Storage tip: Save your furniture from unnecessary damage!

When you're moving or need to use a self storage facility, there are a couple tips to protect your furniture that will save you money and a headache in the long run. It painful to pay for storage only to find that your dining room table is ruined from dry rot or overrun with mold and mildew. These tips will help make your storage a success:

• Consider using climate-controlled self storage. Depending on your locale, wild temperature swings can be brutal on wood furniture. Many of the glues used are organic and can breakdown in high or low temperatures causing the joints fail.
• Disassemble bed frames and tie them together. Use zip- lock bags to store screws and bolt and tape them (with a high quality masking tape) to the items that they belong to.
• When you stack furniture, use blankets and pads to protect them from scratching.
• Moisture is a particular concern. Do not use plastic to cover items, especially in non-climate controlled units, as moisture can condense under it. Consider using sheets or cotton cloth. If you're using mobile storage, make sure the unit is built out of wood -- wood breathes and won't trap moisture like metal units or cause rust stains.
• Stand a mattress on its end with pallets or cardboard under them. Wrap mattresses in mattress bags or cover them with paper or cloth. This allows some air to circulate and prevents moisture problems and allows the mattress to "breathe"

Furniture has special needs. You may find free storage in a friend or family member's cellar, but there are hazards if you ignore the special needs of furniture and wooden pieces. Happy storing!

Christopher Johnston

FlexBox Mobile Storage

www.GoFlexBox.com

888 GoFlexBox (463-5392)

Moving tips: Kids need special attention too!

I just wrote a well received post about moving with your pets and thought about all the special considerations when moving with kids. Children can have a difficult time with moving because of attachments they have made such as friends, activities and surroundings. Preparing them well in advance for the move and discussing the positive reasons for the move can make the process easier for you and them too.

• Show your children the new neighborhood and home to familiarize them with the new location. Get them involved with the process such as organizing and packing to give them a sense of control.
• Stay involved with your children and let them get involved in activities they enjoy. Try to maintain some routines with the children to help with the adjustment period. A familiar game or activity can go a long way to let them know everything is not changing.
• Have a house warming party. It will help you as well as the children get to know your neighbors and the neighborhood. Encourage your kids to engage with other kids and make new friends and it helps to set an example by doing the same yourself.
• If your kids are little, seperate them from the moving process. Get a sitter or friend to take them away for the day. Watching you move everything out of their house can be tramatic, but more importantly, dangerous. Or keep the children in one room so they are out of the way and nothing could be dropped on them and to prevent them or others from getting hurt.
• Once the heavy lifting is done, get your kids involved in setting up your new home. Organize the kids’s rooms first and let them help. It will give them a sense of ownership and control in their new enviroment and let them feel welcome in their new home

Most importantly, talk to your kids. Reinforce that you love them and you will all work together in making a new happy home for your family.They should feel like they can come to you to talk and don't be afraid to tell them of your frustrations too. It can be a help to know that you're struggling with some of the same issues and are working to overcome them too.

Christopher Johnston

FlexBox Mobile Storage

www.GoFlexBox.com

888 GoFlexBox (463-5392)

Moving tips: Fido's special needs on moving day

Moving can be hard on everyone, but can be particularly hard on our furry friends. While you can't sit down and explain what happening your dogs, cats or birds, there are a lot of things you can do to ensure a safe and less stressful move for your pets:

• Plan ahead! Stretch your packing over weeks. Packing ahead of time makes time on moving day to attend to your pet's needs. Taking them for a walk or giving them some attention can be a stress reliever for you too on this busy day.
• Get new ID tags with your new address and contact information. The first days in your new home are the most unfamiliar for your pet and this is the best way for good Samaritians to get your loved dog or cat back to you.
• Visit the Vet. You should get a copy of all your pets health records and have a quick check up to make sure everyone is fit enough for the move. You can also ask for recommendations for vets near your new home. Vets are often members of professional organizations and have contacts all over the country. Sometimes, vets will prescribe a small sedative to calm your pet in transit.
• Check ahead for hotels and motels that accept pets.
• Give your pets a safe room away from the movers and action on moving day. The disruption of their home and routine is upsetting and everyone benefits from a little distance.
• Invest in a good carrier that is the right size for your dog or cat.

