Friday, May 14th, 2010
Did you know that Microsoft has confirmed that it will be introducing USB storage to its Xbox 360 gaming system? The technology giant has released a mandatory update to its flagship gaming console and with it added support for USB storage devices of 1-16GB capacity.
This means that people will be able to plug in flash drives to expand the memory of their Xbox 360 console. Not only this, but it means that game saves, Xbox LIVE gamer profiles, or Arcade game downloads will now be portable.
SanDisk have been quick to jump on the new feature, and will be selling a pre-configured Xbox 360 8GB USB flash drive that comes with a 1-month LIVE Gold membership in the US and the UK from this month.
You can also use our self storage facilities to store your console collections, storage devices or anything else you’d like for a little as a week, month, year or as long as you want. We only ask for seven days notice when you want to leave. Visit our Quote and reserve online page to get started.
Tags: Big Yellow Self Storage, personal storage, self storage, storage, storage solution
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Friday, April 30th, 2010
Did you know that the North Sea could provide Britain with a natural resource worth as much as £10 billion a year if the Government exploits it as a store for carbon dioxide (CO2), according to The Times?
Britain has more storage space for waste CO2 than all of the other northern European countries combined, with the exception of Norway, according to research that suggests carbon capture and storage could be one of the boom industries of the next 20 years.
At the British Science Festival in Guildford in September, it was announced that the existence of suitable rock formations beneath the British seas – mainly in the North Sea – means that Britain could make as much as £5 billion a year from selling licenses to store CO2 to countries such as Germany, Denmark and Poland.
While technology for removing CO2 from fossil fuel-fired power stations already exists, it’s currently very expensive, adding about a third to electricity bills. The cost, however, is forecast to plummet over the next two decades, creating a new market for storing this waste CO2 safely that Britain is ideally placed to benefit from.
Tags: Big Yellow Self Storage, energy efficient, personal storage, self storage, storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
Did you know that there are many different types of energy – from the type that comes from plugs in the wall to power your electrical items, to the kind being stored in a battery? Solar energy comes from the sun and is not only absorbed by plants and crops to help them grow, but collected here on earth for heating, lighting and other human needs.
A means of collecting the solar energy and a way to generate it are needed to make sure we can access the sun’s energy. This means that the energy can be converted into another form of energy such as electricity and heat. Storing the energy makes it last longer, as the sun does not shine for 24 hours a day – and in some cases not at all!
Solar energy is very well suited for heating purposes and more people are integrating systems into their homes in an attempt to be more environmentally friendly. This heat energy can be stored in a liquid like water or a packed bed. A packed bed is a container in which small objects like stones can be placed. The stones are able to store solar energy. Heat energy can also be stored in phase-changer or heat-of-fusion units which use chemicals to alter solid to liquid at certain temperatures. Later the liquid can return to its solid form and the energy can be used.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, clutter, de-clutter, declutter, furniture storage, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, solar energy, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
Did you know that most hamsters inhabit semi-desert areas where they live in burrows consisting of multiple tunnels and chambers – the most important of which store food and bedding for the animals to sleep in. Hamsters are nocturnal, so they sleep during the hot days and move around in the evening when it’s cooler. As such, conserving energy is vital.
Most species of hamsters have expandable cheek pouches in which they can carry food and bedding back to their burrow to store. In fact, the word ‘hamster’ comes from the German word ‘hamstern’ which means ‘to hoard’.
A hoard of nuts buried by a rodent 17 million years ago is the oldest food larder so far discovered in the fossil record. A team from the University of Bonn in Germany found a burrow containing 1,800 fossilised nuts when digging at an open-cast mine near Garzweiler. Back then, hamsters were predominately found in the wild, and though they’re mainly now kept as pets, this proves that behaviour hasn’t changed much since then.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, clutter, collectibles, de-clutter, declutter, furniture storage, hamsters, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Friday, March 12th, 2010
A woman in America was surprised to discover that her car’s indicator had stopped working because there were thousands of nuts stored under the bonnet of her car?
As reported in the Metro, Hope Wideup of Indiana came across the horde of walnuts when she opened the car’s bonnet to see what was wrong. ‘There were thousands in there. They were everywhere,’ she said.
Wideup suspects that it all started when a chipmunk snatched a garden glove from her yard. She later found the glove in the engine compartment when she was trying to repair the broken turn signal. Unable to fix the problem, however, Wideup let the car sit unused for a couple of weeks, before hearing an unusual noise from the engine when she finally tried to start the vehicle.
