June 2023

Garage Shelving Ideas to Be Proud of

It is common in America for a garage to be home for just about everything, except a car that is. All too often the garage, designed for the family automobiles, gets cluttered with all sorts of paraphernalia that was intended for the house or even garden. Unpacked packing boxes and cartons from moving, kids disused toys, a spare fold up bed, luggage used once or twice a year: all can take up valuable space in the garage while the car, or cars, sits outside in all weathers.

The sad thing is that this problem with garage storage is so easy to sort out, and overcome once and for all. A little time devoted to putting together some garage shelving ideas can bring quick rewards, if you plan what storage you really need and then choose the appropriate systems. In no time at all you can have a clear garage that you will be proud for visitors to see, especially if they have to pass through the garage to get into your house.

Probably the best once and for all solution to garage clutter is to have an overhead racking system installed. Those heavy duty systems designed and installed by companies such as Monsterrax and SafeRacks are probably the best permanent and long term answer to garage clutter. Aerial space in the garage is probably the most wasted space in the average property, a space which you can make good use of for storage. These overhead systems can designed to suit your needs, so whatever the scale of your garage storage problems, you can usually be accommodated.

The next best alternative is wall racking or separate wall shelves, fixed to the garage wall. Whether this is good enough will depend on the nature of the items you need to store on them, but if there is nothing too large you may find that wall racks are sufficient. They do involve some work putting them up, of course, but this problem is not going to go away on its own. Freestanding racks can also be used, but will not be so secure for heavier items. Either way, you do need to ensure that the rack is stable and will safely bear the load intended.

If you have awkward items like family bikes, fishing rods, golf bags and so on, these may be accommodated by special hoists or racking systems. In fact, the bike hoists can be a great savior for families with more than one bike. Also, specialized garden tool racks may come to your aid if you are forced to keep gardening tools in the garage rather than shed.…

How to Benefit From A Self Storage Auction

Not many consumers know about the auctions that take place in self storage facilities. These auctions occur when a renter fails to pay his monthly dues for three or more consecutive months or when the client abandons his stuff.

Failure to pay the monthly rent means the management has the right to possess the items stored in the rented unit and sell them to interested parties. This activity helps the provider to recover its losses from the renter’s failure to pay his dues.

Across the U.S., most self storage facilities conduct auctions. This activity can take place every month depending on the number of units abandoned by the clients and is open to the general public. It is only when the renter settles his dues that an auction can be cancelled. On the other hand, customers can still reclaim their items by taking part in the auction and giving the highest bids.

But how would you know that a facility will hold an auction soon? Normally, they are advertised through a legal notice in a local newspaper. They can also be posted on community websites and newsletters or an email blast is done to the company’s database.

People who attend these self storage auctions have varied reasons. Some buy items for the purpose of reselling them either at flea markets or even on eBay. The others are hunting for cheap furnishings and appliances that they can use at home.

To attend this activity, registration is normally required before the auction starts. Attendees then receive a number as well as a copy of the rules and conditions such paying the items in cash.

Unlike other types of auction, the one conducted at self storage facilities does not allow bidders to check the items one by one or even test them if they’re working or not. When the event starts, it’s only then when the bidders can view the items inside the unit but from the doorway only. These personal items can be packed in plastic and boxes and not easily visible.

When bidding for the items, here are some tips that will be useful for you.

Firstly, carefully look at the item and estimate its value. If you see signs of damage, it is possible that the other contents in the box may be of the same standard.

A second step you can take is to check the brand of the item. If it is a top quality brand name or the item is an antique, there’s a chance the box may contain other valuables or antiques as well.

You may also check if the boxes are labeled and the way they’re packed. At least, that will give you an idea of the contents and their quality. Specialty boxes from moving companies can indicate the items are of good quality compared to those that used only supermarket cardboard boxes.

Following these steps will ensure that you get the right value for the money …

Self Storage Units Are Great For Storing Important Business Documents

When you’re in business the paper war can be hard to manage, even in today’s computer age. And for legal reasons, it’s important to keep records for a certain amount of time. If you have a small office space, with only a minimum amount of room for storing items, that can be a problem.

One solution is self storage units, which are an excellent way of keeping business gear and important documents safe when they’re not being used. It’s great value for money and is a business expense for tax purposes. The cost of self storage units is also a lot lower than the cost of commercial space, so it makes sense to spread your business materials between two sites if you have a significant amount of business gear, archives and other files that aren’t used on a daily basis. Because self storage units come in different sizes, you can even rent exactly the size you need for your document holding needs. You’ll be surprised at the cost efficiency involved.

Self storage units are also a very safe way to keep your important documents secure because the controlled environment means they stay dry and free from insects and rodents until you need them again. This is a much better option than keeping paper documents in the roof cavity or in a back cupboard where they can be affected by heat and damp. With a monitored self storage unit, your documents will also be locked securely away and can only be accessed with your permission.

If your business storage needs involve a lot of documents, you can even rent self storage units which are specially designed for storing documents to allow easy access, including racks for storage and retrieval. These purpose-built racks and filing systems mean your documents will be available when you need them, as well as being easy to find.

