For the Kitchen:

This tip is a great one for the kitchen (and probably other areas of your home too) Pots and pans are obviously very clunky and jamming them into one cabinet isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Solution: Install some drawers in your biggest cabinet and fit twice the amount of pots and pans while keeping everything easy to reach.

For the Garage:

Clutter in your garage, anyone? Cleaning the garage is probably one of the most daunting tasks around. Adding extra storage space to the ceiling is a great way to not only organize your garage, but also to make sure everything is out of sight.

For the Office:

Or better yet, here’s a great place to store everything for the office you may not have. Using a chest for important papers, a bulletin board, and office supplies. When you close it, stack some pillows on top and it’ll look like just an average bench. No one has to know your organization secrets!

If you like tips and tricks like these, check out our Pinterest page and we’ll keep them coming!

• Always pack at least one suitcase per person with the essentials. That way, when you unload everything at your new home, you know exactly where to find the bare necessities as you need them without having to wade through boxes. It’s a great way to reduce stress right from the beginning.
• When you start to pack up your electronics, keeping the cords organized can really help save so much of your time when it comes time to unpack. Take pictures of electronics while they’re still plugged in & tape it to the box so you’ll have a visual guide later on
• Wrapping up the cords is also a good idea so you don’t have to waste time untangling everything.
• Start with packing seasonal items that you won’t need for a while (seasonal clothing, home decorations, extra bedding) and begin loading your moving boxes with those items first.
• If you have a lot of extra boxes after your move, consider keeping them for storage. All you have to do to make them look nice is use wrapping paper or even pictures and collage your own design on them.
• When packing up electronics, label corresponding cords and components by using color coded stickers to reduce stress later on. (Keeping these labels on year-round is a good idea too.)
• Set aside your tools so you know where they are when it comes time to rebuild everything.

Hopefully these tips help during your move or packing up for storage. Good luck!

A solution to the seasonal storage blues is a PODS® weather resistant container. The container is ideal as you can keep it as long as you need, so you can take your time moving items in and out of your container (as you enjoy decorating for the holiday season). And, there are several sizes available to provide you with enough space for all your seasonal items. The other cool part is that a PODS® container is at ground-level, providing you with easy loading and unloading access. So it’s easier to move the Christmas tree that seems to get heavier each year, the giant plastic Santa singing Ho-Ho-Ho, and the large decorative Easter Bunny.

Here are some tips on storing seasonal or holiday items in your container:

First, it’s always important to protect your items, by using bubble wrap, paper, etc. to help you protect your valuables such as ornaments or that holiday cookie jar grandma gave you. If you have an artificial Christmas tree, rubber band like colored limbs together to save yourself the step of sorting next year. Save the original packaging tray for the holiday lights. Repack the Christmas lights by clipping them back into plastic holder they came in. It will make decorating for the holiday next year so much more enjoyable when the Christmas lights are not bundled together representing the size of a pumpkin.

Pack your items by season in sturdy boxes or plastic bins. When the box is packed, label the outside depending on the season, what the items are, and any other distinguishing information. Ex: Halloween – The Great Pumpkin, or Christmas – Ornaments. Next is to create a system for easy seasonal identification. A system that worked well for me was splitting the container into 4 sections – Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring. Then I group all the boxes/items depending on the season.

When each new season comes around and my container is delivered, I can easily distinguish the items I need, but also know that I can take my time loading/unloading.

With these tips, you’ll be ready to start storing your seasonal items.

Storage with PODS just makes sense. Some highlights of our storage facilities are:

• Secure – Storage centers are accessible by PODS employees and customers. Only you have access to your belongings because only you have a key.
• Climate controlled – Our air conditioned facilities provide you with peace of mind.
• Humidity controlled – If you’re storing items that can warp due to exposure to humidity, choose one of our humidity controlled centers. (Not available in all markets)
• Store more! – We bring your stored items to you!  Whether you need to add more boxes or valuables to your container or you need to remove anything stored,  we’ll bring your container to you, saving you time and money!

In the event that you need to remove a large number of items from your container, don’t even consider renting a moving truck. PODS can deliver your container back to your home or to a new location and you can pack and unpack your container at your leisure.

• Size: The overall weight of your move can affect the price with some companies. Generally portable storage is not weight based, however with professional movers, often the heavier the move, the more it’s going to cost.

• Distance: The number of miles you’re traveling can influence its cost greatly, as can your final destination. Keep in mind that some moving companies only serve a certain region.

• Time: The time of year you need to move will also have an effect on your bottom line. Moving during peak times, such as the summer or holidays, often means that you’ll pay more. If you have the luxury of time, try to plan at less busy times. Look for specials during unpopular periods.

• Level of service: Hiring a moving company to complete a “full-service” move – one where they not only transport your household items, but also pack and unpack them – will be significantly more expensive than a “self-service” move. Make sure you’re aware of the varying level of service available for your move and what works best for you.  Many times, people forget that self-moving has several levels of service available to meet your budget as well.

• Insurance: Be sure to consider insuring your move against mishaps or even disasters. Keep in mind that moves you do yourself are usually limited to $25,000 insurance, and cover only damage caused by disasters such as auto accidents or fires.

• Storage: Make sure to calculate if your new residence will be able to accommodate all of your belongings.  Many times, the couch you’ve had since college won’t fit in your new living room (or relationship) but hasn’t used enough duct tape to be sent to the trash bin.  Having the ability to store your extra belongings, even in the short term as you decide how to layout your new interior, is often overlooked when moving.

Taking some time to determine what your move will actually and honestly cost you will save you from a lot of the stress of moving, and will insure that you’ll be that much happier in your destination.