Moving house is one of the most stressful things a person can do in their life. And while it might not be possible to remove all of the stress involved in the process, there are plenty of ways to reduce the worries, time pressures, and sleepless nights that are often associated with the whole affair.
In this article we’ll give you some tips to show you how the right preparation and planning can make the whole process go by much easier.
This is one of the most obvious and yet most disregarded tips, not just for moving house, but for all sorts of big life projects. There are so many aspects to relocating, such as packing, arranging removals companies or transportation, redirecting post, dealing with the legal aspects, and on and on.
There are only so many hours in the day, and most of them are already taken up, so it’s important to start early so you don’t have to rush and forget items on your checklist. Which leads on to…
It’s so much easier to begin on a task when it’s broken down into smaller chunks, and that is where a checklist can help.
Create a list of all the small tasks that need to be done. You can even break some of these down into smaller tasks. A task like ‘pack up the house’ is possibly a bit too large. You could break this into smaller tasks like ‘pack up the spare room’.
Another tip for your checklists is to make tasks actionable. ‘Prep for house move’ is too vague and you won’t won’t feel inclined to check it off, as you won’t have a clear idea of what you need to do to check it off.
For the majority of people moving house is not something that is easily achievable without help. Often you can rope in friends or family members to help with certain aspects of the move. Friends and family might be able to help out with the packing and transporting boxes and furniture. However, if you have the money then professional movers are often worth it, as the job will be done quicker and with less chance of damage to your items.
This applies to the whole process of moving house, as well as to the moving day itself. Part of giving yourself enough time to move involves giving yourself breaks from the job to rewind and destress.
Moving day can be a physically demanding time, and breaks will be needed to remove some of the strain from your body.
There are so many benefits to using self storage during a house move. It can remove so much stress from the whole process.
One of the main benefits comes from the extra time it gives you during the process. You don’t have to move all your belongings at one time, you can store some of them and come back to them at a later time.
It can also make the packing process a lot simpler, as you can move your boxes into self storage as and when you’ve packed them. This means you clear out space in your house and you don’t have to try to live around the mess of all your belongings strewn in boxes all over the floor.
Another benefit is for furniture that you don’t have space for in the new house. You can store this furniture in self storage while you figure out what to do with it. If you’re planning on selling it, you can also leave it in self storage while you wait for the right person to come along with the right price.
I hope you’re convinced now that moving house doesn’t have to be one of the most stressful experiences of your life. With the right preparation and planning you can make the process go much smoother.
Moving house is ranked as one of the most stressful things that people have to deal with and while self storage can’t solve all your house move problems, it can certainly help with a lot of them.
Here’s 7 ways that self storage can help make your house move that little bit easier.
Self storage can be a lifesaver before you’ve even sold your house. When you’re staging your home for a sale you’re essentially trying to give your home a mini makeover so you can present it to prospective buyers in its best light.
For many of us our houses are cluttered up with all the items we’ve been hoarding for years and just can’t get rid of. However, this is the last thing potential buyers want to see. Buyers want to see plenty of space and light, and a lack of clutter so they can imagine how they can live in that area.
This is where self storage comes in – you can clear out all the items you don’t need right away and store them in your own unit, so buyers don’t get put off.
While you’re packing for your house move you’ll likely have boxes and boxes of items, and depending on how much space you have in the house, this can become an issue.
Moving is stressful enough without having all your floor space taken up with boxes you’ve already packed away, and are just sitting there ready to trip you up, or irritate you with their presence.
Using self storage while packing also allows you to take your time when going through everything. You can pack all your non-essential items long in advance, and then pack boxes away bit by bit. This prevents a last minute rush of having to get everything packed in a day or two.
It’s not always the case, but often you might be moving into rented accommodation, after selling your house. Doing this has the great benefit of giving you a lot more time to find your perfect next home rather than having to buy a house within a particular time frame.
However, this means that you might not want to fully unpack all your belongings into your temporary rental accommodation. Even if you did want to, you might not have the space to do this for all of your stuff.
Again, self storage to the rescue. Here at Space Self Storage we offer flexible storage so you can carry on storing your items with us for as long as it takes you to find that perfect home. While you’re storing your items you can have easy access to take out or put in anything you might need.
Similar to packing your belongings before the move, there’s nothing worse than having the clutter of all your boxes hanging around while you’re trying to set up your new house and deciding where everything lives.
