Declutter Your Home in 3 Simple Steps

Over the years it becomes easy to accumulate more than you need. Garages and basements soon become home to all kinds of unused items. Closets get overfilled and guest bedrooms become improvised storage areas. Clutter can be frustrating and can make tasks like moving, cleaning, and having company over into difficult situations. Luckily there's a very simple way to free up space. In order to reduce clutter, simply spend an afternoon sorting your possessions into three categories: items you can give away, items you can sell, and items that you can store.

Give away
Anything that you don't use and that has little value should be sorted into the “give away” group. Old clothes, books, toys, furniture, and gadgets can all be eliminated. Check with local charities and see if you can donate any of your old goods to them. Other items can be advertised for free on Craigslist. Giving away items is both beneficial to others and can save money by eliminating the need for special garbage pickups. If you do find yourself having to throw out items make sure that all of them are safe to be discarded. Certain products, like television sets and batteries, need to be taken to special recycling facilities.

Sell
If you have any unnecessary items that might be worth money you can sell them. Depending on what you have, it's possible to make quite a bit of money by doing this. There are numerous ways to sell off unwanted possessions. Traditional avenues like garage sales are great for people who like face-to-face interactions. While online marketplaces like eBay, Craigslist, and Amazon can all reach wider audiences. Whether you're selling at a garage sale or online, make sure to do a little research into how much each item is worth. A quick Google search can keep you from selling something valuable for very little.

Store
Items that are necessary but get used infrequently should be grouped together and placed in storage. Seasonal items like barbeque grills, skis, surf boards, camping equipment, and winter jackets should all be boxed up and placed someplace safe. There are plenty of cheap storage facilities that offer all kinds of amenities. Many offer storage services such as climate control, high end security, and various sized units to fit any need. In addition, most facilities offer both long and short term storage. This allows customers to pay low rates even if they are only storing items for a few months.
 
While excessive clutter is frustrating, it can be dealt with easily. By sorting through items a homeowner can reduce unnecessary possessions and create more free space. Eliminating low value and unneeded goods is an easy way to reduce clutter. Selling off more valuable items not only frees up space but can also be quite profitable. While needless goods are easy to get rid of there are certain things which are only used seasonally. These items are great for placing in storage, where they will remain out of the way until you wish to use them again.

Security Checks for a New Neighbourhood

Places you have lived in for some time can feel secure to you because you are familiar with the area and know the faces that live in your vicinity. However, when searching for a new house to buy make sure you perform a security check of both the property and the neighbourhood before investing, as a safe environment is one of the most important elements for a new home.

In every city and town, there are particular areas where burglary and theft is more common. It’s worth checking out the statistics for crimes, as this will also affect your insurance premium, which could be high if the area is a high risk.

Before you make the major decision to buy a new home, make sure you take a good look at the local neighbourhood. Go for a drive or take a walk around the area after you have inspected the property and see if you have a good feeling about the place. It is a good idea to visit the area at different times of the week; the atmosphere will be very different on a Monday morning than a Saturday night for example, and go at night times too.

If you don't feel comfortable or safe then avoid it, even if it is relatively safe. You don’t want to live in a place that makes you feel nervous or edgy as moving house is a stressful enough, and expensive, venture and you don’t want to have to move again in the near future if you aren’t happy there.

Looking at your potential neighbours’ homes and yards will give you a good indication of what the people in the area are like. Avoid poorly maintained areas or places where there may be many graffiti and vandalism as this demonstrates that the community isn’t concerned with taking care of their surroundings or homes and this will affect the value of property in the area.

Check the property for good security features such as fences, spotlights and even alarm systems. 

Don’t let this deter you too much; however as extra security can always be added once the purchase has gone through.

Also check the local facilities and amenities to get a sense of community. A community should have a local shopping parade with convenience shops, grocers and bakers, a pub, and a post office for example. These are the kinds of places where the locals can meet and get to know who their neighbours are, and then they’re more likely to look out for one another and be friendly to the familiar faces they see around.

Change the locks, as you will never know for sure who might still have copies of the house keys. Arrange for a Master Locksmith to come and fit new locks to all the exterior doors just to be on the safe side.

You should take your time when considering a new area to move into, if you have to be out of the old premises before you are ready then put your belongings into a self storagefacility and stay somewhere temporary whilst you look around.

Supercheap Storage for Business Storage Solutions

Our storage service is particularly useful for small and large businesses. We have high levels of security, climate-controlled units, various sized modules, an excellent team, and so much more to offer than traditional storage companies have. Store your extra stock with us, or use us to archive documents and save office space, the benefits are plenty.

At one time it was mainly home-owners that required storage as they moved between properties or rented out their home and needed storage space to put their own effects. Whilst this is still true, now storage options are much broader with customers coming from all walks of life.

Freeing up space at home leads to a better quality of life as there is more room to move around in, the house will instantly feel fresher and brighter, and decluttering actually creates a calm space to work and live in.

Business owners also take advantage of storage facilities for a number of reasons. Typically any business that holds client records is required by law to keep a record of transactions for a set number of years, this can lead to thousands of records in the filing system that never get looked at unless there is a discrepancy that needs to be sorted out. The amount of space these files take up depends on the size of the business but, however big or small, it is a waste of space that could be put to better use.

At Supercheap we have climate-controlled portable storage pods that offer a protected place for classified records and act as an archive, there is no need to pay for extra security in the workplace as the units and the storage facility are protected by video-monitors, perimeter fencing and guard, and the business gets to use the space for something more productive.

Some businesses are reliant on making their money during the high season and require space during the low season to stockpile extra supplies. Moving into larger premises makes no economical sense as it eats into profits, thus storing their goods in a pod can save them money and offers the ideal solution. There’s no need to book a pod as we always have them available and can deliver at very short notice.

Office renovations are sometimes necessary to capitalize on profits and again a storage unit saves the day as they can be facilitated for any short-term projects.  Move everything out whilst the work is going on and move it all back in once it’s completed.

 We train our team to our high standards and only employ experts in moving and storage solutions so you can be assured that your things are always in the best hands, from the moment they get packed and loaded until they are returned to your premises.

Office furniture is padded and loaded carefully into the unit where it’s protected from damp or mould as they’re built from heavy-duty industrial plywood that allows the unit to circulate air throughout. This greatly reduces the risk of moisture build-up which is the reason for mildew problems in the traditional storage pods used by other storage companies.

Cameron Robertson owns and operates Supercheap Storage Northern Beaches, with a facility in Manly, Dee Why, NSW - servicing the Northern Beaches areas with convenient portable storage units at the cheapest rates, including business storage solutions for self storage Brookvale.