terms of the sizes of the units available and if they have a promotion available for instance. You can save a lot of money just by taking the time to research and compare different facilities.

Storage facilities in Sydney are also very useful for those who have the itch to travel to foreign destinations in the later years of their life, perhaps when the kids have gone to college or they have retired. Generally older people already have a house full of possessions and furniture and don’t want to have to sell everything they’ve collected over the years, as they will be away just for a year or two the easy option is to put it into storage where it’s safe and looked after by professionals.