Posts Tagged 'self storage'

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Tips and Tricks: How to Store Your Garden Tools

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Storing your garden tools properly can add years to the life of your equipment, especially after the summer when there is a risk of rust and wear. Better yet when you are able to use your tools again they will be ready to go straight away. Here are some top tips to help you plan the way you store your garden tools in advance.

Before storing your garden tools make sure you scrub off any dirt or mud by using a stick to knock off the large pieces and a wire brush to remove the dirt that is really stuck on. If it is really covered and you’re finding it hard to get it back to its shiny old self, you may need to soak the tool in a bucket of hot water before attempting again. Make sure you wipe off any excess water with an old rag and let it dry thoroughly to prevent any rusting.

When storing you can treat the wooden areas of your tools by sanding any rough or splintery portions with sandpaper and rubbing in wax which is specially made to extend the usage of your equipment. The metal areas of your tools can be treated with lubricating oil which will protect it from rust and ware.

When putting your tools into a storage unit all shovels, rakes and hoses can be placed together in an empty compost bucket to stop them from falling over and leaning on other products.

For all of your packing needs, including storage boxes visit us in store or online at our online box shop www.bigyellow.co.uk/boxshop.

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Feature: The Key Steps for Redecorating Your Home

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Now you have seen the Best Online Resources and Added Inspiration when it comes to redecorating your home, we thought we would let you know the key steps for actually doing it!

Redecorating your home, or even just one room, is exciting. If you’ve just moved, you’ve got a totally blank canvas to build your dream décor, and if you’re giving a long-term home a lick of paint, it’s just as much as a fresh start.

There is a tendency to get slightly overwhelmed by the task at hand, but there are a few key steps you can take during the preparation stage to prevent this from happening.

First, plan, plan and plan some more. It sounds dull, but it will truly save time and money in the long run. This also helps you to think about what you really want to do, make the decisions about colour and style – then ensure that you buy all of the materials you’ll need throughout the project.

As part of this stage, work out your budget. Are you just going to paint walls or the ceiling and skirting boards as well? Do you need to make any structural changes? Do you need to hire in help – or are you just going to change the carpet? You’ll only be able to work these things out if you know your budget from the start. Be realistic, as planning a dream bedroom you can’t afford to buy will only become a stressful weight on your shoulders.

Create a folder or box to keep all of your paint pots and wallpaper samples, interior magazine pages and plans in – this will help you to keep everything organised and easy to find when you come to put everything into action.

Finally, plan your time and most importantly – don’t under estimate how long each task can take. Remember that clearing a room, packing it up and storing it away can take a day at least. Put specific times in your diary to work on the project, and allow yourself a break. All work and no play makes for a very stressful environment, when redecorating should be a fun thing to do.

While redecorating your home, extra storage space can be invaluable whether you require a small closet or you need to find enough space to fill the entire contents of a room. We offer self storage while you’re redecorating for as little as a week, month, year or as long as you like. We only ask for seven days notice when you want to leave.

To find out how you can benefit from self storage, visit our Quote and reserve online page to get started.

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Removals Day and How to Handle It

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Ask those about to move house what they are most apprehensive about and you can bet their answers are going to be the same: removals day! Removals day can be one of the most stressful aspects of the moving process if you’re under-prepared. The combination of packing the car, talking to your removals men, handling the kids and getting some sort of order going once you’ve arrived at your new house can all get way too much!

However, with proper preparation removals day doesn’t have to be a struggle. In fact, it can be quite pleasurable when everything’s prepared in advance, and you enjoy the excitement of knowing you’ll soon be starting a brand new life with your family.

Why not follow these handy tips for a stress-free moving day that’ll get you on the road to your new house quietly and efficiently?

Many hands make light work: There are so many tasks to do on removals day that you can’t possibly do them all yourself. Invite friends and family round (bribe them with snacks if necessary!) and ask them to chip in – not only will you feel supported and not alone but you’ll also have the added benefit of extra help should anything go wrong. Handymen are very helpful, as there are invariably a range of fiddly jobs that need doing on removals day.

Pack in advance: You really don’t want to be packing on removals day, except any last minute items that you simply need to throw into a bag, such as toiletries. If you continue packing on the last day you’ll confuse yourself as to what you’ve packed, what you haven’t packed, and what you may have accidentally left behind. Pack in advance and colour code the boxes, so your removals men can simply walk in and carry out everything, knowing precisely what needs to go where when you arrive at the new property.

Pack a survival kit: Once you get to your new house you’re likely to be exhausted. You’ll most likely want a brew, a snack and a place to sleep for the night. That’s why it’s important to pack a survival kit which contains everything you need for the first few days in your new house. This should include a kettle, cups, snacks, takeaway menus, alarm clocks, bedding, toiletries, cutlery and everything that’ll make your life that little bit easier. Maybe some champagne to celebrate too!

