Moving Tips – From Preparation to Finishing Your Move
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I bet you are wondering: how can I make my moving day easier and just get it over with…. Well let me give you some great moving tips that will make your day a lot easier that you’ll want to do it again! Ok.. Ok .. Maybe you won’t want to move again but I hope you’ll enjoy my moving tips.
Preparation is a major step to making moving easy. There is so much to do in preparing for your move: set up mail forwarding, change over utilities, buying packing supplies, and so on. I know it is time- consuming and it is a detailed process, but it will definitely make your move simpler and less stressful. Make a personal moving checklist and make sure your checklist consist of some of these steps: 1.) Strip your beds and label box “load last.” 2.) Make sure your cash, jewelry, important documents and other valuables are secure 3.) Make sure you’re on hand when the movers arrive and If you can’t be there, an adult must take your place 4.) Make sure each item being moved has the appropriate label and code number. Don’t accept any “miscellaneous” labels or entries. Miscellaneous items will just make it difficult when you’re unpacking 5.) Remain on the premises until the last item is packed and last but not least 6.) Make a final house inspection. Once you are all done with your check list im sure you’ll be asking yourself: Where can you find moving supplies and a moving truck? Well you’re in luck because Storage Express isn’t just a storage facility we are also a U-Haul dealer meaning that we sell moving supplies and rent U-Haul trucks. Our packing supplies prices are incomparable we sell: 15 small boxes for $22.95, 10 medium boxes for $21.20, 10 large boxes $27.00 and 5 x-large boxes for $16.88 all of these prices include 10% off.
Finishing your move is the best part of moving because it means you’re all set and done! Now all you have to do is just sit back on your couch, order a large pizza with a nice cold soda and give yourself a big pat on your back because you’re all done with moving.
Using Storage to help De-Clutter and Distress the Holidays
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The holidays are quickly approaching and there is so much to do. We must all remember we are not Martha Stewart! We need help at times. De-cluttering is the trick to help with stress. If things are out of the way we can make room for the holidays and the family that will be visiting, not to mention all those presents. A nice way to do this is to get a small storage unit here at Storage Express were we have great deals for such holiday storage. You can even purchase boxes here for your convenience. Now it’s time to get the family involved. Ask everyone to use these boxes to put items in that won’t be needed until after the holidays. Don’t forget to label the boxes before you place them in storage. This way when you retrieve them, after the holidays, it will be easy to determine where the items belong. Also another use of this storage could be to hide those Christmas gifts that we don’t want nosey kids (and in my case husband) to be peeking in. Happy Holidays! May you be blessed and not stressed!
Why Use Self Storage
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Some people may wonder, why do people use storage? Do some people really have so much stuff they need to pay to store it? It’s not always the “collector” that occupies a storage space.
Think about planning a home renovation and removing all of the contents from your home. Your head is spinning right? Don’t fret! There are professional movers that are experts in packing and moving. They take the upmost care of your belongings. Storing it is the perfect solution. Storage facilities sometimes have discounts on advance payment too. So whether you plan on storing for 3 months, 6 months or 1 year, you can take advantage of those discounts.
Do you wish to sell your home? You want top dollar for your house, don’t you? You need to impress the buyer with a clutter-free and organized home. Store that extra furniture and kitchen paraphernalia. Even your attic treasures and garage junk, should be tucked away in your storage unit. They will be protected and secure.
What if you are going on a long much needed vacation? Thieves and burglars have an eye to spot an unoccupied house. You can’t leave your valuables like jewelry and important documents. Only a self storage can give that assurance and peace of mind. Self storage facilities have alarmed units and around the clock cameras.
Are you a collector? If you have a mansion, it’s ok to hoard stuff. But most people don’t have room for their precious collectables and family heirlooms. The best solution for your hoarding habit is to rent a storage facility. Some people have more than one unit for their collections. They could never in their wildest dreams, part with their antiques or family heirlooms.
There are many reasons people prefer a storage facility to store their cars, furniture, equipment, or emotional attached items. Get organized and clear the clutter from your home. Find a storage facility now!
Other Services Offered by Storage Express
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The Holidays are approaching very fast and I like to decorate my whole house inside and out. I take down every knick knack and ready my house for full out Christmas craziness. I don’t like clutter so I put all my knick knacks in storage, here at Storage Express. They carry packing supplies, so I get myself some boxes and pack the knick knacks. The storage unit comes in handy to hide my Christmas presents from my family too, not my children they know better then to peek, but from my husband who can’t wait until Christmas.
