Friday, April 27th, 2012
The April showers have hit us hard and fast, which surely means summer is round the corner? Who knows, but it seems about the right time to oust out the winter stragglers and spring clean the clutter.
Often when we try to de-clutter our homes, we find ourselves buying storage boxes and other compartments for a neater, more organised scene. However the result is much the same in that we still are as cluttered in terms of space, but with a tidy setting of organised mess.
Here at Big Yellow, we’ve been spying around to find some cunning gadgets to store away the winter warmers, the rainy reminders and the things you simply want to keep to yourself, away from prying eyes!
Great Space Savers
First up, is something worthy for an old school James Bond, from Secret Storage Books. Even if you’re an avid bookworm, there’s always room at the end of the bookshelf for a secret binder. No, unfortunately this won’t open up a secret tunnel to Blofeld’s lair, but it can hide your secret or most precious items: your future wife’s engagement ring, the key for the secret tunnel to Blofeld’s lair or simply your keys and precious cash.
Storage compartments in your bed seem to be a necessity these days, but when your bedroom is small, the drawers on the side of the bed are not easily accessible. Take a look at Adam Dachis’ excellent, secret storage creation using a bedspring storage unit from IKEA.
Now here’s a trick that’s taking the world by storm, the infamous Vacuum Compressed Bags. When you’ve created a hidden storage unit, trying to cram as many items in as possible is tasking. The Vacuum Bag is simple – fill them up with your winter clothes, suck out the spare air and there you have it, a compressed flat shape bag which can gives up to three times more space. This will go perfectly in the hidden storage under your bed.
If you’re really one for surprises, then you should build your own secret storage using Denise Nyland’s step by step guide. In just two hours, you can have your winter goods stored out of sight without using up any space within your room.
Of course, when it comes to squeezing your snowboards, skis and other large winter goods into your walls, you may find it is a task not worth the hassle. So find out where your nearest Big Yellow Self Storage is at www.bigyellow.co.uk and get it stored with us! Here at Big yellow we, offer you that space to rent from as little as £5 a week.
Tags: big yellow, boxes, furniture, home, idea, ikea, personal storage, saving, space, storage
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Friday, August 12th, 2011
On the 19th of August at 7am four of our staff members will be taking on an amazing feat for charity. The Big Yellow Fellows (Mike FitzGerald (the team leader), Richard Shubrook, Paul Holmes and Luke McLaughlin) will, along with badminton coach Stephanie Cartwright, be riding 191 miles visting 34 Big Yellow Self Storage stores within the M25. All this is in aid of national charity Get The Kids Going!
Get Kids Going! works to enable disabled young people to get involved in all kinds of sports, anything from powerlifting to tennis. They’re currently preparing for the London paralympic games in 2012.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Jane Emmerson, loves the idea. “It’s absolutely fantastic to see what the Big Yellow Fellow boys are doing – they are certainly putting themselves to the test! We receive no funding from the Government or the Lottery and rely solely on donations from public so the money that Mike and the team raise will directly boost GB medal hopes at next year’s Paralympics helping to buy much needed equipment and sports grants.”
The Big Yellow Fellows endurance cycle is one of six Olympic events they’ll be recreating this year. This is all part of the Gold Challenge. This initiative challenges the public to take part in Olympic and Paralympic events to raise money for sports charities and promote sports among young people.
Good luck to everyone on the Big Yellow Fellows team!
If you’d like to get involved in the cause then you can visit their donation page. All contributions, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated. (If they reach £1000 then Mike will be having a leg wax. Just a little extra incentive for you there).
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, byss, clutter, de-clutter, declutter, News, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, Self Storage UK, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, Yellow Fellows
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Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
Just like cleaning the bathroom – isn’t there always something else that’s more important to do rather than de-cluttering? As you squeeze another t-shirt into your already stuffed drawers, why not take the plunge and seriously deal with your personal storage?
Keep yourself entertained – Turn on your favourite tracks, switch on the radio and get busy with clearing up. Tackle the floor and surfaces first, then open up some cupboards and do a proper review. Starting with clothes in the bedroom should be easy… Just remember the six-month rule! You can keep special items with real, sentimental value in self storage units, see www.bigyellow.co.uk/personal.