Arrange for pets to stay with relatives: Most pets cope very poorly with change, particularly cats, and can get very stressed out with the hustle and bustle of moving day. Although you can incorporate them into the day’s events – by locking them in an empty room with plenty of fresh water and food and putting them in the car last – it can be easier to leave them to relax at a friend or relatives for the day. That way you know they’re safe, and don’t have to worry about them escaping through an open door.

reallymoving.com offers free quotes for a range of moving related services such as removals, conveyancing and energy performance certificates, along with detailed advice and information to help your entire house move go as smoothly as possible.

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Big Yellow Self Storage Finds A Cracking Social Media Intern

Friday, June 18th, 2010

We recently unveiled the Big Think, a search for students passionate about social networks, social media and web culture. Entrants had to prove their gusto on Facebook and Twitter to craft attention grabbing headlines, whilst promoting themselves on the social web.

Designed for undergraduates and graduates alike and those interested in social media the internship is a fantastic opportunity for the winner to work and learn with our online communications team in London this summer. The internship scheme offers students a detailed program focusing on how to effectively enhance brand presence online and through social media sites such as Facebook.
To secure this prize, students had to enter by submitting a catchy, funny or downright silly news headline which had to include the words “Big” and “Yellow” on our Big Yellow Self Storage page on Facebook.

We saw many Big Thinkers with well over 250 entries for the internship, but the overall winner with 223 ‘Likes’ was Nicholas Wellings whose entry was ‘BIG Bird from Sesame Street is BIG and YELLOW just like the BIG YELLOW Storage’.

He’s currently finishing off his AS exams at Sixth Form College in Sheffield and is a budding actor after beginning to break in to TV and film by appearing in some BBC dramas. Nicholas also has a great techie side to him as he’s a web designer who’s created sites for local businesses.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in Big Thinkers and we can’t wait for Nicholas to get started later in the summer!

You can check out Nicholas’ recent interview with the Guardian Careers site about how he got involved in the Big Thinkers internship here.

We’ve seen some really passionate individuals rise to the challenge over the last couple of weeks, so it’s seems a shame to pick up just one bright spark. That’s why we’re we are delighted to be able to confirm that we’re able to offer a 2nd month-long internship to join our fantastic winner Nicholas Wellings and the rest of the team at Big Yellow Self Storage. The closing date is 2nd July so you better get a new entry in and as many ‘Likes’ as you can fast! http://bit.ly/dx2GKA

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Added Inspiration for Redecorating Your Home

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Following on from our Redecorating Your Home – The Best Online Resources blog post, we thought we would give you added inspiration while you’re redecorating your house. If you’ve had a clear out and decided to store some belongings while you refresh the house, or even re-do the place entirely, look to the design blogs below to tickle the right side of your brain.

decor8 – Holly Becker, a freelance journalist and design consultant launched decor8 in January 2006 long before design blogs became a trusted and popular source of information on the web. An established site known as a reliable design resource to over 35,000 daily readers, decor8 (a creative play on the word decorate) is dedicated to sharing honest opinions, fresh decorating ideas, beautiful interior spaces, independent art and design, products and services, and articles meant to inspire readers to live a more fulfilling, authentic and creative life.

Design*Sponge is a daily website dedicated to home and product design run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. Launched in August of 2004, Design*Sponge was declared a “Martha Stewart Living for the Millennials” by the NYTimes in 2008 and features store and product reviews, city, product, and gift guides, DIY projects, before & after furniture and home makeovers, hometours, recipes, videos and podcasts, and trend forecasting. The site is updated constantly throughout the day (with an average of 6-10 posts a day), and attracts a core group of devoted readers.

Made in England is written by Cookie – a designer, illustrator and occasional adventurer. His goal is to make things visually interesting and generally creative, and the blog is where the best of what he finds is showcased.

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Tips and Tricks: How Best To Store Cakes

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

There aren’t many things you can’t keep in a self storage room, but food is one of them. It’s unlikely that most home-cooked meals will last for long, but when you’re planning to make something in advance – what’s the best way to keep it fresh?

Take cake for instance – you’ve spent a long time baking the perfect chocolate or carrot mix – and the house is filled with the lovely aroma of your hard work. Don’t let it go to waste by neglectful storage.

Fruit cakes keep the best, particularly when soaked in an alcohol like brandy, which acts as a preservative. You can keep a Christmas or wedding cake (wrapped in a double layer of greaseproof paper and foil, and kept in a tin) for about three months, ‘feeding’ it with alcohol from time to time – in fact, it will probably taste all the better for it.

Any cake made with perishables will be best off kept in the fridge and eaten within a few days. Cakes filled with jam will keep happily at room temperature for up to about 5 days (any longer and the sugars might start to form mould).
Metal tins are the best, as modern plastic boxes often takes on the scent of food that been left inside it. A cake tin will keep out air and unwelcome smells, resulting in a taste exactly the same as when it was first baked without unwanted flavouring.