At Storage Express not only is having a storage unit a huge convenience, but the office staff sets up an area to come and wrap gifts. They provide wrapping paper, bows, boxes, tape and everything you can think of to help with wrapping the gifts. I come in to the office and enjoy some hot chocolate, listen to Christmas music eat some yummy cookies and wrap my presents without being disturbed and then I put them in the storage unit until it is time to bring them home. Actually, I really start this madness on Black Friday. I get up in the early morning and I go shopping all morning and bring my treasures to Storage Express until I am ready to wrap. It is a convenience I really appreciate and it really makes my holidays less stressful. I love it!
How to Pack a Box Properly
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Packing a box for moving can be an easy task, if you have a few GREAT TIPs and the right supplies on hand you can be ready to pack a box properly.
Supplies you will need:
- Notebook- ( Keep a list of each box and the contents in case one goes missing you will know exactly which one it is
- Variety of sizes and types of Moving Boxes
- 1-1/2 to 2 inch wide packing tape
- Scissors
- Box cuttter
- and what is in it.)
- Marker
- Foam peanuts, Bubble wrap, newspaper
- Wrapping paper ( for fragile items )
- Labels
First choose the right size and type of box for the job. There are many to choose from for Example:
- Glassware and China- Use a clean sturdy Medium size, Double corrugated box with Dish Pack cells.
- Limit the weight of your boxes to 50 pounds.
- Tape up the bottom of the box firmly.
- Cushion the bottom of the box with two or three layers of Wrapping paper or Bubble wrap to absorb shock.
- Heaviest items on the bottom of the box first, then fill in the spaces with Foam peanuts or crumpled paper.
- Create a level layer with a thin blanket, cut cardboard or sheets.
- Small, Heavier, Fragile items can be put in small boxes then put into the box.
- Use Wrapping paper for Plates, China and Cups.Wrap each item individually. After, Bundle Plates in three or four bundles and wrap all together then tape. Pack plates and saucers on there edge to prevent breakage.
- Cups can be nestled together and the same with mixing bowls, then wrap in bundles and tape. China should be wrapped individually.
- All boxes should be packed firmly, but DO NOT OVERLOAD it could cause damage from the pressure on fragile items. Fill in spaces with crumpled paper or Foam Peanuts. Tape up the box and label THIS END UP! Mark the boxes and designate the contents.
GREAT TIP: COLOR CODE THE BOXES WITH A CORRESPONDING SIGN ON
THE DOORS OF EACH ROOM YOU WISH THE MOVERS TO PUT THEM IN.
SAVES TIME AND CONFUSION 
.
Military Moves
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Moves of any kind can be stressful. But military moves can be even more so due to the frequency of the moves or even the destination of the moves. Whether you are doing a self move or having the Traffic Management Office (TMO) move you. I always recommend using garage sale dots. This I know I have recommended in the past, but it is my tried and true advice. What I do is I use different colors for different rooms. For example my kitchen is always yellow dots. TMO loves this too. I go right behind them and place the dots on the boxes. This helps in several ways. If you are doing a short move, it just makes it easier to figure out where the boxes belong. If you are doing an overseas move you may not see your belongs for quite sometime and the dots make things easier to unpack, you won’t have boxes delivered that all look the same. If you are storing your belongs here at Storage Express, where we always honor our military with a military discount, you will be able to see what boxes belong to what rooms. This will help in storing your boxes in groups. When you get home from deployment and come get you item’s from Storage Express it plane to see where your boxes go back at home.
If TMO is moving you, I also recommend getting on their good side. I get donuts in the morning and pizzas in the afternoon for the workers. I also have water bottles for them. If you get workers who are, let’s say a bit careless with your belongings. I keep a camera near by just in case. I only had to use our camera once in 20 years. All of my moves have normally been great.
And let us say to you from Storage Express “Thank You for Your Service”.
Self Storage Locks
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Locks are important! You’re probably saying to yourself “well, duh” but think about what the lock on your storage unit gives you. It’s the first defense against theft and it gives you peace of mind so the type of lock that you use is important.
When I go around the property performing the daily “lock check” I see two types of locks being used to secure our tenant’s belongings; padlocks and disc locks. I have used both for my storage security.
In 2001 when I was living in Tulsa Oklahoma (actually Broken Arrow) and I was storing household goods. I received a call from the storage facility manager saying that my unit had been broken into and to come and re-secure my unit. When I got there I asked if any other units were broken into and he said there were seven. I asked which ones and he told me only the units that had a padlock and that I should have used a disc lock. I had never used storage before and I was ticked off that at the time of the contract it was never suggested.
