Must-Have Tools for New Home Owners

Whether you’re building a house or are getting prepared for the moving and storage of your belonging to a new home, there is a list of must-have tools you should consider having. Things become quite difficult when you’re having issues with household items and don’t seem to have a solution for them. I’ve compiled a list of tools I’d suggest as personal must-have’s:

Screw Drivers
Screw drivers are a must-have for everyday chores at home and moving and storage. If you do not own a set of screw drivers presently, I’ll suggest you get one soon right away because you’re probably going to need one soon – especially if you’re getting ready to move to a new home. Go for a set that includes screw drivers of all sizes, i.e. large, small and medium flat or screw drivers (star).

Levels
Levels are quite expensive tools. So, I’d suggest you go for these if you’re going to be having a lot of maintenance jobs or heavy moving and storage activities. A level of 30 cm will be ideal if you’re planning on putting up cornices, hanging mirrors, paintings or adjusting washing machines or fridges. Like the screw drivers, you might also need to use these tools quite often.

Spanners
These tools are not as crucial as levels or screwdrivers, but equally come in handy for a lot of chores like assembling garden tables. Spanners come in various sizes, so I’ll recommend that you get a complete set instead of buying them separately one by one.

Tape Measures
Once you get yourself a tape measure, you’ll forget living without one. I’ll suggest that you buy at least two – one to keep in your car and the second for your home. Tape measure especially come in handy during moving and storage, or while you’re shopping around for things like furniture or appliances that need to be fit into specific spaces in your home. Go for the spring tapes that retract after use. Those will save you the trouble of locking your tapes in place when you’re done with them.

Ladder
I don’t think I even need to elaborate on this one? The only time you won’t need a step ladder is if you’re 8 feet tall – which is very unlikely! Ladders make it possible for us reach up to high levels to do things like cleaning top shelves or changing light bulbs. So, consider getting yourself a safe ladder if you don’t have one already.

Hammers
As a new hone owner, hammers are tools you’re surely going to use quite often. Not only will you need them during the moving and storage, but also after you’ve fully settled in. You’re definitely going to need a hammer to nail up your photo frames or to hang paintings on the wall.

Are you moving soon or in the near future? Moving the traditional way puts an unbelievable amount of trash and other waste into our landfills which are harmful to the planet. Why waste time and money on cardboard boxes and tape that you’re just going throw away when you move into your new place? Instead, consider getting green plastic moving boxes from us at Rentabox. We’ll deliver them to you and pick them up from your new address so you don’t have to worry about it. With Rentabox, moving can be a streamlined, pleasant experience all the way around!

Stress Free Moving – Here’s How

If you have never faced the major task of moving from one home to another, you are likely to be in for a rude awakening. I’ve moved several times in my life, each time with more collected stuff than the last, and I’ve got to tell you if I never have to do it again it will be too soon. Did you know that moving is one of the top 10 major stressors people have to contend with? Yeah, it’s right up there with marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, and a major shift in careers. So how do you stay sane during this transition?

First, I can tell you what not to do. Don’t be so naïve to think that everything will just fall together all on its own the day the moving trucks arrive. Those trinkets are not going to neatly wrap themselves and jump in your moving boxes all on their own. Neither will anything else in your home, except perhaps your dog which will be the one thing that doesn’t need to go in a box. You must organize this move if you want to come out on top.

Moving the Right Way…Without Stress

• Start by making a list by rooms. Decide which rooms of your new home will house specific items from your old one. Are you splitting a shared bedroom or combining two into one? Are there items you need to get rid of? Put it all on paper and make a plan.
• Start packing now. You do not need your summer wardrobe hanging in your closet in the dead of winter, so go ahead and get it in your moving containers. Any non-essentials like books, DVDs, knick-knacks, and framed pictures can be packed and ready to go days, or even a couple of weeks before the move.
• Label your moving boxes by the room their contents are destined for first, and then with a brief description of what each box contains. This way you’ll know exactly which room to take the box to when you arrive and you won’t have to unpack 10 different boxes to find your silverware (Tip: Rentabox provides box labels )
• Pace yourself and take breaks. If you start early and make steady progress then you will get everything done in time. Don’t try to reduce the entire contents of your home into 50 neat moving containers in one single day. Set a goal for each day leading up to the move and stop when you’ve met it.