Lastly, keep your car comfortable for your pets in transit. Take frequent breaks for walks and water and don't leave them in a hot car. Also, check out The Humane Society website for their recomendations.

Christopher Johnston

FlexBox Mobile Storage

www.GoFlexBox.com

888 GoFlexBox (463-5392)

Packing tips: The basics of packing boxes

Moving can be hazardous to your belongings but a little time and some careful packing can greatly reduce the damage your valuables suffer. Here are some quick tips on packing boxes:

• Use high quality packing materials. Using boxes that are the same and high quality helps you load and stack them more securely. Boxes that are the same size are less likely to shift or get crushed.
• The bottom of the box should be lined with crinkled newspaper causing a cushion for items to be place in the box. Place another layer on the top before sealing the box.
• All heavy items should be placed at the bottom of the box with lighter items at the top of the box.
• Wrap items with multiple sheets of packing material.
• Do not overload boxes.
• Boxes should not weigh more than 40 lbs.
• Books and plates should be packed vertically.
• Boxes should be taped extremely well at all locations where the box could open. The tape make the boxes rigid and give them more strength to protect the items inside

Also, consider moving everything less. If you need to store these items as apart of your move, consider portable units. This way you can load directly into the storage container one time rather than loading a truck and unloading and reloading a traditional storage unit only to do it all over again when your new home is ready. Less moving equals less damage! There are also a number of different sized units available and often times that smaller ones are easier to pack securely to prevent shifting (see related post below Many choices in portable storage).

But most of all, take your time packing. A little care now will go a long way saving your belongings for a long time to come. Best of luck and happy storing!

Christopher Johnston

FlexBox Mobile Storage

www.GoFlexBox.com

888 GoFlexBox (463-5392)

Many choices in portable storage

The Portable storage industry has seen incredible growth. As PODS have become more popular, other brands and other options have emerged giving real estate professional and consumers much more choice and flexibility when considering all of their options. Most of the brands offer a similar concept: the company delivers storage units to the customer's home so they can easily load them without needing a rental truck or having to pack and unpack twice and lug to a traditional storage facility, and then can transport the units to a customer's new home or into a storage facility. The concept is great but the differences in containers distinguish the brands and can make different boxes better for different applications. Here is comparison:

• PODS are the market leader and the most recognizable brand. There product is great but sometimes limited by their size. There most common unit is 8 feet by 16 feet that have to be loaded directly from the truck, limiting where they can be delivered. Customer must also rent the whole thing, making it expensive to rent a smaller space. PackRat offers very similar units.
• Mobile Attic and Mobile Mini offer a variety of sizes from 8' by 8' to 8' by 20'. It is very nice to have a choice but I get nervous about their delivery mechanism: They come on a roll off flatbed truck so to transport the unit, it must be tilted like a car or dumpster and can cause significant damage to the valuables stored inside.
• There is a third choice that we offer that I think combines the best of both worlds. We (FlexBox Mobile Storage) and many similar companies (including Smartbox, Need Space and Door to Door) offer 5' by 8' wooden containers that can hold about a room to room and a half of furniture. We choose to offer this size because it can accommodate large household items including couches, dining room tables, refrigerators and appliances, yet gives the customers the flexibility to choose the amount of storage they need. The smaller containers are also easier to pack securely than larger containers and you have better access to your belongings (you can't pack your checkbook behind 16' of furniture).

You can easily find the companies and the different containers that can serve you locally by visiting the Mobile Self-Storage Association (ms-sa.org) and searching by your zip code. Best of luck and happy storing!

