Our Office Manager Samantha was interviewed by Gabrielle Marchand of CTV News Winnipeg this week! Gabrielle and the crew came down to check out the storage facility and get some great tips from Samantha on how to make the most of your self-storage space. View the full video here:
10 Storage Solutions for Busy Families
Is your family always busy? Does cleaning up the clutter or trying to organize your home fall to the wayside? If you need a bit of help with storage and are short on time, then you have come to the right place. Here are some really easy options to help keep your home organized and everything in its place.
Storage Solutions You Can Easily Incorporate into Your Family
Each of these solutions can be done in next to no time.
- Find containers for everything that have a lid. You can get these from your big-box stores, the dollar store, or even reuse old containers that have served their original purpose. Just make sure you keep things closed in containers to protect the items inside.
- Label each container full of items that you store so that you are not wasting time searching through your newly organized items to find the one thing you need. Labels can be something as simple as a list put into a clear zipped bag, taped to the top of your container.
- Use inexpensive ice cube trays to organize small items in each of your drawers. A junk drawer is common in nearly every kitchen, but an organized junk drawer is something to behold.
- Use magnetic strips inside of cupboard doors to help keep metal objects up off of counters and easily organized. Use them to hold files and nail clippers in the bathroom, or metal utensils in the kitchen. Small metal boxes with lids can hold kitchen spices and hang from the inside of your spice cabinet too, giving you back your kitchen counters.
- Hang a storage organizer on the back of every bedroom and closet door in the house to give you small areas to put little things that would otherwise clutter up your home. These are great for in kids’ rooms and kitchens where small toys, extra storage bags, and even shoes can be put up and kept out of the way.
- Plastic shower rings are a great way to keep little things organized. Use them to hold belts and scarves on your closet rod or on a hanger, or leave one extra one on your shower rod for hair ties.
- Use bins under each bed to store items that are out of season or only used randomly. This is a great way to store clothing, large winter blankets, or even toys that you need to swap out later to keep the toy selection appealing to your child.
- Each time you go to the thrift store, dollar store, or stop at a garage sale, buy baskets to hold your items. This keeps them neatly held together, while still allowing them to look nice.
- Add shelves to your closets to keep everything in them organized, and use boxes to keep the shelves tidy. Just remember to label everything!
- When in doubt, store items that you do not use regularly at a storage facility. They can keep your items safe, and give you back your home! Plus, no matter how busy you are, you can always swing by and grab what you need while out running errands!
Using a storage facility allows you to put your items somewhere safe instead of keeping them around the house, taking up space. Instead of finding room for extra containers, think outside the box of your house and store the items elsewhere!
Simplify “Getting Out the Door”: Organize Your Foyer or Mudroom
Does running out the door seem like more of a hassle than it is worth sometimes because you have too many things to manage? If so, then you may want to consider organizing your foyer to make it easier to walk out the door without missing anything. It could be a simple task of finding a shelving unit to hold all of your valuables, or it could be a little more involved if you have too many items in that small entryway. Here are a few ideas that may make getting out the door just a bit easier.
Make Your Entrance and Exit Point Consistent
It doesn’t matter if you come and go from the foyer by the front door or the mudroom in the back, you should make your routine as consistent as you can. This will help you develop a routine of what you need or don’t, and where it all goes. Make sure that you also have a home for everything you need on a daily basis. From your phone to your keys to your briefcase, make sure each item has a location it should be set in each time you come back home.
Remove Unnecessary from the Entire Room
If you are the type to keep that coat rack near the front door because a dear aunt left it to you, but you never use it, you should consider not having it taking up valuable space any longer. Don’t get rid of it or banish it to the garage – store it in a secure storage facility where the temperatures are kept even and your items do not get exposed to the elements when your car comes in and out. Take anything that is not regularly used out of your entryway so that you have room for what you actually need there.
Don’t Bring In Items You Will Just Be Bringing Back Out
When you get home from work, if you know that the only thing you are going to do is bring something in with you that will come back out unchanged in the morning, leave it in the car. It is less likely to get forgotten about, and it will not take up any needed space in your home. It can help you get in and out the door quicker, and make it to where you leave the house fully prepared for whatever your day holds.
6 Spring Cleaning Hacks to Get You Outside Faster!
Is your house ready for Spring? Is your house feeling claustrophobic?
The clocks have changed, and we have sprung forward. Spring in here! As exciting as that is, there is also the obligatory “spring cleaning” ritual that comes with the budding daffodils. And, although we welcome freshening up our homes and bringing spring inside, most of us hate the time we must spend scouring and scrubbing the house. We have compiled a list of our favourite cleaning tips that help get the job done well and you outside faster.
- Bed Linens
Time to take all your mattress covers and pillow covers and launder them. Launder all pillows that can be safely washed and any duvets. Anything that cannot be washed safely place in the dryer on high heat with a tennis ball to freshen up. Your bedrooms will smell fresh and clean even before you tackle the floors.
- Rugs and Liners
Wash any throw rugs that can be laundered. Take any that cannot safely go in the washer outside and shake well and leave out in the sun for a few hours. Remove any shower curtains and wash and if you have liners check for mildew. If they can be cleaned, wash with vinegar and water. If they have too much mold or mildew, replace your liners with new ones.
- Floors
Start with the room that has the least traffic. There is a tendency to clean the common areas first as that is where it seems most noticeable, but you have to go back and clean them after traipsing through the house with your mops and buckets. Clean your hardwood floors with a good oil soap. Oil Soaps are available at any hardware and most grocery stores and are relatively inexpensive and safe for your floors and family with no harsh chemicals.
- Furniture
Any furniture covers that can be safely washed in the washing machine should be done in early spring. You can hang them outside to dry without worrying about the harsh sun of summer bleaching out the colours.
Use an oil soap to clean all of your wood furniture and give everything a good wipe with furniture oil. Wood takes a beating with the dryness of winter and oiling your wood will keep it from cracking.
- Kitchen
The kitchen is probably the most labour intensive. Making a plan will help keep the time down. Start with your fridge and then your cupboards. Work in a circle by starting at one end and working around. Cleaning pros swear by this.
- Prepare your Winter Clothes
Start preparing your winter clothes for storing. Often, we start pulling out our spring clothes while our heavy winter wear is still in our closets making for a cluttered space. Start putting your winter clothes aside so it will be easier to store them.
If you find, after having done all your spring cleaning, that you are lacking space, give us a call. A climate-controlled self storage unit is a great solution to help with your winter overflow. Our team of professionals can help you choose the right size unit for your needs.