Leaving some of your boxes in storage while you set up your new home not only gives you the space to move around your new house, but also allows you to spread the move over a longer time period, so it is much less stressful.
It’s unlikely that all the rooms of your new house will be decorated to your liking before you move into it. Luckily, before you start putting items into a room is the perfect time to do a bit of redecorating.
If you keep your self storage unit around you’ll be able to hold all the items you would have placed in your soon-to-be-redecorated room into your storage unit, leaving you with a nice empty room for painting etc.
You never really know when you’re moving into a new house whether your current furniture will go or not.
Things you assume would go perfectly well in a particular room might end up clashing with other things, or you might not have enough space for them.
Don’t get rid of your current furniture until you’ve had a chance to test it out to see whether it will work. If you have two pieces of furniture and will only have space for one, make sure you keep both around until you’ve had the chance to see what each of them will look like.
If you haven’t got a shed in your new place, or you’re having the garden renovated then you’ll need somewhere else to store all your outdoor furniture and garden tools. Storing these items in the house is clearly not the best place for them, and this is yet another place where self storage can come to the rescue.
That’s our 7 reasons why self storage can help take the stress out of your house move. Let us know if you can think of any more ways self storage has helped you with your move.
Moving house is often ranked as one of the most stressful experiences you can go through. Downsizing adds the extra challenge that you can’t just pack up all your belongings and move them to the new house, but instead you have to work out what items you have to say goodbye to, and work out what to do with them.
But don’t worry, we’re here to help and in this article we’ll give you advice on how to make this experience go as smoothly as possible.
The process is going to take longer than you think. Even if you’re already living in a fairly small place you’ll have more boxes, trinkets, books, ornaments and general paraphernalia than you’d expect.
While downsizing you’ll have to spend a little time considering whether to take each item. And, if you’re not taking an item to the new place you’ll have to quickly decide what to do with it, as selling an item can take time that you may not have budgeted for. Because of this, we always recommended starting this process as early as possible.
Going room by room is a more effective way to plan your downsizing. This way you can set yourself a target to have a particular room cleared by a particular day. Without targets like these you can spend a lot of time packing boxes here and there, without making as much progress as you could otherwise.
When you’re going through your daily life try to notice all the things you’ve used. This will show you the most important items to take with you.
Most of this will be obvious to you, however, there will be the occasional gadget you thought you could do without, but it turns out you use it more than you thought.
If you haven’t used something in over a year, then the chances are you don’t need it and might not want to take it with you when you downsize.
This goes for clothes as well as tools, and gadgets. There’s a trick you can do if you know well in advance that you’ll be planning on moving. You can turn all your coat hangers in one direction, then when you use an item of clothing turn its coat hanger in the other direction. If after a year a coat hanger is still in the original direction, you’ll know this is an item of clothing you can get rid of.
You’d be surprised at the amount of things people will be willing to buy second hand. This is great for the environment, and is fighting against today’s throwaway culture. You can even sell things that are broken but fixable by someone who knows what they’re doing.
You’re going to have to be ruthless to get rid of the things that won’t fit in your new place. There are plenty of items that will carry sentimental value, some of these won’t make the cut.
You could see if friends or family could look after them, but if not there’s only two options, self storage or getting rid of it.
If you’re getting rid of furniture, keep items that have multiple uses. This includes things like a coffee table with storage drawers or a sofa bed.
Items of furniture with built in storage, like ottoman beds, are great for smaller homes so these should be on your “to keep” list.
This is fairly obvious but depending on your personality might be easier said than done. You’re going to have to face the fact that you won’t be able to fit all your things in your new place, and buying new items won’t help that.
If you’re thinking about leaving a particular treasured heirloom to a family member in your will, then it might be better to do this during the downsize, assuming it’s not something you need for the time being obviously.
A lifetime of taking physical photos can lead to you having boxes and boxes of photo albums of your memories over the years.
You can either pay for these photos to be professionally scanned, or you can do it yourself if you have the time. Once you’ve done this you can pass on your photo albums to family members who’d love to go through those memories with you.
While this approach isn’t always ideal, for those of you who aren’t sure how much space you’ll need to downsize into, you could consider renting a property of roughly the size you’re looking for.
While you’re in your rented accommodation you can keep your belongings in storage. That way if you realise you need more space you can fill it with the items you already own rather than having to buy new.
Depending on the timeframe that you have to move out, you might not have enough time to get rid of your belongings before the moving date is upon you.