Grab a regular cuppa – After the initial blitz, make yourself a cup of tea. Looking around with fresh eyes can often make all the difference. Personal storage at Big Yellow is ideal for all those things that you simply can’t bring yourself to throw away. Like your Mum’s old china? If you’re not using it for tea and cake, donate it to Charity or put it in storage for your own children.
Get your friends involved – to help and to donate to. Everyone knows that ‘Many hands make light work’. You’ll find that the things stored and cluttering up your rooms may be real treasures to someone else, and you can have a good catch up at the same time.
Change rooms regularly – by switching from room to room you can keep busy and cover the whole house. The home office can be the most difficult job. Visit www.bigyellow.co.uk as we can help with personal and business storage needs.
De-cluttering isn’t easy, but if you can keep your precious items safe in Big Yellow storage, there is real satisfaction and positivity created in having clean lines and empty surfaces in the home.
Image via shino 誌野 on Flickr
Tags: armadillo self storage, at home, big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, book storage, boxes, byss, clean, clutter, de-clutter, declutter, home, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, Self Storage UK, tips and tricks, UK storage
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Monday, July 25th, 2011
Every parent has the same problem with young children getting sick of their toys, or simply growing out of them. The problem is that the house ends covered in toys rendered useless, and simply gathering dust. If this sounds familiar, and you cannot bear to just throw these expensive toys away then Big Yellow Self Storage are here to help.
We offer units in a range of sizes, starting from just ten square foot, so if you plan to have more children you can store these toys for them, instead of shelling out more money in the future. As well as saving you money, this can also help to reduce dust which clutter, such as toys, tends to gather.
Cleaning your home can become quite a chore when you have to do it on your own. Working with other people to clean and organise your home makes the bain of your life suddenly become a more manageable task, and with a few minutes of planning also a great family activity.
While children are on holiday for the summer, getting them to help with fun cleaning games, such as using sock puppets to make dusting fun. You could also incorporate cleaning into play by allocating time to create the sock puppets before the cleaning begins.
Racing is another engaging way to get family members on board. For this you will need to plan and prepare- set a task, establish your expectations and introduce any rewards and forfeits before the game begins so that everyone involved knows the rules and plays by them. A great example of this is to set the task of collecting 5 items from one room each and racing to be the first to put them back in their rightful place. Within 10 minutes the whole room will be clean. You could also incorporate relay style races and team races to vary the games week by week.
Musical cleaning is an excellent way to make chores entertaining and enjoyable. Create a circuit or running order of chores and establish individual starting points for each participant. Begin the music and explain that when the track changes you move on to the next chore.
A combined effort not only allows cleaning to be completed more quickly but it also means that you have combined two of what should be daily tasks into one. Keep checking back to our Big Yellow Blog for more tips and tricks on cleaning and de cluttering during the summer months. For self storage solutions that match all your needs, check out http://www.bigyellow.co.uk/personal.
Sock puppet via Pinprick on flickr
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, byss, childhood memories, clean, clutter, de-clutter, declutter, family clutter, home, kids, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, Self Storage UK, storage, storage solution, tips and tricks, UK storage
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Friday, July 8th, 2011
It only seems like yesterday that your children left for their first term of the year for university, but it’s already that time again when they are bringing back all the clutter they initially took with them.
For those who have finished their degrees completely, most parents will be dreading the returning clutter, which may have doubled in size over the past three years with added University books, notes, sports equipment, DVDs and household items. When your family home is already short of space, this can be a frightening thought for most parents. If you are one of these parents, fret not, as Big Yellow Self Storage is here to help.
Big Yellow’s rooms are available in a range of sizes, access to which is available seven days a week. If you are unsure how long you will need self storage for, you can rent a room for as little as seven days, or as long as you may need.
It is even possible to down or upgrade your room size whenever required, so you could even rent a room whilst you sort out what to do with the clutter, and whether or not your children are set to go back to University in September, we have terms which are adept to anyone’s Self Storage needs.
If your children are worried about you having access to their belongings, you can reassure them with the fact that the space is locked with their own padlocks, so, if desired, only they have access to their prized possessions.