Businesses often use self storage units for other purposes too. Sometimes shop owners use them to store shipments of new stock that are not quite ready to be put on the shelves. Business owners may also keep some of their equipment in storing utilities because it’s only needed occasionally and would take up too much room at the office.

You can’t put a price on a stress free business life, and that’s what self storage can help you to achieve. Once you know your important documents and other business gear are safe and secure, you can get on with all the other important jobs that keep your business ticking along.…

Wardrobe Closets and Storage Ideas

Not everyone can own a home with gigantic walk in closets for storing clothing, shoes, and linens. So if more storage space is needed in a home, custom or self installed closets are an effective way to go.

From free standing styles, such as the traditional Armour, or models custom built into an existing wall, there is a near endless combination of options from which to choose for the best clothes closets. No matter which room of the house needs a storage upgrade, there is sure to be a wardrobe closet that will be a perfect fit.

Clothes storage areas are produced with many different materials and in many different sizes. Some are made from less expensive materials, such as canvas or faux wood, and are consequently very reasonably priced. More durable wardrobe closets are constructed from high quality wood or rare woods, and many of these also offer more decorative features that can complement already existing furniture and d?�cor in the room.

A creative and talented do-it-yourself person can also construct a wardrobe closet by using a kit or blue prints. If no do-it-yourself-er is available, a professional carpenter can be hired at very reasonable cost in order to make a truly unique customized wardrobe closet.

In spite of what the name may imply, closets can be used for more than just storing clothing, shoes and linens. For example, a wardrobe closet in the kitchen can be a great place to store small appliances in order to create more counter top space or even special holiday dishware that is only used a few times each year. A good way to cut down on clutter in a family room is to use a wardrobe closet to store video games, DVDs, electronic equipment and even old magazines that you don’t want to throw away.

A wood stand alone closet in the garage or basement can be used to store tools. And if you don’t want to hang coats on exposed hooks on the wall or on a coat rack, a storage closet in the entryway of a home is a great organizational and convenient tool.

In the event that you do not live in a mansion or very spacious home without large storage rooms or walk in closets, then wardrobe closets are the perfect solution for creating more storage space without cluttering a garage or attic or without the monthly expense of renting a storage unit.…

Storage Units To Conserve Space At Home Or Business

Are you planning on touring places in an RV but wondering where to park the RV when you are not using it? Are you planning to increase the profitability of your business with some cost-cutting measures like reducing office space by reducing storage? This is no problem at all as storage facilities offer storage units to store your items at affordable prices.

The self-storage facilities are located at several locations across the nation and allow one to store their household items, furniture, office supplies, kids clothing, off season clothes, plants, electronics, or any other item big or small for short- or long-term. These facilities offer storage units for boat storage and RV storage. They provide maintenance services as well at nominal cost. The units can be open-air or closed; the units are allotted as per customer’s preference.

One can use the storage units as a warehouse for their business goods or office supplies or bulk buys. This saves valuable office space and reduces office expenditures. They are available in several different sizes and offer organizers to store your items neatly in a well-organized fashion so it is easy to locate a particular item at any time.

They are safe and secured with password-protected lock key system, theft alarms, video surveillance cameras and 24 hours security check. One can access their storage units any time of the day and any day of the year. The storage facilities provide packing and moving services as well. They provide truck rentals for moving items to and from the storage facility.

One can obtain all sorts of packing material from the storage facility. The packing items include packing paper foam, moving and storage label, cut away case, bubble wrap, chair safeguard cover, shipping boxes in a variety of sizes, dish guard protection, carton boxes and much more. If you are not sure what size of storage unit is suitable for your needs, then the storage facility staff can guide you on this and suggest the best way of arranging things within the storage units? This ensures effective use of the storage space, thereby saving you money.

The storage facilities are climate-controlled to prevent excessive heat or excessive moisture or water seepage within the units. These are best for furniture storage. Be it antique furniture or delicate upholstery or precious art items, rest assured that they are protected from weather damage. They are a good alternative if one is moving into a smaller home and wants to store extra stuff at a separate location.

The cost of storage facility is dependent on the size of storage units and the term of storage. If one is planning on storing for the long run, one can take up a long-term lease that is cost-effective. If you are planning to move to a different location and are yet to find a place, all the household items can be stored in storage facilities and picked up at a later time, the …

iCloud – The Essential Guide

iCloud – you’ve heard of it, right? Are you using it? It seems like most people know what iCloud is but they either don’t use it or don’t use it to its full potential. This essential guide aims to clear up all questions you may have on iCloud, what it is, what it does and why you need to use it. Whether you use Windows or a Mac there will be an opportunity for you to use iCloud if you have an iOS device, so if you don’t know much about it or you want to know more then make sure you read on…

What Is iCloud?

iCloud is a cloud storage service introduced by Apple in 2011. Just over a year on there are over 150 million iCloud users from all around the world. The service allows users of iOS devices and computers running Mac OS X Lion / Mountain Lion or Windows Vista / Windows 7 to store data from their devices onto Apple’s servers so they can be accessed from other devices almost instantly. It is a fantastic way of not only being able to share information and media across devices, but also to hold backups of certain files. Some features of iCloud are even available from the iCloud website so you can access things like your calendar or contacts from anywhere in the world on a device with an Internet connection.

iCloud Features

iOS Backup and Restore iCloud allows users to back up their iOS devices online rather than the traditional way of backing up to your PC or Mac (although you can, of course, still do this). A great benefit of this is that backups can then be restored to your iOS device without you having to connect your device to your computer.