The Business of Boxes

That all sounds well and good, but where are you going to find 50 moving boxes just like that? Well, Rentabox can not only bring plastic moving boxes to your door, but they also keep you feeling good because your move doesn’t sap the environment of its precious resources. Every Rentabox moving crate is made from virgin plastic and we are in the “reuse” business. Our clean, sanitary, environmentally friendly plastic moving boxes are used and reused more than 500 times. You pack and move, then Rentabox will come and get the containers when you are finished. Talk about stress free!

Call us today for more details on a stress free move. You’ll be glad you did.

How to Move Into a High-Rise Building

Moving is a difficult subject on its own, but when it comes to moving into high-rise buildings, things can get a bit worse and tricky. Planning, organizing, packing, moving and storage are the main factors that shape the entire moving transition. No matter what high-rise building you are moving into (whether a townhouse or an apartment), be prepared to face new problems along the way!

First of all, high-rise buildings have limited room and means of access. In addition, they have very different and strict rules for tenants. I personally found this out the hard way when I had to move into a high-rise building for the first time in my life. I had no idea that I was supposed to have made moving reservations before hand, which is usually part of the policy of moving into high-rise buildings. This cost me a fee and an annoying delay in the moving process. That was truly awful. Here are some things you should know on how to move into high-rise buildings:

The less you have to move the better.
Have you been pondering on how to make good use of those Eco-boxes from Rentabox? Trust me, now would be the best time if you are planning to move to a high-rise building. The moving and storage bustle can be quite exhausting when it comes to moving into high-rise buildings. One thing you should remember is that it involves lots of trips up and down elevators or stairs, which means that every moving and storage box will add an extra cost and time on your move. Before moving into your new home, be sure to take the time to thoroughly go through everything you’ve packed up. Get rid of all the unnecessary things. Donate, sell or toss out anything you don’t really use anymore. The lesser you take, the less exhausting your move will be.

Get a luggage cart reserved for yourself.
Most buildings have luggage carts ready to help moving tenants, but they will likely not offer them unless you ask. You will need to speak to the building’s manager to reserve a cart for yourself at least a day or two before the moving day. A luggage cart can make the moving day go by very fast without the need to carry just a box or two at a time. Exploit the elevator and load up!

Reserve an elevator.
Find out how many elevators are there in your building and whether they are available for movers? Some buildings use back elevators for movers, which means you will need the management’s permission to use them. Sometimes, back elevators are allowed access only during particular hours. Make sure you check this up and reserve a time and day before hand.

Get help!
The more friends and family members to help you with the move, the better. Moving into high-rise buildings usually takes longer than moving into regular buildings or houses. Aside from that, you will want to keep your moving costs at a minimum.

Hire a moving and storage company.
Consider hiring a moving and storage company seriously. Good moving companies with great experience help in saving movers from facing moving catastrophes. They help arrange all the moving man power and equipments to move as many items in one go.

Are you moving soon or in the near future? Moving the traditional way puts an unbelievable amount of trash and other waste into our landfills which are harmful to the planet. Why waste time and money on cardboard boxes and tape that you’re just going throw away when you move into your new place? Instead, consider getting green plastic moving boxes from us at Rentabox. We’ll deliver them to you and pick them up from your new address so you don’t have to worry about it. With Rentabox, moving can be a streamlined, pleasant experience all the way around!

Take the Stress Out of Moving

As exciting as moving can be, there is no denying that it is one of the most stressful things anyone will ever go through, good or bad. Aside from the obvious stress of carefully sorting, packing, and moving all of your belongings only to unpack and set them up in the new home, there is the stress of leaving behind that which is familiar. While it is usually children who have the most difficulty coping with this aspect of moving, adults experience the same stress to varying levels. Much will depend on your own personality, some of the circumstances surrounding the move, and some on how long you have been living in one area.

If you have deep roots in the area from which you are moving, then trying to make a strange new place feel like “home” can seem like an exercise in futility. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. No, no place on earth will ever give you the exact same feeling as the place you’ve called home all your life, but there are many things that you can do to create a new homey environment that is just as comforting, albeit different, from the one you knew before.