A padlock has the u-shaped metal that locks into itself. A disc lock has a sleeve that covers the metal leaving only a very small section uncovered after locking. Tenants losing keys happens more than you would think and the locks need to be removed. Happiness is them having a padlock. Bolt cutters and ten seconds, done! Bad news for us is a disc lock. A metal disc grinder to cut the lock open or diamond tip drill bit to drill out the lock section. Five to ten minutes, done!
At the time our tenant signs the rental agreement we let our customers know that they are welcome to supply their own locks but we recommend a disc lock. I wish someone had told me that.
Tips to Prepare Your RV for Summer Travel
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As we all know living here in the Antelope Valley the weather can be very unpredictable for all seasons. One day it can be very hot and the next day will be below freezing with rain! So I’ve found some helpful tips to help you prepare your RV for summer travel.
Before you do anything you want to make sure you have the RV safely parked once you are 100% sure it’s parked safely you want to replace the batteries and smoke alarms, LP-gas and carbon-monoxide detectors (if they are not hard wired) and test them to confirm they are in working condition. Check the pressure gauges on fire extinguishers and look for expiration dates on tags. Check the tire condition, air pressure, and lug nut torque.
If you pumped RV anti-freeze through the potable water tank, pump, and lines, then you will have to drain the system with water. More than likely your are going to have to do it a couple of times to clean up the residue. You may find that sanitizing the water system is the best way to take care of any bad odor. You also may have bypassed the water heater, so don’t forget to redirect water flow into it.
Most important procedure is to always prepare an emergency kit, which should include a “good” flashlight, engine oil , brake fluid, power-steering fluid, automatic transmission fluid, a clean empty gas can, road flares, three reflective safety triangles, duct tape, jumper cables, wheel chocks, plus basic tools. Make sure you have a jack and lug wrench.
Last but not least, always remember to have FUN and be SAFE on the road!
Types of Moving Dollies at Storage Express
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This week I would like to talk about the difference between some of our moving dollies. There are so many different kinds and if you use the wrong one you may damager your furniture or appliances. Let’s help with that to show you the correct ones you will need to use. I’ll start off with the appliance dolly this is used for moving your Refrigerator, Washer, Dryer, Safes, and even Book Cases. This dolly has many uses, normally they have a max weight of 600lbs its great to move heavy items up and down stair cases due to it having stair climbers on the back of the dolly, also it has a 3in strap and a tension bar to help strap your item to it. This prevents the item from shifting off the dolly. This is the strongest upright dolly they make and is used for very heavy items.
The next dolly I would like to talk about is a box dolly. This is the typical two wheeled dolly that is used for lighter weight moving max of 300lbs on average. Its great for boxes, small appliances like a dishwasher due to it having a longer shelf for the item to sit on unlike the appliance dolly that the shelf is only 6in depth the box dolly has a shelf normally 10in in depth. This is a great tool to move quickly and save your back on average it will save you 50% on time loading and unloading. Instead of moving oddly shaped boxes by hand load them up on this and save time. This dolly does not have a strap on it to secure items on it. But it is the key for fast and efficient moving.
Next we will talk about the flat furniture dolly typically this is a flat four wheeled dolly with a max weight rating of 900lbs. This is great for moving heavy items like large big screen TVs, tool boxes and even dressers simply use one in the middle or one at each end of the item and poof your back is saved once again by moving smarter you wont have to lift the items any higher than seven inches off the ground. This is great if you’re the only one moving, in many cases this is the extra hand you need these are all great tools designed to save you time and be efficient all in one. So just remember when choosing the correct dolly they are not all created equal. Happy Renting!
Matt Looney
Storage Express Temecula
Help full tips for Moving: How to best load a moving truck
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One of the best things I can recommend is load the truck heaver towards the front of the truck to help equal out the weight of the truck, this in return will smooth out the ride of the truck. With proper loading of the truck it will make it easier to drive. I also recommend taking advantage of all the available space in the truck. Save the moms attic for moving your TV’s and your precious items. The smoothest ride in the truck is in the mom’s attic. To save floor space stand your couch or love seat on its end and attach rope or a ratchet strap around it to the rub rails in the truck. This allows you two things more floor space and room to put boxes inside of the couch. Most customers don’t take full advantage of all the room; they can take their matrices and lay them across the top of their furniture to save space on the floor. Stack the truck all the way to the top with proper loading you will be able to save money and time with a smaller truck.