Month: June 2023

4 Tips for Packing for a Move

When you are considering how to pack for a move, start by prepping as far in advance as possible. Packing tends to be the most time-consuming part of the whole process. With careful planning, patience and an honest assessment of your physical capabilities, budget and just how much you need to move (and what you can let go of), packing for a move can be stress-free. Here are our expert tips on how to pack for a move.

Gather your moving supplies

We recommend that you use our packing calculator before you buy or source any supplies to get a good idea of what you’ll need in terms of packing supplies.

Set up a surface for your packing station. It could be a folding table or a spare bedroom. This is where all your packing supplies will live and where you’ll be taping and labeling boxes.

When you buy boxes, remember that you’ll need different sizes plus a few specialty boxes. Professional moving cartons come in a variety of shapes and sizes that are specifically suited to fit a variety of household goods. Consider wardrobe boxes for clothes on hangers, bankers boxes for the home office, mirror and wall art boxes; and the original boxes for your TV, electronics and appliances (if you’ve kept them).

Donate, get rid of, or store items that you don’t want to move with you

  • Go through your belongings room by room. Closets, cabinets, drawers – look at everything and note which items can go. Think honestly about what furniture isn’t worth moving.
  • Toss, donate or sell? Organize the belongings you’re letting go of in these three categories. You can do this either by making mental notes or writing them down on sticky notes.
  • Do a closet purge. Look at all your closets and pull out anything that is soiled or damaged, doesn’t fit, is out of style, or you haven’t worn in a year.
  • Get rid of items you wouldn’t buy again. Ask yourself if you’d spend money on the item in question if you didn’t already have it. If you wouldn’t, you likely don’t need it.
  • Hold a garage sale. If you have the time and the energy, consider hosting a garage sale. Let people know with signs, flyers and on social media, invite the neighbors, set fair prices, and put out all the good stuff you no longer need. Make an attractive display of your wares, provide refreshments, and be open to haggling.
  • Sell what you can. Your gently used clothing, electronics, furniture and other household items could be sold at a number of places. ThreadUp, Poshmark or your local consignment store will take your clothes. Sell your electronics online at places like eBay, or trade them in on Amazon in exchange for a gift card. Household items, including furniture, could be sold locally through different websites.
  • Make donation pickup arrangements. If you’re donating any large items like furniture and rugs, schedule a pickup with an organization ahead of time. See this list of charities that will pick up your donation. And keep any donation receipts as you may be eligible to claim this donation next time you file your taxes.
  • Consider short-term storage. If you can’t commit to getting rid of some items yet, but you’re not sure if you need them, you may want to put them in a short-term storage unit and then evaluate later. If you have any questions about self storage, please feel free to contact us and we’ll be more than happy to help. Our self-storage facilities include storage units Victoria, storage units Parksville, storage units Nanaimo, storage units Burnaby, storage units White Rock and Surrey and storage units Chilliwack.

Pack as early as possible

Think realistically about how much you’ll need to get all of your packing done, and add some extra for unexpected delays or obstacles. Create and use a moving checklist to assure that you move all the items you need.

Five weeks before moving day, strategize your packing process. That means figuring out a timeline for the packing process and what you consider the non-essentials. Those usually include books, home decor items, electronics, seasonal sports gear and clothing, and seasonal decorations. They will be packed first. Expect to pack kitchen items, dinnerware, clothing and toiletries last.

Start packing items room by room, and clearly label everything

Focus on one area of a room at a time and don’t mix items from different rooms in one box. To prevent miniature knick knacks and small items from being lost or mistakenly thrown out with the packing paper, wrap them in brightly-colored tissue paper and/or label each wrapped item.

You can also color-code your boxes using a sticker of one color for each room. Assign a color to each room and stick to it. (This tip goes along with our recommendation not to mix items from different rooms.)

Clearly mark your moving boxes with the destination room, the contents of the box, and whether they’re fragile. For example: “Living room. Picture frames. Fragile.” Mark both the top and the sides of each box for easy visibility. Marking the boxes fragile is especially important if you’ve hired movers as they won’t know to be extra careful.

5 Things You Should Do Before Putting Your Property On The Market

There are many actions that can be taken to increase your chances of receiving an ideal offer from a buyer. From cleaning and staging to repainting, here are 5 things you can do before putting your property on the market!

Research your local housing market

First and foremost, do your homework on the value of your home. Start by researching the local housing market. Take a look at comparable sales in your neighborhood to figure out your appropriate listing price. Pay attention to the various comps’ square footage, features and location, and think about how they compare to your home. For example, your neighbor’s home may have sold for $1 million, but if your home is considerably smaller, you’ll most likely need to list your house for less. Of course, a reputable realtor should be able to assist with finding comps and determining a listing price for your home.