Find My iPhone This feature allows you to track the location of either your iOS device or your Mac. It will show you a map that tells you the rough location of where the devices currently are. Amazingly, it seems to be pretty accurate from the tests that I’ve conducted. With this you also have the ability to display a message on the device, play a sound on the device (even if it is set to silent), change the password on the device or even to remotely wipe the contents of the device.

Photo Stream This service allows users to store their most recent 1,000 photos on the iCloud servers for up to 30 days, completely free of charge. If you have Photo Stream enabled on one of your iOS devices and you capture an image, that image is sent to iCloud and will appear pretty quickly on any other iOS devices that you also have Photo Stream enabled for, including the Apple TV. For the photos to appear on your Mac you’ll need to have iPhoto or Aperture installed. You’ll require iPhoto ’11 version 9.2 or Aperture version 3.2 or later.

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Easy Ways to Trash Your Financial Life

Timely payment of your credit card dues is a must for you to have a healthy financial life. Delay in payment for just one day can bring a huge penalty for your available credit limits. Beware not to cross the limit of 30 days. You may risk your whole financial life if you ever cross this limit even by mistake.

At times your credit card payment is delayed due to some confusion or a small financial problem. If this delay is not more than one or two days, you still have an option to contact the card issuer. You can manage to close the chapter by having a word with them and they may grant you a waiver of late payment fees.

But if the delay is more than the time limit of 30 days the penalties are unbelievable.

These accounts are then listed as delinquent. Within no time the credit card issuer will update this delay in your credit reports. This delinquency comment will stick to your report for seven long years. This will result in significant cut down in your credit score because the payment record is reducing your score to 1/3 rd.

Many of us have a misunderstanding that to get rid of this comment they can simply close the delinquent credit card account. But we must know that this is not the solution of this problem and this comment will not go off from your report for seven years even after the closure. The mortgage companies and also the auto loan providing companies are alarmed about these comments. All your future applications will suffer due to this as you are charged high interests.

You have to sign the agreement with the card issuer at the time of issuance. Most of the card company agreements include a special clause. This clause states that this delinquency remark on your report is enough for other card issuers also to increase the rate of interest. Due to this you cannot escape from the losses that you incur as you pay higher interest rates for the coming years.

All this can be avoided if you take proper care and your records are timely updated and managed about all credit cards you hold, their credit limits, your dues and the most importantly, their due dates. Your due date should be convenient or else you can put a request and ask them to change it for you. If you have a difficulty in paying even the minimum amount for your dues do not hesitate to call the card issuer. Request them for some concession. Never try to hide these problems from them as they are always alert about such delays. For them this delay can mean you are on the verge of bankruptcy!…

How to Save Your Money When Eating Outside

The general public usually gets into the habit of saving by spending less. They begin to cut costs here and there. Being frugal is one thing, but being a miser with quality of life is another. The one section where most people do this is the eating category. Imagine forcing yourself not to eat the usual food everyday, all in the purpose of saving money. You do not want to take this too far because it can cause potential health problems. While this is a great idea to reduce spending, there are ways to go about this strategy. Why not keep your money and keep your health at the same time?

Realize that eating outside is expensive

No matter how cheap, it is always more expensive than eating at home. At this point, having a wife is an advantage. Cooking home-cooked meals are more affordable because of cheaper prices of raw ingredients.

Of course, you could argue the eating out is more convenient. But think about this. The time it takes to cook a meal at home (cheaper) is almost the same as the time to go out to eat (more expensive). Since both require the same amount of time (give and take), it is wiser to eat at home. Besides, you are training yourself to become a better cook!

If you have to eat outside

Consider vegetarian dishes. Why is this? Usually, vegetables will cost much less than meat-based foods. With recent studies that applaud green foods (that contain less free radicals, compared to meat), this is another good news.

Do not order beverage or drinks

Restaurants will make the most profit this way and you still do not know it. Not until you get drunk! Carefully reject alcohol drinks and opt for water. Alcohol not only contains more calories but makes you tired right after.

Eat in a balanced way

No one suggests that you should eat like a prisoner in a jail. Get creative with your food selection. You could order grilled chicken or beef at ‘McDonalds’ instead of fried ones. You could inform the chefs exactly how you want your meals to be cooked. Even desserts and appetizers are fine, too. Just, do not go extreme when it comes to eating. Maintaining a balance is the key.

Learn how to cook

When you know the skills of cooking, you might not want to eat outside ever again. Why leave the house to spend more money and eat something you might not like? Instead, control your food type sand even calories for a much more healthy living.…