In this case self storage is your best friend. While you’re waiting for things to sell you can leave them in self storage so they aren’t blocking up your new home.
Hopefully you’ve found this advice useful, we wish you the best of luck in your new home, and if you ever need any space to store your belongings, Space Self Storage is here to help.
Student accommodation isn’t known for being spacious or having loads of storage space, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up your belongings or keep things you want easy access to back at home. Student self storage in Dublin and other cities is an affordable and convenient solution that means you can get your stuff whenever you want without tripping over it where you’re living or annoying the people you live with. Rental storage spaces have more advantages than many people realise when they first move away to study.
One problem that students face when they leave home for school is what to do with all that luggage once they unpack. It’s bulky. It doesn’t always fit under a bed. Luggage storage spaces for students are a convenient solution. It’s certainly easier than hauling the empty luggage back to your parents’ home after you unpack, especially if you don’t have a car.
Students in Dublin face an especially challenging situation with housing and storage. Rents in the capital are painfully high, and many students live in crowded and cramped accommodation. Using student self storage in Dublin can make life a lot easier.
Every student faces their challenges with their accommodation, but here are some of the most common reasons that students use rental storage.
Storage spaces for students also make school breaks easier. When you are heading home for a break, you can put your belongings into secure storage instead of worrying about who has access to them in your accommodation. And if travel is possible this summer, you won’t have to worry about hauling everything back to your parents’ home before you head off for your adventures abroad.
If you are curious about how our cheap storage solution for students can help you, why not give us a call today? We can answer any questions and get you sorted with affordable and accessible rental storage in Dublin.
So Yes I was one of those people. I did queue outside the local toy store for two hours when there was talk about a second lock down. This year I feel that we have all been through enough without having to explain to the kids that Santa couldn’t manage to get them just what they wanted as he was self-isolating!
This virus has turned our world upside down, we have had holidays cancelled, I think I have actually lost hair trying to home-school and not once have my three gorgeous kids complained. They had just taken it in their stride and not blinked an eye at all the change or things they have had to give up this year. The only thing we have heard is how they have missed hugging their grandparents and how they can’t wait for a sleepover at Nana’s when this is all over. So for that reason and to celebrate the fact that we have all got through this madness healthy and feeling very grateful that we still have all our loved ones in good health, I am determined to have the BEST CHRISTMAS YET!!
It may be a different Christmas but it is still going to be fun. It is still going to include lots of presents, too much food and hopefully, fingers crossed will have a few very special people around our table this year. For that I feel happy and excited and hopeful!
With all that in mind, I had asked the kids to write their lists extra early and to write them a little different. I asked them to put down one present that they wished for and to list things that they would love to spend the day doing. My son wrote down how he would love a bike so we could all spend Christmas day going for a family cycle together. My other son wrote down that he wanted an xbox so we could play family games together indoors for when it gets too cold to go outside . My daughter wrote down that she wanted a camera so that she could take photos of all our family memories over Christmas and the rest of the year. I was in tears reading each list as you can imagine.
They asked for a Christmas day filled with togetherness, laughter, a time that was making another family memory. So that is why I got out of bed extra early and I queued outside the shop waiting for its doors to open. I was one of those people that was reported about in the papers!
So here I am now with a bike, a camera, an Xbox and the worst fear that one of them will open the garage door and discover their surprises all too soon!! I wake in the middle of the night thinking I hear one of them out of bed and jump. So today I took out the laptop and I booked a storage unit. A 16 square foot unit that fits all inside so I can lock away the surprises until the Big Day. I know I won’t stop there too, this lock down will probably make me shop online even more and I can actually get all my Christmas presents delivered directly to Space Storage so Santa can breathe a sigh of relief.
This year has been hard enough so this little bit of joy has really made me feel hopeful for the days ahead. Thanks Space Storage for not letting Covid-19 spoil this Christmas Magic!
As the final days approach before all the madness, excitement and Christmas magic starts, I need a few of my own Christmas miracles to pull all the final bits together to ensure another magical Christmas this year.
For Christmas dinner we have 10 adults and 8 kids, dear Santa please send me a bigger house to fit them all or a bigger table to fit them all or more chairs for the small table I have. So my thoughts to solve this plan is to pop along to Space Storage and pop any unnecessary clutter into my unit to make my house feel bigger, while I’m there maybe the garden table and chairs in my unit can double as the kids Christmas table! Problem solved.
