If you live in an area that plays host to exciting annual events (Like the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh) renting out your home for the duration of the event can be a great way to avoid the crowds and make some extra money. Or maybe you rent long term? Either way we hope any potential or seasoned renters will find our these Tip and Tricks useful:

1. Before showing perspective tenants around make sure to do some really thorough spring cleaning. It’s amazing the difference that cleaning the carpets and windows can make.

2. Be prepared! When renting you’re still responsible for the internal upkeep of the house. That means anything structural, electrical or plumbing related. Make sure you have experts in all those areas ready to go (If you’re renting during holidays be extra careful to check if they’re availble).

3. You might want to look into a bit of basic refurbishment if you’re planning a long term rental, but remember installing a whole new kitchen or bathroom probably won’t raise the value of the property enough to pay for itself.

4. Another tip for showing people round is to go outisde and take a good look at the front of your house or apartment building. Do what you can to make the street entrance really inviting: a good first impression gives you a real advantage in the rental market.

5. If you’re looking into long term renting, you’ll want to depersonalise your house a bit. Maybe change the kids’ wallpaper to something a bit more neutral? Clearing superfluous furniture is a good idea for short or long term. Self storage is a useful option for storage while you’re away and Big Yellow Storage has no set time frames for storage. You can store by the week, month, year: ideal for renting. (Visit our website to find out how you can get 50% off for the first eight weeks)

Good luck!

Someone in the office always suggests a Spring clean, but why not have an Autumn one and make more space in your office before everyone gets into the festive spirit. Check out our Top Tips on clearing out before the festive season!

1. Assign a spot for your bits and pieces. A study by researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute has shown that when your work environment is cluttered, you are less able to focus and process information. We’re all guilty of having far too much on our desk at one time, whether it’s the morning paper, bundles of pens or 4pm’s presentation, it all adds up. So why not invest in an inbox tray so all papers are stored neatly and designate a spot for your bits and pieces to live so that they are to hand whenever you need them.

2. Stock count. In the age of online shopping it’s always easy to over order; those 10 boxes of extra A4 paper is clutter! Save space by taking a moment to know what you need and what you don’t by performing a basic stock check. This way you will never have pillars of paper propped up against the printer.

3. Free the garage. Approximately 178,000 people run a business or use eBay as their primary or secondary source of income – that is a lot of stock hauled up in the people of Britain’s garages which is not only taking up space, but probably isn’t very secure. Indeed, in the UK alone every 37 seconds a home somewhere in Britain is burgled, so why not head to Big Yellow (http://www.bigyellow.co.uk/business/ebay-storage/) and keep it safe whilst being able to have a place to park your car again…

4. Save the server room. Just because no one ever goes into the server room doesn’t mean that it has to be full of things that don’t have a home. Why not keep it junk free and accessible by packing away those random items in a cabinet. This will also make sure that you get easy access to the wall of wires.

5. Devise a rota. Why not make a rota designating a member of the team as “cleaning officer” at the end of each week to make sure everything is neat and tidy and everyone is doing their bit. You can come into a fresh office come Monday morning, and avoid the nonsense of the “blame game.”

Clear out your unused files We all know that files are important and you’re legally obliged to keep certain correspondence for an average of 2-5 years. But do you really need to have them pilled at on your desk or squeezed into the filling cabinet? When was the last time you accessed those invoices from 2001? There are companies out there that can digitally store these records for you. Alternatively, Big Yellow Self Storage is accessible during working hours so why not consider moving them to over to us?

So you’ve got your new job in a new country, now the only things you need to worry about are your houses (old and new) and the fate of your belongings.

Here at Big Yellow Self Storage, we know what a stressful time moving house can be, particularly when that move is to a different country, so we’ve been kind and decided to help relieve a small portion of that stress by putting together a guide on how to prepare for your big move.

1: Renting your house/flat out
Consider whether you’ll be using an agency to handle the rental or doing it all yourself. There’s always the concern that you may be one of the unlucky (but not unusual) landlords that have difficult tenants which creates a lot more stress for you to deal with. However if you leave it to an agency they are the ones that get the headache. Most agencies take an average of 15% of the monthly rental in fees which if your tenants are good may seem like an unnecessary expense but if you do have difficulty with them it’ll seem a small price to pay. Using an agency also means there is a point of contact both for you and your tenants, access to new tenants if your current ones move out, contracts with plumbers/electricians etc and a good legal structure to ensure you’re paid on time. It’s not cheap though! Finally whatever you decide to do, make sure that you go through all bills and settle them before your new tenants move in and change the names over to theirs.