Big Yellow Self Storage realize that moving and packing can be one of the most stressful things to deal with, especially with young adults eager to hold on to memories of their University life. However, we are here to make the process as manageable as possible. We even deliver boxes to your home, ready for packing.
If you can identify with any of the above please visit www.bigyellow.co.uk to get a personalized quote and find out more about how you can use Self Storage units to eliminate your childs’ hoarding tendencies.
Tags: at home, big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, book storage, boxes, childhood memories, clutter, personal storage, self storage blog, student, student storage, tips and tricks
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Monday, June 27th, 2011
There are lots of ways in which Big Yellow Self Storage could help your business, as you might need somewhere to store goods on a temporary or semi-permanent basis. All businesses go through periods of change and reorganization. The current state of the economy is not helping and it has been a hard couple of years for many companies. Take a look at these ideas about how self storage could help your business:-
Free up space for new equipment – When you need space for new furniture or equipment such as a photocopier or drinks machine, you may find yourself visiting Big Yellow. Businesses, like homes, inevitably accumulate an excess of clutter over time, from boxes of papers to redundant tools. For things that you simply cannot throw away, or that you have to keep for a period of time, self storage can help. By storing goods on a short or long term basis, your equipment and valuables are kept safe and your business kept clear.
De-clutter and improve working conditions – Maintaining a tidy and clutter free office is difficult, especially when space is tight. By improving the organisation of your office storage, you can reduce dust, improve working conditions and increase productivity. Having a minimalist office can also instill a sense of calm. Utilise every inch of a room, especially areas that are slightly out of the way. You can find a range of boxes and vacuum bags to store products online at https://www.bigyellow.co.uk/boxshop/.
Storage for decoration and renovation- If an office or business needs to be decorated, it needn’t cause a major upheaval. Short term self storage rooms are available at Big Yellow. Goods and furniture can be stored in rooms from 10 sq ft to 500 sq ft or more. The best part is that you only pay for what you need. Everything in the rooms is accessible seven days a week between 8am to 6pm. You can even extend access hours for a small fee.
Seasonal variations in requirements – For many companies, seasonal variations in goods can cause problems. Christmas and Easter are busy times for any business working in the gift or chocolate markets for example. For expanding cottage industries, keeping up with demand or maintaining stocks of gift boxes around the festival period may well cause issues with storage.
Self-storage rooms at Big Yellow could provide an ideal solution, have a look at the website and get a personalized quote direct at http://www.bigyellow.co.uk/business/
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, de-clutter, decoration and renovation, seasonal variation, self storage blog, space
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Sunday, February 20th, 2011
Deciding how to store items in your home is a very important part of de-cluttering and getting organised. The following tips will help you make quick and valuable decisions which will help you organise all areas of your home.
Hallway – Sort through your collection of scarves, hats, coats and other items of clothing that take up space. You can keep the items that are used daily or weekly as any of the excess items can be moved into a nearby cupboard, donated to charity or put in a self storage room.
Living Room – Old books, DVDs and CDs are the usual culprits so lose the bits and pieces and only display your most prized possessions.
Kitchen – The main source of frustration in a kitchen is overstuffed cabinets and drawers filled with duplicate kitchenware, dishes that are used only on special occasions, mismatched containers and appliances that you no longer use. If you can’t bear to part with an item consider relocating it or putting the items in storage.
Closets – It’s time to be strong and clear out those items that haven’t been worn in the last year, no longer fit or are out of style.
Bathrooms – Throw away any items that have expired or those that are no longer in use. Items such as toothbrushes can be kept in holders to save space and keep them clean.
Office – Any paperwork that can be found on a website or email should be recycled. Filing systems can help you minimise the inflow of paperwork and help reduce your existing paperwork piles.
Kids Room – Teaching children the concept of ‘one in, one out’ can stop toys from becoming jumbled and cluttered on the floor.
Garage –When you clear space in your house, boxes of old clothing, sports equipment and extra furnishings usually end up in the garage and will never return inside your home. To create a vast amount of free space you can donate the items or keep them in self storage.