Christopher Johnston

FlexBox Mobile Storage

www.GoFlexBox.com

888 GoFlexBox (463-5392)

Moving tips: Buy some time when moving loved one's into a nursing home

Last week I took a call from a customer moving her mother into a nursing home thanking us for our help. I realized that many of the stresses of moving are amplified when taking care of someone else. With a laundry list of things to do when taking care of a loved one, some choices must take priority over other. The logistics can be overwhelming not to mention the emotional stresses, but there are some tips to “decompress” the process and make the best of it for everyone.

• First, acknowledge your role and how it’s different from your loved one’s. Their feelings are not that different than a child who is forced to move with a job transfer or family change. They feel no control and wonder why they have to leave their friends and home. You can alleviate some of their anxiety by involving them as much as possible in the decision making -- a guided or limited choice can be much easier to swallow than having no choice at all and with some luck, you won’t feel as if you forcing this on the unwilling.
• Planning ahead goes a long way to avoiding headaches. There are a lot of arrangements to make from finding a suitable nursing home, arranging financial, insurance and health records, establishing a power of attorney to all the logistics of moving, most of which can (and should) be done well ahead of moving day.
• You can also delay some of these decisions with storage units. Portable storage has made the process easier than ever as units can be delivered right to the home. You have as much time as you need to load and unload them on-site and can be used for a combination of storage and moving. They can also be used to stage the move as everything is available on-site until you figure out the best mix of furniture and personal belongings in your loved one's new home. It can also be helpful passing along antique and heirloom pieces to loved ones as they are safe and secure until people can arrange for their delivery.

This is how we helped this particular customer. She loaded her mother's valuables into four of our units and we delivered them to her new home. They took two weeks with our untis on-site to arrange and rearrange her mother's new apartment so that I was comfortable and familiar as possible and then she left two containers full so that she can sort through what to keep and what to do with her mother's valuables when things settle down and she has more time.

Lastly, it’s helpful to remember that, ultimately, everyone involved wants the same thing: a comfortable and safe home to enjoy the rest of their lives in. The customer was very relieved to have everything settle and I was happy to help and hear about a happy ending!

Christopher Johnston

FlexBox Mobile Storage

www.GoFlexBox.com

888 GoFlexBox (463-5392)

Storage tip: Don't underestimate packing your clothes.

Clothing is one of the easier items to pack up for a move or storage. But you still want to take care so that you don’t damage any of your clothes when packing them up. Here are a few tips to make packing your clothes easier:

• Overpacking and overstuffing boxes is the most likely way people damage their own clothes. Too many clothes in one container can make it too heavy very quickly. Use several smaller boxes, rather than one large one. When overstuffed, boxes lose their rigidity and have a tendency to rip and collapse.
• Pack all your loose articles in bags, such as shoes, socks, undergarments, etc. If the wardrobe boxes are big enough, these bags can be stored at the bottom, beneath the hanging clothes. This helps conserve space.
• Your dresser drawers can also be used to pack your clothes in. If this is what you decide to do, take the drawers out of the dresser and move separately. This makes the dresser much lighter and easier to handle during the move. Secure the drawers so that the don't slide out during packing or transport.
• Wardrobe boxes are an excellent solution for packing clothing. Wardrobe boxes have a rod on the top of the box on which clothes can be hanged and will prevent overcrowding and overstuffing
• Don’t stack any other boxes on top of those with clothing in them. This may crush the box and damage your clothes. These boxes tend to be lighter and are good candidates for the top of a stack!

Follow these tips and your clothing will be safe during your move. If storing your clothes, remember to keep them in a dry, cool place. Avoid storing them anywhere that bugs and moisture can damage your clothing and consider using aromatic cedar hangers or inserts as well as moth balls. Happy storing!

Christopher Johnston

FlexBox Mobile Storage

www.GoFlexBox.com

888 GoFlexBox (463-5392)