'Why can't it be spring' cleaning: clean out the garage clutter.

A garage... or as I like to call it the junk room.  Some of you may have junk drawers where you keep misc. items, others such as myself may store random stuff in the garage.  I have lots of stuff and usually no where to put it.  Ideally this is the space meant to shelter your family car or maybe even two. I am one of the lucky ones with a two car garage!  

My two car garage... with one car in it.  Between our recycling, bicycles, tools and misc. crap including an circa 1960's heart defibrillator I found in the garage storage of my last house... there is simply NO ROOM for anything else.  

At least that was until I checked out how I could condense the mess and make room for two vehicles.  I did a little bit of "can it please be spring now" cleaning this weekend and now my car fits in the garage too!  I'm so excited.  Although I did find an exoskeleton of a HUGE snake that scared me to the point of  nearly needing the ancient defibrillator, somehow I succeeded in tidying up the junk room.  I am very proud of former junk room now two car garages new appearance.  Now I will no longer have to shield guests from wanting to see the junk room when they visit.

Some keys points that I have found useful for tidying up the junk may be useful to you.  A trash bag/box/whatever.  Get rid of stuff that you don't need.  I ended up getting rid of my partners stack of old Playboy and National Geo. magazine to his dismay.  Who needs dirty magazines when you have the whole wide world of the Internet?   I kept the heart defibrillator for now, but put it up in my office to start that art project I've been meaning to do with it.  Next stop for the ancient defibrillator is the Louvre!

Another key thing we did was bought more shelves.  You will be amazed how awesome those do-dads work.  While I am a firm believer in shelves indoor, outdoor shelves never seemed necessary.  We already did have two but we bought two more.  It freed up oodles of space!

Having space freed up in your garage for you vehicles will save you a lot of trouble.  The elements may never have a profound effect on your car, but the first time hail puts dents in your hood you're going to wish you'd stored it in the garage.

If I can do it- so can you!  Good luck with cleaning up your junk rooms!

Who turned out the lights? A lesson of utility.

I hate the cold, I'm scared of the dark and I like to whine.  Combine all these factors with a move, and I was a miserable person to be around Dec. 15, 2011.  Like a good little mover I contacted all of the utilities early to let them know my move out date.  Little did I know they would cut off our lights and heat at 9 am on the day of the move.  This was a tad infuriating, but my fault as most my problems are.    

I have moved a lot and switching utilities is a key part to any successful move.  These guidelines on switching utilities will benefit anyone who is moving.  You don't want to mess this step of the moving process up, trust me!  As much as I hate calling people on the phone (yes, I like to whine), switching utilities is one of those cases you shouldn't procrastinate on.  Call the power, cable and water companies and let them know in advance you're relocating.  Two weeks in advance is an advisable amount of time to let them know. Being specific with the utility company is key as I learned the hard way, which seems to be my favorite way of learning things.  Let them know what time of day you're moving out, unless you want to be left in the dark.   

Where I live is cold in December, like freezing cold.  So when I woke up at 9:00 am, because the lights flickered off (yes I sleep with lights on, I told you I'm afraid of the dark) I was not pleased.  I had the rest of the day to pack hurl my belongings into the bed of my truck one way of another.  As someone who likes to procrastinate I saw no problem in making this happen by later that night.  Packing at night was no longer an option because of my lack of electricity.  I suppose I could have used candles and moved by candle light.  If I burned down the place, I already had my security deposit back.  Also, whatever stuff that was left inside, at least I wouldn't have to move it.  

Jesting aside, I raced to have all my stuff packed and loaded by dusk.  I hate doing stuff in the mornings (and did I mention I like to whine), but ended up packing and moving all my stuff with great haste.  Socks, dishes and cats all in the same box.  Books, blankets and clothes hanger together.  Disorganized chaos that made unpacking an atrocity, but somehow helped me manage to get all my stuff out by dark.  In winter this is no small task since it gets dark so early.  Luckily I am young and limber... so at least I didn't injure myself.  In fact, so much stress and moving helped keep me warm.  Moving in the cold can be dangerous though.  See reasons in the image below:  

So follow these guidelines as to when and how to switch your utilities.  If something bad happens it is usually a contrived crisis that could have been prevented.  Keep in mind the band-aids are probably packed in the most inconvenient place possible, so be safe.  Happy moving! 

Storage PODs: To Pod or not to Pod?