The moral of the story? Check under your bonnet regularly and make sure that one of your furry friends hasn’t taken up residence.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, chipmunks, clutter, collectibles, de-clutter, declutter, Did you know?, fact, furniture storage, interesting fact, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, weird and wonderful, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Friday, February 19th, 2010
The word “lager” is German and means “storage”, which refers to the lager (storage) fermentation process. The fermentation of both ales and lager is processed at a similar temperature for 7-14 days. After that time the ale, depending on the type, is ready for bottling. With lagers, this is only the start. After the main fermentation the beer is pumped into lager tanks with temperatures 10°C lower than room temperature. It is then left to mature and ferment for around 6-10 weeks to create the lager we all know and love! The longest lager fermentation process is for that of Budějovický Budvar brewery’s ‘Bud Super Strong’, the super-premium member of the Budvar family which takes 200 days to mature.
Energy efficient advancements have been made with the Cylindric-conical tanks (CCTs) used to store lager during the process of combined beer fermentation and maturation. The storage CCTs have evolved to ensure cooling and heating insulation can save up to 40% of energy consumed over previous years.
We don’t ferment lager here at Big Yellow Self Storage. However, we are extremely energy conscious throughout our operations. You can also use our self storage facilities to store anything you like for a little as a week, month, year or as long as you want. We only ask for seven days notice when you want to leave. Visit our Quote and reserve online page to get started.
Tags: beer, big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, clutter, collectibles, declutter, energy efficient, fine wine storage, furniture storage, lager, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, Self Stroage, storage, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Steel shipping storage containers outlive their usefulness after 5 years, and they used to sit abandoned at shipyards gathering rust. Now, because they’re so durable, light weight and easy to stack, a new recycling trend has emerged. Everything from shipping container sculpture, homes, hotels and museums have started to appear. The possibilities are seemingly endless.
The simple, boxy shape of shipping containers makes them perfect for housing, whether creating a small recycled dwelling out of just one container or stacking multiple containers for a larger home or complex of small living spaces. Just as they can be transformed into housing complexes, shipping containers are perfectly suited for use as hotels. The world’s first shipping container hotel was built in Uxbridge, West London in 2008. The 8-story Travelodge was built from 86 modified shipping containers, and the whole process was said by the company to be 25 percent faster and 10 percent cheaper than conventional hotel buildings.
You can slap a door on a shipping container and call it a house, but it takes a bit more creativity to transform it into art. Check out these two examples from artists in Rotterdam and Yokohama, Japan.
Homes & Structures
Hotels
Museums
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, containers, de-clutter, declutter, furniture storage, homes, museums, music storage, personal storage, sculptures, self storage, self storage blog, Self Stroage, steel, storage, storage solution, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
……yes that’s right, cardboard boxes are being turned into art by creative individuals all over the world. Check out these genius examples and then why not give it a try yourself next time you’re moving some stuff around. Instead of just chucking away your old boxes, why not recycle them in different ways, by making something for your kids or to scare your neighbours on Halloween!
Tags: art, big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, collectibles, de-clutter, declutter, furniture storage, music storage, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, Self Stroage, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
….that self storage facilities first appeared in the US in the 1960’s? There are now a total of 58,000 self storage facilities worldwide and the largest self storage facility is in Salt Lake City, Utah, which contains a massive 2,200 storage units in total!
In Europe, the self storage market is the biggest in the UK. The first self storage facility arrived to the UK in the early 1980’s and there are now 750 facilities in total with the numbers growing by the day!
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, fine wine storage, furniture storage, music storage, personal storage, prizes, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Word has reached us that a resident in Hervey Bay in Australia has staged a ‘yellow’ protest by painting his beachfront home a bright luminescent yellow – as well as his courtyard, garden kerbs, outdoor furniture, fences, sheds and water tanks to air his views towards his local council’s development approvals process.
A retired civil engineer, David Johnston has staged his demonstration for more than two years now and has garnered many supporters who have lodged similar complaints against their council’s failure to allow adjoining property owners protection from structural damage generated from multi-story developments.
The protest began after Johnston heard that a neighbour’s home had sustained $50,000 in structural damage during construction of an underground car park for units being built next door.
David, we love your style!
Tags: Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, furniture storage, music storage, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
Posted in Did you know? | No Comments »