The Power of the Senses

Have you ever come across an item and thought immediately, “this smells just like Grandma”? The power of our senses is truly amazing with regard to how we associate them with different memories and experiences in our lives. A certain song playing on the radio may bring warm memories of baking with your mom. A particular hue of some color could send you back in time to a play date you enjoyed with a beloved friend. If you’ll use this phenomenon to your advantage, you can create a warm, inviting, comforting environment in your new home in no time.

If the smell of cinnamon, for example, reminds you of home, then try setting out some cinnamon scented candles. If it just isn’t home to you without roosters adorning the kitchen, then incorporate some into your new design. Whatever you find comforting and homey, use it to add character to your new place.

Make it Yours

As an extension on using your senses, decorate your new home to your personality. If you despise the color yellow and every bedroom in the house just happens to be that color, then get out the paint and have a ball. Hang your most treasure pictures on the walls and arrange your collectibles and knick knacks to your liking. If you have an heirloom quilt, why not take it out of storage and use it on your bed for a while? It will do you much more good to give you a feeling of home that way, and that is probably the way whoever crafted it would have wanted it to be used anyway—not packed up in some box. Ultimately, it all comes down to giving your new place your own personal touch. Before you know it, it will be far more than just a residence—it will be home.

Simplify Your Move

If you are looking for ways to help simplify your move, how about eliminating those 150 cardboard moving boxes? Yep, that’s right! Your move can be even more stress free when you use our environmentally friendly, green moving boxes. They are made from virgin plastic, sturdy, and you won’t have to worry about disposing of them after your move. We will deliver them and pick them up. Give us a call today. You’ll be glad you did!

The Night Before the Move: A Checklist

This might sound familiar: it is probably the night before you finally move and everyone is fast asleep, but for some unknown reason you are up all night and sweating bullets. You have this eerie feeling that you’re forgetting something, but you just can’t figure out what. You know you’ve done everything you needed to do for the entire moving and storage process, you know you’ve also kept the last minute items to just pick and go when the time comes, but there’s still something worrying you. Want to know why you feel that way? You probably forgot to do one of the most important things of the three top golden tips of moving – creating a “night before the move” checklist.

Creating a moving list is easy, but the best part about having one is the guarantee of having a peaceful nights sleep without that eerie feeling. At least, it will save you the stress of racking your brain to remember what you feel you’ve forgotten.

Your Checklist
There’s a huge difference between the checklist you’ll create during the months and weeks leading to the move. And of course, the checklist for the night before the move will look the most different. You must be wondering why you need to have so many checklists. The truth is, it is really your choice to have as many checklists as you want. Sometimes, people just prefer working with one or two lists and successfully accomplish all what they’d planned for. But in some cases, people need to have more lists right from a few months before the move. No matter how many lists you decide to have, be sure to have a checklist for the night before the move, in order to ensure smooth sailing on the moving day. Here is a list of a few things you should be concerned about on the night before the movers arrive to help you move your belongings to your new home:

- Make sure you’ve contacted your moving and storage company to check if everything is in place for the next day.

- Confirm that you’ve contacted your local utility services and scheduled for the phone, gas, water and electricity to be shut off once you’ve moved out.

- You must’ve submitted a change in address form to the Post Office by now. If you haven’t crossed it off your list, give it more priority.

- If you are moving your refrigerator on the moving day, make sure that you’ve defrosted its freezer at least 24 hours in advance.

- Double check the arrival time of the movers with the rental or moving and storage company you’ve hired.

- Check to see if you’ve completed your packing. Separate the boxes containing the fragile items. Keep everything where you can easily point them out to the movers on the moving day. If the moving and storage company is going to do the packing for you, make sure you’ve grouped everything separately the way you’ll want it packed.

Have the money ready for the moving and storage services whether you’re paying through credit card, money order or check. Do the same if you’re going by the DIY route or renting a truck on your own.

Confirm all lodging and travel reservations.

Are you moving soon or in the near future? Moving the traditional way puts an unbelievable amount of trash and other waste into our landfills which are harmful to the planet. Why waste time and money on cardboard boxes and tape that you’re just going throw away when you move into your new place? Instead, consider getting green plastic moving boxes from us at Rentabox. We’ll deliver them to you and pick them up from your new address so you don’t have to worry about it. With Rentabox, moving can be a streamlined, pleasant experience all the way around!