2: What will you take and what will you leave?
Decide what items you want to take, what items you want to leave in storage and what items you are simply going to get rid of. For example, can you live without your fancy coffee machine? Are there some products you could get in your new home that you’d feel happy using to save you carting your old model overseas? Top tip is BE RUTHLESS! If you don’t really need to take it, don’t. The less you take, the cheaper it’ll be to ship over. If you need somewhere to put the items you don’t need then Big Yellow Self Storage can help you by renting you a Storage room from as little at £5 a day.

3: Removal companies
It’s important to use a removal company you trust as your belongings are going a long way without you. There are a large number of overseas removal companies, most of which can be found on the internet. Seven Seas Worldwide who have previously received rave reviews, have been described as affordable, efficient and polite. Another example is Freight World who offer their years of experience and affordable prices, so it’s just a matter of picking which one is right for you. Do your research – don’t just pick the first one you find, the difference in price can be huge!

4: Immerse yourself in your new Culture early on
If there’s a difference in language, join some language classes in your spare time before you leave. This is a great way to meet people who are in the same boat as you are. Alternatively take part in a language exchange, there are many people who would welcome the opportunity to learn a new language and be willing to teach you theirs in return. You can find these opportunities in local papers or on online expat forums. When you get there immediately find out the places locals go for dinner or drinks. Meeting local people is a great way to really experience the new culture and pick up the language.

5: Visas & Health
If your kind boss has sorted out your visa and healthcare, then you’re laughing, but if not make sure you find out what working visas you need. Additionally other countries healthcare systems are very different to the NHS and many aren’t free so you will need to consider this when creating your budget and possibly take out local Health insurance. All the details you’ll need will be on the Foreign Office’s website.
Of course don’t forget to take time to plan a highly important part of the moving abroad process…the leaving party!

Have you had experience of living abroad? If you fancy sharing some of your experiences then head over to our Facebook page and tell us all about it.

Image courtesy of Yuichi Kosio

Need some inspiration, new ideas, and expert advice for your home? Why not take a look at the National Home Improvement Show this weekend. It’s the UK’s leading event for home improvers, bringing together high quality suppliers, designers and experts all in one place, making it the perfect opportunity for anyone planning a project to find out all they need to know.

There’ll be over 300 specialist companies exhibiting and showcasing the very latest home improvement products as well as guest speakers talking about everything from loft and basement conversions to making money from renewable energy.

Some of the highlights of this year’s National Home Improvement Show include:
• Interior expert Julia Kendell (Daybreak & DIY SOS) giving you handy hints, top tips and incredible inspiration to get your home looking great and your own personal touch.
• Real Homes magazine bringing you the Advice Centre. Speak on a one-to-one basis to home improvement experts about your ideas, products and anything which may be halting your plans.
• TWO Real Homes Live! Theatres where you can hear, discover and discuss professional tips on a whole range of home improvements.
• Unmissable specialist Masterclasses from professionals including building regulations, underfloor heating, finding builders, and heating systems.
• An amazing Home Entertainment and Technology zone, sponsored by CEDIA. Your home can be made easier, more fun and more up to date for less than you think! Discover the world of luxury home cinema, multi-room hi-fi, games room, home communications, intercom, CCTV, security, automated lighting, gates and more.

For more information and all the details go to the National Home Improvement Show website.

So it’s time for your young one to fly the nest (well kind of) and leave for university! They’ll be leaving behind a lot of memories…but also a lot of junk. So you’ve dropped them off and they’re having the time of their life, but what about the contents of their bedroom that they’ve left behind? Is it necessary to keep all those childhood reminders or is it time for your child to let go of them in order to embark on a new, independent adult life?

Before you perform this monster clear out you should probably consult with your child…just in case, you may not think things to be items of treasure but to your youngster that is exactly what they might be. So how could you get your son or daughter involved and make sure you don’t clear out anything that they feel needs to be kept? Probably the best way to make sure you don’t get rid of anything meaningful is to ask your youngster to go through everything before they leave for university, and if they don’t…well then you can just turn to your own judgement after all you did warn them.

Of course there are things that should be kept, whether it’s out of sentimental value or whether it’s because they’re just too priceless to get rid of but there are also things that can and should be chucked away. But what are these things? They’ve decided that they’re too old to take their stuffed toys to University. Surely that means there too old for them at home as well? Or would your youngster like to keep them as a reminder of the simpler times, perhaps there is so much love invested in the bear or dog etc that it just wouldn’t be right to let it go.