To pod or not to pod, it is an indeed a good question.  A very answerable question at that, but you should think about it carefully before choosing whether or not to go with one.  Pods, or temporary storage units, are a great way to deal with temporary storage or moving your stuff.  They are closed containers made of plywood, often encased with metal sheeting. There are many reasons to get a pod, and here are a few:

-Major Renovations

If you are doing a major project to your home, this is a great way to store your stuff.  You can place the pod in your driveway, parking lot or street.  While you are doing the project this will avoid any of your stuff getting damaged or being in the way.

-Selling your home

It is no secret that the real estate market isn't doing that great right now, selling a house can be quite difficult these days.  Emptying the house you are selling will let buyers envision moving into the house easier.     It is hard for one to gauge how much space is in a home when it is packed when someone else's stuff.  Also, if you empty the home before you sell it, this will make it easy for you to repaint or refinish floors, another great way to increase the saleability of your home.  Not to mention you don’t have to worry about petty theft from people viewing your home, because all of your stuff will be safely tucked away in the POD. 

-Too much stuff in your house, work, yard, etc.

They bring it, you pack it at your convenience, they pick it up, they store all the extra junk in your office at home that you just don’t need right now. 

-Moving without the hastle of a van

It is cheaper than a moving van!  And you don’t have to argue which one you is going to drive that huge thing.  You pack it at your own convenience.  PODs usually are flexible with their time limits so you will be able to take your time storing everything in the container.  Unlike moving vans where you have to quickly throw everything in, cross your fingers and hope somehow nothing will get damaged.

Here you can get a promotional code for Pods to get 5% off if you decide to rent a pod.

So there are some reasons you may not want to get a pod. Like all things, getting a temporary storage unit has a couple of disadvantages.  If you decide not to get a pod you can find a moving service or a storage unit right for you. 

-Climate control

If you are using a pod for storage, they usually do not have reliable climate control.  While most portable storage units are sealed they do not have humidity or temperature control that some delicate items may require.

-Cost

While PODs can be less expensive than moving fans they are often more expensive than other storage options.

-Not in my lawn! 

Neighbors are good for lots of things.  Pet sitting, keeping an eye on your house and most of all COMPLAINING!   So if you have a pod in your driveway, you may get a couple complaints about the aesthetic interference it has with your neighborhood.  If you have a finicky neighbor, it may be good to let them know you are getting the POD before hand.  However, know your rights.  It is after all your driveway.  Unless you are part of a homeowner's association, then you will need to address your neighborhood rules for PODs. 

If you plan to put the pod in the street, you will more than likely need a permit to do so.  Make sure to visit your local police department to do this beforehand, so you don't get ticketed.  It is a very unpleasant and unnecessary and unpleasant additional cost. 

-Move it Yourself!

Unless you are hiring your own move out crew, you will be moving everything in the POD by yourself.  It can be a pain, but if you want something right do it yourself…

-Then again doing it yourself can be dangerous

Sometimes if you damage your own items while moving them, insurance companies won’t want to cover your do it yourself damage.  So any damage to items you may end up paying out of pocket. No to mention risk factors of actually damaging yourself while moving.

Move Out Cleaners- Modern Super Heroes

There are some people who are very tidy, and cleaning up after moving seems like no big deal.  There are others of us who may be a bit more... on the messy side.  Or some of us have pets who manage to put a little extra damage on places we live.  I personally have three kitties and I still have no idea how they generate as much fur as they do.

No matter what your situations is, fretting over whether or not you will get your security deposit back is no fun, it adds additional and unnecessary stress to moving.  Some of us may even dismiss the notion that they will ever get the deposit back (and hope that our land lords won't be able to find us at our new place to charge us for that stain that was already on the carpet, but you forgot to mentioned it when you moved in. Ahem.  Or maybe that is just me.)

I wish I had known before that you can hire people to clean out after you move.  You can go here to find a move out cleaning team in your area, in your budget and perfectly matched for the job.  After boxing and everything else, it would be nice to have someone clean out the place thoroughly for you.  While not all of the move out cleaning companies will guarantee that you will get your security deposit back, a lot of them will.

If you ever have exhausted all your energy on a move or feel like you need help getting that security deposit back, getting a moving out cleaning team may be the way to go.

What exactly do they do?

A better questions would be what don't they do.  They clean everything in your residence from top to bottom- bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathrooms, etc, and leave it in the best condition possible.  Soap scum, stains, appliances- they do it all and they do it thoroughly.  They even will unfreeze your freezer and scrub it out.   These are the details that make moving out cleaning companies have a niche for a profession that makes some of our lives easier.

I recommend that you go here and invest in getting a team that will make your life easier.  No more worrying about security deposits or actually doing the cleaning yourself.  Just worry about moving out your old residence into your new home.