Give your house a deep clean

First impressions mean a lot. So, don’t let foul smells, dirty floors or dusty surfaces make a bad one on a potential buyer. Before listing your home (and throughout the selling process), give your home a deep clean. This means cleaning toilets, wiping surfaces, mopping floors, cleaning rugs and scrubbing bathrooms. Consider calling in the professionals (think: Stanley Steamer and a housekeeper) to ensure that your place is in pristine condition.

Declutter the home

Decluttering and organizing your space will go a long way in appealing to potential buyers. When a home is clutter-free, buyers can focus on the actual home instead of the excess junk, accessories and overflowing closets.

Stage your home

Staging a home really can help it sell faster and for more money. Fortunately, staging your home’s interior can be easy and affordable. Don’t forget to also spruce up your home’s curb appeal when staging the home. After all, the outside of the home is the first thing potential buyers will see when they arrive for a showing. So, make sure that the grass is cut, the yard is landscaped, and the knick-knacks are gone (think gnomes and children’s toys). If your home looks a bit rundown, you should also consider adding a fresh coat of paint to the exterior walls. If you have items in your home that you don’t have to display during open house, consider renting a storage unit. For example, You can rent a storage unit to store belongings such as old CDs, photos, or kitchenware. To see which storage unit size best serves your needs, feel free to contact us and we’ll be more than happy to help. Our self storage facilities include storage units Victoria, storage units Parksville, storage units Nanaimo, storage units Burnaby, storage units White Rock and Surrey and storage units Chilliwack.

Paint the walls

Now’s the time to repaint your home. Start by painting over those bright orange and green walls with neutral colors. Stick to whites, light grays, light beiges and “greige” wall colors. These shades will make your home appear bigger, brighter and more welcoming. Adding a fresh coat of paint to your home will also help cover the wall’s imperfections and convey a blank slate to potential buyers.

4 Moving Tips You Should Use

Although moving is a very exciting and life-changing event, the process of a move can be incredibly stressful and tiring. Oftentimes, we do not realize how much planning and work are required for a move until we are actually going through the motions of one.

To help you remain stress-free during moving, here are 5 self-care tips while moving you can use.

Create a moving checklist

Nothing says moving self-care tips like a checklist! By creating one for your move, you can more easily manage all the tasks that you’ll need to accomplish before the big day arrives. 

To get started, use our moving checklist or create your own. However you decide to approach it, it’s better to have some sort of a list to guide you through the process. As new tasks come, add them to the list. Staying organized will reduce the anxiety of moving. 

Plan the logistics

Just thinking about everything you’ll need to accomplish to pull off a successful move might send you into a tailspin, but we suggest that you start by thinking about whether you are going to hire a moving company or rent a truck. Do you think you need professional help or can you do a DIY move?

If you’re using movers, check out the moving company’s online reviews to assure that the moving company is professional and reliable.

Start packing early

Allow yourself more time to pack than you think you’ll need. The amount of time it takes depends on how many belongings you have. But most people don’t realize just how long it takes to properly pack everything. 

We recommend that you order all of the moving supplies at least six weeks before the move and start packing four weeks in advance. Put on some tunes, tackle one room at a time, and treat yourself to a takeout once you call it a day.

Declutter and organize ahead of time

Getting started with the moving process can seem like a daunting task, but don’t procrastinate. Taking the time to go through your belongings can make the move easier for your future self. Starting ahead of time and sticking to a routine means that your moving day will be less overwhelming.  Get a head start on decluttering at least five weeks before the moving day. Here are some of our tips on how to begin decluttering and organizing:

  • Go through your belongings room by room. Closets, cabinets, drawers – survey all of your belongings and note which items can go. Whether you make a list on your phone, write down what you’re keeping versus what you’re tossing or donating, or take pictures of the items you no longer want to keep, documenting goes a long way. Most importantly, think about what furniture isn’t worth moving.
  • Do a closet purge. Account for all of your closets and pull out anything that is damaged, is out of style, or doesn’t fit anymore, and consider parting ways with said item(s).
  • Make donation pickup arrangements. Donate useful items that you don’t need anymore. Anything from a relatively new and functioning computer to kitchenware – these are all items that you can donate to a local charity to help those in need.
  • Rent a storage unit. If you have many items that you want to keep but don’t want to move to your new home, consider renting a storage unit. You can rent a storage unit for long-term or short-term and you can access the storage unit whenever you want to retrieve your belongings from your storage unit, based on the storage facility’s hours of operation, of course. At U-Lock Mini Storage, we offer a wide selection of storage unit sizes such as 5’x5’, 5’x10’, 10’x10’, 10’x15’ and 10’x20’ storage units. To see which storage unit size best serves your needs, feel free to contact us and we’ll be more than happy to help.

Our facilities include storage units Victoria, storage units Parksville, storage units Nanaimo, storage units Burnaby, storage units White Rock and Surrey and storage units Chilliwack.