Top 10 Ways to Conserve Water at Home

Water conservation is an important way to lower the demand for water, as well the added benefit of saving on your water bill. Water conservation is easier than you may think. There are a few simple ways that will rev up your water conservation without making too many changes in your normal daily routine. Take a minute to follow these steps and you’ll be doing your part to ensure that clean water will be available to future generations.

1. Watering the lawn. Curb appeal is definitely important, but here’s something most homeowners aren’t aware of. Most individuals water their lawn up to 30% more than is actually necessary to achieve a healthy, green lawn. How do you determine how much water your lawn needs? I’m glad you asked. First, step onto your lawn to see just how moist the soil is. If the ground seems wet, or the grass springs back after being stepped on, then it is getting more than enough water. If you have an automatic, timed watering system, reset the timers so that you are watering few days, instead of daily. Here’s another tip. Landscape your yard with plants that are native to your area. You’ll be surprised at how much less work and water they will require for survival.
2. Leaky taps and pipes. That annoying little drip can be a lot more serious than you may think. Even a slow leak can cause an excess of up to 600 litres of water to be. If you find a leak on the connection of two pipes, try replacing the washer for a quick fix. Be sure to fix any leaks immediately. Checking pipes and plumbing on a regular basis only takes a few minutes and can play a big part in water conservation. Another trick for checking leaks is to read your outdoor meter, then turn off all water in your home. Recheck the meter after a few hours. If the meter has changed, you have a leak somewhere.
3. Washing the car. When using water outside, remember to turn the hose on only when you need it. If you are washing your car, fill the bucket up only half way, instead of to the top. Only turn the hose on when you need to rinse the car off, instead of letting it run the entire time. If you are watering plants, try filling a watering can instead of dragging a hose from planter to planter. When finished, turn the water of at the house. Those nifty gun type nozzles attached to your hose aren’t leak proof and can drip a large amount of water over time.
4. Showers. We all love our hot morning shower, but conservation can happen there as well. Invest in water saving shower heads. Your shower will still flow at a comfortable level, but you’ll be reducing the amount of water you use by almost half! Another quick way to conserve water in the bathroom is to only turn the tap on when rinsing your toothbrush. Don’t keep the water running while brushing your teeth.
5. Washing Clothes. Only run the washing machine when you have a full load. Running the washing machine for a half load or just a few pieces of clothing can waste a lot of water. At the very least, set your washer to “small load” if you must wash only a few items.
6. Waiting for the hot water. You may not have thought of this one. Don’t waste the water out of your tap while you wait for the hot water to start flowing. Instead, try capturing the water in a watering can to use on your indoor plants, or into a pot for the noodles you’ll be cooking later in the day.
7. Washing the dishes. When washing your dishes by hand, fill each side of a two sided sink. Use one side for soapy water and the other for clean water. This is a much better choice than to just let the water using running water to rinse each of your dishes.
8. Bathroom tips. Toilets aren’t the most fun to talk about, but a low flow toilet can greatly reduce the amount of water used with every flush. If you don’t have a low flow toilet installed, check for leaks. You can do this by adding food coloring to the tank. If there is a leak anywhere on the toilet, color will appear within 30 minutes. Remember to flush after 30 minutes as the food coloring can stain the toilet.
9. Kitchen sink disposal. Try and use the kitchen sink disposal less, and think about creating a mulch pile. The kitchen sink disposal uses a ton of water every time it is ran, so use the garbage can more, and try creating a mulch pile for your plants.
10. In the kitchen. Try keeping cool drinking water in the fridge instead of running the tap and waiting for the cool water to run. Don’t let the tap run to rinse vegetables, instead use a pan or bowl of water to do so. Also, try and fill a bowl of water if defrosting meat, or plan ahead and set it out so you don’t have to run water over frozen meat to help the defrosting process.

Are you moving soon or in the near future? Moving the traditional way puts an unbelievable amount of trash and other waste into our landfills which are harmful to the planet. Why waste time and money on cardboard boxes and tape that you’re just going throw away when you move into your new place? Instead, consider getting green plastic moving boxes from us at Rentabox. We’ll deliver them to you and pick them up from your new address so you don’t have to worry about it. With Rentabox, moving can be a streamlined, pleasant experience all the way around!