For added security, wrap your cake in greaseproof paper before placing it inside the tin. If you’ve baked a cream-filled sponge or a cheesecake, you could also use a glass cake dome – which is both a good way to store and serve. Keep this inside the fridge and if you’re worried about scent penetration, line the cake with paper before putting it in.

When it comes to considering where to keep the cake, keep it away from sunlight, heat sources, and areas of high humidity – all of these can affect how long it will last.

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Did You Know That There Are Others Ways to Store Your Books?

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Did you know that there are many more creative ways to store your books, other than on a standard shelving system? If you tend to stack them, you lose floor space to the growing number of books in the lounge or office. And nine times out of ten, most of them haven’t even been read yet – they’re just being saved for future use.

There is brilliance in the madness of Console Book Shelves – a design concept of Stanislav Katz, which features a reclining seat within the shelves! The Salkim book hanger suspends your books in groups with metal wire to give the illusion of a lightweight mesh, with square frames hooking together to give the impression of light instead of one big block.

Using the same concept, you can buy ‘The Invisible Book Shelf’ from Amazon, made by Umbra, which turns your books into a floating piece to showcase your books with a really slick wall mount.

The ApartmentTherapy blog also features homes in which books are stored in the ceiling rafters, and even in the pull out drawers to form a staircase!

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Big Yellow Self Storage Donations Raise over £1,000 for Cancer Research

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Earlier this year, 13 of our Big Yellow Self Storage stores across the country took part in a Donation Station Day for Cancer Research. We set up donation drop off points at our stores so friends, families and colleagues could donate bags of much needed items to help stock a Cancer Research shop.

We managed to raise over £1,000 between the stores taking part which included Bristol Central, Liverpool Edge Lane, Poole, Reading, Sheffield Bramall Lane, Edinburgh, Finchley East, Balham, Peterborough, Norwich, Dundee, Stoke and Stockton.

Some of the highlights of the day included 9 bags of donated items from Dundee totalling £243, 16 bags from Stockton totalling £460 and 30 bags from Finchley East totalling £180!

Well done to everyone involved as it was a fantastic achievement to raise so much money on the day for such an amazing cause.

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Feature: Redecorating Your Home – The Best Online Resources

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

When it comes to redecorating your home, don’t forget about the dead space that could be used for storage. Look at corners of rooms, nooks and crannies in which shelving or units could be placed. Don’t be constrained by a box mentality though, you can find specially designed units to fit almost any space.

The retailers below will provide you with a source of furniture to suit almost any need – in any colour, size and shape.

Ikea – the Scandinavian company that is now synonymous with good quality basics at low prices. It is a hugely popular destination for model styled décor and accessories, but you can use its products as a base, then personalise them to fit into your home with a bit of creative thinking.

Graham and Green – opened its first shop in Notting Hill in 1974, and since then has expanded from humble beginnings to a delightfully identifiable, British establishment. Today, it has six beautiful shops; four catalogues each year and an online store that shows a vast collection of unique furniture and contemporary home accessories.

Lakeland – ‘the home of creative kitchenware’, sells innovative cookware appliances and utensils that are perfect for any contemporary home – as well as a range of truly brilliant storage ideas.

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Tips & Tricks: How To Store Handbags Correctly For Self Storage

Monday, June 7th, 2010

When your handbag costs as much as a holiday to a tropical island, you need to make sure you store it correctly. If you are the kind of person who throws everything in the bottom of your closet, including your precious Prada purse, then think again. Storing them carefully will prolong the lives of these accessories when using self storage; keeping them in pristine condition and making them last longer.

One of the best ways to store handbags is to put them in plastic boxes which allow air to circulate. Just make sure the boxes are big enough so that you are not folding over the bag handles.

The handbags you use regularly need to be easily accessible, so store them on the top or side shelf in your closet, standing upright in a line. You can organise them however you like – by size, type or colour – just make sure they aren’t crumpled on the floor.

Purses you don’t use so often can be wrapped in cotton pillowcases or cloth storage bags before putting them into self storage. Do not put them in enclosed plastic dry cleaning bags, or boxes without airflow as this will damage the leather.

If storing bags together make sure you cover any brass or mental chains, rings, studs and so on to stop them marking other bags. You can do this with a piece of tissue or cloth. Tuck chain handles inside the bag to prevent the chain from scratching or marking the outside leather. Undo metal fastenings and buckles on straps so that they do not leave an impression.

To help their keep, stuff the bags with tissue paper or any alternative acid-free filling, but do not use old newspapers. Bubble wrap is better than tissue paper for padding out or wrapping bags, as it doesn’t attract moths in the same way as tissue paper.

For all of your packing needs, including bubble wrap, storage boxes, tissue paper or loose fill visit us in store or online at our online box shop www.bigyellow.co.uk/boxshop.

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