Christmas night we have 4 extra adults staying and three kids, dear Santa I need two extra bedrooms at least for my house, a few extra beds and enough duvets and pillows to keep everyone warm. I can clear out the spare room of the gym equipment, bring the sleeping bags from our camping equipment in our storage unit and I know we have boxes filled with duvets and pillows I can bring from my unit.
Under my tree is filled with gifts for each of my guests to bring home, dear Santa I wish I had something where each guests can place all their gifts to take home. I can pop into Space and get some boxes and we can decorate them with Christmas wrapping paper so they can fill their box and it can be an activity to keep the kids busy while I get the house sorted for all the visitors.
Now where to hide the gifts….Dear Santa please can I have a lock to keep the children’s curious minds out of the shed so they can wake up to a house full of surprises. Oh I just remembered something that Space Storage also sell locks so something else I can pick up when I am there.
Dear Santa at Christmas we reflect on how lucky we are, for this beautiful house we have and the warm beds and smiling faces so we are pretty sorted for Christmas wishes and it seems like Space Storage have all the other stuff sorted.
Merry Christmas from all the staff at Space Storage and we wish you a healthy, safe and wonderful 2019 and remember we are here for all your storage needs.
Being a parent comes with huge responsibility and one of those is keeping the magic of Christmas alive in the hearts and minds of all our kids for as long as possible. So with each passing year the magic of Christmas is a little harder to create and you can almost see the children trying to figure out how it all works. It is all resting on your shoulders to ensure that each night the elf is moved, the lists are written and taken from the fire place before they wake up and that not one present is discovered before the big day.
The first four or five years came and went without a glimmer of doubt or suspicion but as they get older you can see their mind begin to question the magic just a little and you begin to feel the massive pressure to be on your top game and keep this Christmas magic alive as long as possible.
From the moment the first add for toys is on the tv, or the toy catalogue comes through the door every part of their little faces and bodies are bursting with excitement of the imminent arrival of the big man in his red costume and a promise of even more toys to be added to your already overflowing collection. The house feels like it is bursting at the seams.
This year already the plans are beginning to form of wanting this and that and where each new item will go and how good they will be in order to receive all their treats and delights. Soon the lists will be written and they will magically disappear up the chimney and the elves will be hiding around each corner checking on behaviour and ensuring chores are completed and teeth are brushed each night. The kids are playing their best game and as parents we need to too to keep all this magic alive.
My kid’s favourite game to play is hide and seek so they know every single hiding place my house has to hold. So there is no way a present could ever be hidden in my house without a little body hiding under a bed finding it. This is what led to my discovery that Santa’s grotto had to be somewhere that my two little rascals could not access. Somewhere that was locked and only I had had the key to.
Each year I acquire a storage unit and hide away all their presents in the unit. It is so much easier and I can drop the items off as soon as I finish shopping as I have 24 hour access or I can order my items online and get them delivered to my storage unit so there is no evidence of them ever being in my house. Their little minds would always questions a brightly coloured box or knock on the door from the postman!
Christmas eve I can drive out to the storage facility and pack up the car and deliver them under the tree without a question being asked. Last year I even wrapped the presents at the facility and made up a drum kit so all I had to do was leave them for the kids to burst in and find them the following morning.
All I had to do was sit back and watch their faces full of happiness and joy and celebrate another Christmas miracle. I can’t wait for this year already and see that moment as the magic and Christmas spirit fills up their little faces and celebrate another successful year of believing in Santa. Thanks Space Storage for helping me keep the magic alive.
I set up my business 5 years ago and it was a seasonal business specializing in all things Christmas. It included jumpers, decorations, kid’s treats and everything jolly for the festive season. Each year between September and December I would open my doors and literally resemble one of Santa’s elves trying to ensure everyone had their order in time to make their house ready for the big man’s arrival.
The first year started off mainly through friends and colleagues and a lot of visits to industrial estates knocking on offices and hoping one would make an order. Use of social media was fantastic way of getting my products out there and led to a large uptake of my products. It led me to setting up a website and allowing customers to make orders online.
As the business grew so did my stock levels and ideas for new products. Last year’s big seller was a Christmas box including a different selection of products etc. I had to source everything from different manufacturers and had items arriving almost hourly by courier to my house. I had neighbours watching out for delivery drivers in case I would miss them while I flew out and did the school runs so I could make up the orders quick enough to get them back out in time.
