The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering
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De-cluttering is good for you in all sorts of ways. Not only will it enable you to think more clearly, you will be able to appreciate and enjoy the special possessions you decide to keep. As well as making some… Continue Reading →
De-cluttering is good for you in all sorts of ways. Not only will it enable you to think more clearly, you will be able to appreciate and enjoy the special possessions you decide to keep. As well as making some… Continue Reading →
On top of the cost of buying your new home (even in this economic climate there still don’t seem to be any bargains around) are all the associated costs: solicitor’s fees, estate agent’s fees, removal costs, storage costs. And then all the new furniture, curtains, appliances etc you want, or need, to buy for your new home. So not only is moving house very stressful but you have to pay a small fortune for the privilege. […]
There are many reasons for using a self-storage facility to store your household contents. You may need short-term storage when the moving-out day from your current home does not coincide with the moving-in date at your new home; or it may be for a longer period of time when you are moving into furnished, rented accommodation after selling your old house but you have not yet completed the sale of your new home (or even found a new home yet), which is becoming increasingly common. You may be relocating overseas and don’t want to take all your belongings with you. […]
It’s interesting that when you start searching on the keywords “comparing self storage…” that the first thing Google Instant shows me is “comparing self storage prices” then “comparing self storage quotes” so you would think it would be easy to… Continue Reading →
Professional packers are more than just box shifters. They are skilled professionals and seem to have the ability to pack up a house in half the time of the average human being, and to load their boxes just right so… Continue Reading →
In many areas of modern life an increasing number of people are aware of their impact on our planet and local environment. We all recycle in ever-growing quantities so it’s no surprise that another new environmentally friendly initiative concerns house moving. There are a number of ways to achieve an environmentally friendly house move including using recycled or used packing / storage boxes…
The trouble many homeowners face when trying to sell their home in a difficult economic climate is that they are too familiar with what it is they are selling. Often the biggest barrier they face is the mere fact that it is their home representing their personal tastes and their idea of perfection. It is difficult to see your own home through the eyes of a potential buyer and appreciate the positives as well as the negative aspects.
Here are some clever little tricks from the experts for packing more efficiently, perfect to help you with your next house move.
First, don’t empty out your drawers; empty drawers are a waste of space. Instead leave some lightweight items in them, or even pack some clean clothes inside, so you know where they are for the first day in your new home.
In the current economic climate it is becoming harder and harder to know how much your home is worth, which, of course, shouldn’t matter unless you are trying to move house. And in these economic times only those who really have to move are doing so – maybe because of a new job, a relationship breakdown or family reasons. If you are one of the unlucky few who needs to move right now one of the hardest problems is getting a good valuation of your home – one that will actually enable it to sell but at the same time achieve a fair price for you the seller.
There are numerous houses on the market that seem to be priced fairly but are still not shifting and yet those houses with that extra something special – whether it is period charm, a highly desirable location or the rarity factor – seem to be commanding and achieving rising prices. So there can seem to be a price disparity between similar houses in similar areas. Estate agents are very keen to point out the differences that make an average 1950’s family home worth 20% less than a period home with the same number of rooms and square footage in a neighbouring road.
At last I have just got the last of my belongings out of the self-storage unit where at least half of my possessions have been living for the past eighteen months while I have been selling my house, and, more importantly, trying to find a new one. I had never planned to have my stuff in storage for so long but attempting to move house in a recession was harder than I had expected – not least because I had a very particular list of requirements.
Of course those requirements changed over time as the reality of the housing market became clear and I ended up moving to a different town rather than staying in the town I had lived in for the last 25 years and to the sort of busy location I had not anticipated. But the advantage of moving house in a recession is that there are certain people who cannot sit it out until the economic situation improves so in the end I managed to buy a house that exceeded my expectations because the owners had to relocate for work. And a new town has all the advantages of new shops, restaurants and pubs to discover and my central location might be on a busy road but that means I can walk to all of the town’s attractions so maybe I might even get a bit fitter.
Many of us dream of owning our own small businesses: no more reporting to the boss or hard work that someone else takes the credit for; you could be the boss and reap all the rewards yourself. So just what is stopping more people from setting up on their own? One of the major factors is the cost of business premises. Of course, it has become dramatically easier in recent years to work from home with fast broadband connections and cheap phone deals, not to mention slick websites that can present a highly professional “face” to potential customers for minimal cost, but not all businesses can be run effectively from home.
To start with where do you store the stock for a retail business, even an online one? Do you really want it cluttering up your spare bedroom, always assuming you have a spare bedroom and that the stock items are small enough to fit in. The reality is that many small businesses cannot be run without some form of storage space and whilst warehouse space might not be as expensive as office space, neither is it a cheap option.
But the solution could be simpler than you thought.
Reputable self-storage facilities take their security very seriously with PIN code access, 24-hour security, barbed wire fences, monitored CCTV cameras and/or photo identification cards to gain access to the site. So when you are renting a self-storage unit check the level of security available but there is also a lot you can do to help yourself. If you are storing valuables then invest in a high security padlock with a key rather than a code, and don’t let the chain, latch or hasp be the weak point for entry onto your unit; ensure it is as strong as possible. Also check whether your insurance stipulates a particular standard of lock such as the CEN standard.In the end choose a self-storage company that you trust or one that is recommended to you.
Spring is well and truly here at last so it is the perfect time to spring clean you home but that is often harder than it sounds because we all have so much junk cluttering up our space. In an ideal world we would all have enough storage space to store everything we have ever owned but the reality is different and many of us struggle to maintain a clutter-free home. The downside of not having organised storage is that we can never find what we want with cupboards overflowing with clothes, children’s toys, books and just junk that we no longer want or need. But de-cluttering is ironically made harder by all the clutter around us – we can’t see where to start so we just don’t bother. Well, follow these 5 easy steps to help you get started and before you know it you will be well on your way to a tidy, organised home.
Moving home is the perfect time to re-evaluate how you live in your home and I have been thinking about becoming more minimalist. I’m not sure I could completely embrace minimalism but it seems like an ideal way to live… Continue Reading →
One of the huge problems some people face when they are starting an upcycling business is where to store their stock while they gain enough money to rent selling space. It’s one thing keeping a few items in your house to upcycle but you’ll want to have plenty of stock to work on after each project is finished. Consider using self storage as a way to build yourself a bank of stock while you build your business. Cheap self storage is ideal for upcycle startups because it creates a way for your business to grow without directly impacting on your home situation.
With space at a premium in many family homes, finding room to store all your belongings and still have room to breathe can be a tough task. Expanding families, ever increasing piles of ‘stuff’ and the decreasing sizes of new homes means many families are looking to make home improvements to expand the available space in their house.
If you are keen to make some minor modifications to free up useful space, read the full post for three clever tricks you can consider.
Moving is among the most stressful events in life, and really it’s no wonder. There is so much to prepare and pay, as well as a long period of waiting. This period is more than often very stressful as you… Continue Reading →
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