To find out how you can benefit from self storage, visit our Quote and reserve online page to get started.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, business storage, clutter, collectibles, de-clutter, declutter, fine wine storage, furniture storage, music storage, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, student storage, UK storage, wine storage
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Thursday, January 13th, 2011
The New Year brings many resolutions such as starting a diet, finding a new job, decorating the home or deciding to move. Although you don’t have to move to create a new home for yourself as rearranging furniture and decorating can give your living space a fresh feel, if you have decided to move house then it’s important to make sure you’re not under-prepared.
If you’re moving or thinking of giving the home a makeover in the New Year you can find inspiration from magazines, websites and our blog to create a fresh look. If you find something you like then you can clip out the articles from magazines or print them off and keep a file of ideas to use for future reference.
Painting and decorating a room can dramatically change its appearance, but so can doing something different with your existing furniture. Go through your home looking at items of furniture and accessories that you love. List the items you no longer like because you could free up space by selling, donating or storing them. This will allow you do more with the furniture that remains.
Moving day can be an exciting but daunting task. The key to making the move smoother is organisation. The more you do in advance of the move, the easier it will become. Before you move you will need to declutter your house thoroughly and think ahead. Some items of furniture or accessories may not be suitable for the style or fit in certain areas of your new house.
When packing make sure items from different rooms aren’t boxed together and are clearly labelled on both sides. Ensure you protect breakables by packing them in bubble wrap and labelling the box as ‘Fragile’. For smaller items you can keep them in the drawers of wardrobes and cabinets to make sure they stay in one place.
For all of your moving or storage needs, including storage boxes and bubble wrap visit us in store or order online at our online box shop.
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, byss, clutter, de-clutter, declutter, furniture storage, home, moving, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage solution, UK storage
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Tuesday, December 14th, 2010
The fifth round of Space Savers in now live after Lea Grieveson walked away with an Xbox 360 console and a ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1’ game after storing 418 items with help of his friends.
The prize for Round 5 is a Black Nintendo Wii Console and Wii Sports Resort bundle that will be given away to one lucky winner. To get your hands on this prize you will have to store as many prizes as possible with the help of your friends. Inviting your friends to play along will increase your score because you will gain points each time they store items.
You can store an item in your virtual self storage room by catching all of the falling items from a moving van before they fall onto the road. You can then select and customise an item to store each day which will give you one point on the leader board. You can store one item per day but you can gain more points when your friends store items, so make them play too!
To take part in Big Yellow Space Savers and be in with a chance of winning a black Nintendo Wii Bundle, all you have to do is head over to http://bit.ly/spacesavers and start storing items!
Tags: big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, clutter, Competition, Competitions, de-clutter, declutter, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, Space savers, UK storage
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Wednesday, December 8th, 2010
During the Christmas period your home can go from a humble abode to looking like a tip in a matter of days. The main cause of this is adding seasonal decorations to your home which can increase your home’s clutter. In the run-up to Christmas we’ll be providing solutions so you can celebrate Christmas without the clutter, suggesting gift ideas for around the home that will provide great storage solutions and give you reason to celebrate without the mess.
When decorating your home make sure you remove everyday items that are being replaced by Christmas decorations. It’s a good idea to place the everyday items in the boxes that usually hold your decorations or place them in storage. That way you know where they are and you can easily put them back when removing the decorations after Christmas.
If you’re keeping presents in the home for friends and family that aren’t coming to visit you could keep them out of the way in storage. It’s a safe and secure option that will allow you to keep areas clear and make extra space available. When it’s time to go and visit them, all you need to do is simply grab the items.
Decorations at Christmas can lose their appeal and clutter up your space if you do too much. More decorations doesn’t necessarily mean your home looks better. If you find that you have many left over after cutting back on the number of decorations you’re using, you could donate them for someone else to make use of.
To find out more information about how you can benefit from self storage during the Christmas period, visit www.bigyellow.co.uk/personal to get started.
Tags: advent calendar, big yellow, Big Yellow Self Storage, boxes, byss, christmas, Christmas storage, clutter, collectibles, de-clutter, declutter, furniture storage, personal storage, self storage, self storage blog, storage, storage solution, UK storage
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