Last year I was given the opportunity to operate a Christmas cart in the middle of a large shopping centre in Dublin. It had a fantastic footfall and led to a massive jump in sales which I was delighted about. The cart I designed was fantastic and I loved it. I could display all my products but I had no space to store additional products. I approached the shopping centre about the possibility of a small store room. The fees were huge and enough to make trading about covering the rent rather than making a profit.
I was starting to run into a few problems with deliveries too as I spending more time operating the cart I was constantly missing deliveries to the house and simply couldn’t ask my neighbours for another favour with all the boxes they had already collected for me. Then the unexpected struck about mid-November when I realized that although the cart was fantastic I had no idea where I was going to put it when I closed up on Christmas Eve. During the festive season the shopping centre allowed it to be stored onsite. The cart’s wheels came off and when empty could be stored flat, but even still would not be something my already overcrowded house could fit.
I sat down with a pen and paper and began to write down what I needed, somewhere to store my cart between Jan and September, somewhere to store stock, somewhere that could accept deliveries on my behalf, somewhere that was accessible 24 hours and somewhere that was secure. I looked at a local property sites, the option of acquiring an office, the option of hiring a stock room and nothing seemed to make any sense. It was when I fired up the laptop and typed in storage that Space popped up. The more I read the more I thought this could work.
I picked up the phone and called Darren and I made a plan to visit the facility in the coming days. It was perfect, it had 24 hour access, they could accept my deliveries, I could have racking in the unit to split out my stock, and it was big enough to store the cart. My unit was in a building that was behind a security gate and there was cctv everywhere I looked. I had access codes to access the building wherever I needed. It was perfect.
The orders have already started to come in and this Elf will be getting busy again in no time, thanks Space Storage
Another happy Space Storage Customer!
18 days and counting to go to the big day and with more visitors coming to stay then a hotel, we need more room at the Inn.
It must be time to tackle the spare room. We call it a spare room but it is anything but. It has many uses, launderette fully equipped with six foot drying horse, home gym complete with treadmill and exercise bike and home study complete with desk, large office chair and books and files strewn everywhere. Creaking open the door I peek inside and also discover bags and boxes full to the brim of clothes and toys meant for our local charity. Looking around the jam packed room it is hard to believe there is a bed in there somewhere that needs to be occupied by our imminent visitors.
How am I ever going to sort this one out??? As I stand scratching my head and pondering my options I remember the small unit I took to store my Christmas presents, could they have bigger units? Could they help me find the bed underneath all this?
I picked up the phone and called Space Storage and explained to Darren in Space that I simply must have more room in the Inn.
“No Problem” were Darren’s words. Amazing I thought.
Darren explained that they could drive the Space van to my house and I could load up all my extra belongings into the van and Tomas would drive the van back to Space Storage where I could unload all of my belongings into my unit. Problem solved!
Moving day was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders and I finally found the bed in what was now a spare bedroom. It was truly a Christmas miracle!
Merry Christmas and thanks Space Storage
The Space Fairy
Storing For Christmas
Every year I say that this Christmas I will be more organized in terms of buying presets earlier. And yet, somehow, I get to Christmas week without a present bought! I then have the mad dash to not only buy but to hide the gifts in a house with limited storage and two inquisitive children more like secret service agents noticing an additional box or bag under the bed within seconds of it being stuffed there.
“Mom…. Who is this dolly for?”
So this year no more, no more stress, no more dashing into shops on Christmas Eve to discover that the dancing dolly or the bike in 14” has sold out. This year I am going to plan and be more prepared.
What if I can buy a present every week and have a place to store my items without worrying about little hands and eyes finding them or myself dipping into them every time a kiddies’ party pops up, which let’s face it, is most weekends?
I started to research and found a storage company! Could this work? At first I imagined large units were businesses would hold stock or people would use to hold furniture while waiting to move house. After studying a little more in depth, however, I found this storage company had spaces of ten square feet, which sounded ideal for my purpose. As you know, many kids’ toys come in huge boxes, yet these can be easily stored top to bottom inside my unit.
The last two weeks, I have been visiting the local toy store ticking off items on my list and then dropping along to Ballymount to pop them inside my unit.
As I close the lock on my unit I know there is no chance of my two kiddies finding out too early what treats are in store for them on Christmas morning!
Thanks Space Storage
