Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Moving With Your Houseplants

If you are someone who looks around your home and sees plants that you have put your heart and soul into for years, then the thought of them not accompanying you to your new home is pretty disappointing. Giving one or two plants away is one thing, but anything more than that is not something anyone wants to do. Well, you will be happy to know that plants can make the move with no problem, even one of significant distance, if you plan properly.

Plan On Moving Yourself
Although you can ask your moving and storage company if they will handle houseplants, it is very rare that you will find any who will. Every company has a different policy, but since they are difficult to put monetary value on them, most can’t move them for insurance reasons. If they were to be damaged, then there would be the potential for a lengthy claim fighting over the value. Not to mention, do you really want someone else handling them? Plus, moving trucks can be very hot in the summer and like a freezer in the winter; houseplants should be moved in a temperature-regulated environment.

Government Requirements
If you are bringing any outdoor plants along, it should be noted that each province may have different regulations. Indoor plants are not an issue, but outdoor plants are. If you have a question, the Department of Environmental Affairs in your destination province will be able to help.

Transplant to Plastic
Unless you are dealing with very temperamental plants, such as bonsai trees, jade plants and cacti, you should transplant any plants you have in breakable pots into plastic ones. If you are not sure if the plant will survive, don’t chance it; just be extra careful with it.

You may even decide that you don’t want to move large plants, but simply bring cuttings from them. In this case, you can wrap them in wet moss and newspaper, place them in an unsealed bag and they should be fine for a couple days until you can put them in water to root at your new house. This is ideal for cross country moves, if you don’t have room in your car for a bunch of pots.

Bag and Box
Taller plants should be wrapped in plastic to help prevent damage. Add a couple garden posts to the soil and cover with a plastic bag. Just make sure to poke holes in the bag so your plant can breathe! Place the pots in boxes or plastic bins so you can set them on your backseat or the cargo floor of your SUV or minivan. If you have breakable pots, use towels or something similar to keep them from vibrating together over bumps.

Arrival
When you arrive at your new home, remove any plastic and place them in appropriate areas depending on their sunlight needs. You don’t want to transplant them out of the plastic pots yet. Give them at least a week or so or you can over-stress them. Any cuttings you brought along can be placed in water immediately to root.



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. 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!
 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Spring clean? Put some stuff in storage

There is just something about spring that causes people to start wanting to clean up and remove clutter from their homes - so much so that we call it spring cleaning. Spring cleaning can be a great way to remove stress and mess from your life, but there are times when we run across a simple problem: we have too many things, but don't want to get rid of any of them! The solution to this problem is simple: while you're spring cleaning, put some of your things into storage.

Too Much Stuff
Often, the problem that we face when trying to clean our homes is that we simply have too many things. There are certainly ways to begin removing things from your life, such as donating them to friends or charity, but we often find ourselves in a situation where the things we have left over after spring cleaning are items we love and treasure, not things we want to give away. When that's the case, we need a solution to store our beloved items, so that they can still be ours, but not be in our way. The perfect solution in this scenario is to rent a storage unit from a local storage company.

What to Look For
When it comes to finding the perfect storage unit for your precious things, you don't want to place them in just any storage unit. Improperly managed storage units can cause damage to your stored items and are often easy targets for thieves. Instead, you should do your research beforehand and find a reputable company that offers a few specific amenities.

The most important thing is an excellent security system. Padlocked doors may seem safe, but they are easy for a thief with bolt cutters to break into, especially if there is not around-the-clock security available at the facility to keep an eye on things. You want a unit with state of the art security in a facility that maintains a 24-7 security force or system.

Next, you want to find a unit that is both climate and pest controlled. Humidity, temperature fluctuations and pests can all be destructive forces in a storage unit, especially if you have to leave your belongings there for an extended period of time. By ensuring that your unit is climate and pest controlled, you can help to keep your belongings safe and intact no matter the duration of your storage.

We recommend Simply Store for short term storage. You can find them at www.simplystore.co.za. 



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. 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!
 

Be prepared and organized this year for spring cleaning.