So you’ve been going through all the piles of papers left in your child’s room, there is everything from old bank statements to birthday cards from their second birthday. Well of course the bank statements can go but the birthday cards could be sentimental to your child and those things cannot be replaced. So perhaps the best option is to gather these, along with the other items holding too many memories to throw away into a container. To make sure your child takes the task seriously and is reasonable with the amount they get rid of, you could set them a limit on how many containers they can have of stuff that you are willing to keep but the rest must go and perhaps limit a further amount of boxes to be kept in storage perhaps until after University when 3 years will have passed and they can revisit these items again and decide whether they still wish to keep them. For things such as photos, get your child to put the photos they want to keep in albums, this can be a nice way of spending time together and re-living the memories those photographs bring. There is also the option of digitising your old photographs by scanning them into the computer, that way you still have them but they aren’t taking up any space.

As we all know university students get more holidays than all of ours put together, particularly over summer. Therefore it may make sense to get your child to pack a few large bags of the belongings they’ll be needing at home over the summer (probably just clothes) and then pack the rest into boxes and leave them in the Big Yellow Storage nearest to your child’s university, ready for you to pick up and drop off at their new accommodation at the beginning of next term.

Visit the Big Yellow Storage website to locate the nearest store.

Collecting has always been close to our hearts here at Big Yellow Self Storage, but we all know it can be a bit addictive. Rare is the person who can say with complete honesty that they’ve never collected anything. Be it Pokémon cards or vegetables resembling the rich and famous, pretty much anything is viable for collectable status, and some of them are downright hilarious. Here are some of our favourite wacky collections:
1. In Germany, Jens Veerbeck owns a collection of over 600 toasters. Scoff if you will but a few of these appliances are worth over £1,500. His most valued is a vintage model from the 1920s which costs £3,500.
2. The world’s largest collection of traffic signs is owned by American Steve Salcedo. His stockpile of over 350 warning, parking and street name signs have all been found on eBay or in antique stores and can be seen in their entirety on his website.
3. While no one knows the identity of the world’s foremost collector of Coca-Cola cans, it hardly detracts from the incredible display of 8000 cans.
4. There’s actually a tie for the most toothpaste ever collected. It’s currently between Germany’s Carsten Gutzeit and America’s Val Kolpakov. They have over 1000 unique brands and flavours of toothpaste a piece and share the world record.
5. One of our personal favourites is the rather sweet (sorry we couldn’t resist) collection by sucrologist Phil Miller: Sugar packets. He started in 1978 with a range of packets featuring the American presidents and now has a collection 8,000 strong.
So if you have a weird and wonderful collection knocking about head over to Big Yellow on Facebook to tell us about it collections (or maybe about those of someone you know).

While we’d all like to do our bit for the environment, busy schedules and just not knowing how can make that difficult. So we’ve put together Big Yellow Self Storage’s top Tips and Tricks for going green in your own home:
1. Recycling. Sometimes the most obvious techniques are the best. Just taking the time to recycle old magazines, cardboard and cans makes a real dent into how much goes into landfills, especially if everyone takes part. Most of our boxes and packaging is made from recycled paper! If you’re a bit confused about what you can and can’t recycle, check out recyclenow.com’s easy to use list.
2. Energy Saving Light Bulbs. With the old non-efficient light bulbs on the way out, why not get ahead of the curve? These Bulbs can be up to 80% more efficient which not only saves the planet, but also saves you money. Look out for the energy saving logo to know if a light bulb you’re buying is as efficient as it can be.
3. Chemical Free Cleaning Products. Most cleaning products used by the public are filled with chemicals that not only hurt the environment but you too. Allergies, Asthma and rashes like eczema can be triggered or made worse by these chemicals ingredients. Do yourself a favour and make the switch today.
4. Solar Panels. Up to a third of our stores now have solar panels installed and in this past year we’ve increased green energy output by 11.5%. One big advantage of the panels is that, once they’re installed, you need to do almost nothing. Just sit back and let them turn sunlight into electricity.
5. Think Before You Throw Away. Always think over throwing out an old piece of furniture. Is there a way you could reuse it? Selling items on eBay is a great way to make money and self storage is a greener alternative to letting things you no longer want cluttering up your house go to a landfill. Visit us at www.bigyellow.co.uk and we can help you with our environmentally friendly self storage solution.