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Time to pack up the Halloween Decor

It’s that time of year again for the creepy and the spooky Halloween dress up, decorations and treats. But as much as fun as it may be, it’s an annual event so where do you store everything in between?

halloween-home In an ideal world you’d have an extra room to store everything; however, it’s never quite that simple is it? The short answer to solving your problem is renting a storage unit. It’s one way to remove unnecessary clutter from your home and keep everything safe. In preparing for storage, here are some things that you can do, to make sure your Halloween decorations are safe and secure for the following year.

Clean decorations before storage whether its dust bunnies or insects taking refuge in outdoor decorations especially. Make sure everything is completely dry before storage as inflatables often collect moisture.

Pile together all your Halloween costumes, party goods, fragile and other decorations. Take a photo and refer to it when shopping for a storage container. Halloween costumes should be carefully prepped and cleaned before storage. Fabric costumes should be laundered and stored in soft linen like tissue paper.

Simplify your life with great storage ideas like a translucent box. Try getting one with a colourful lid and label it as well just in case. This way you won’t waste time looking for your decorations

Use newspaper, soft towels or bubble wrap when storing fragile goods. Pack your goods carefully and as compact as you can. You don’t want breakables to have too much wiggle room while transporting.

If you have multiple Halloween storage boxes, clearly label each one. For example – costumes, indoor decorations, outdoor decorations and fragile.

When you go Halloween shopping this year, think about hanging on to it for years to come. Not only will you save money, you’ll also save on space.

Swedish Death Cleaning?

If you are like most people, then you have no idea what this is. However, for some it might be helpful and useful to know after a loved one passes. The term was developed by Margareta Magnusson in her book titled “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family From a Lifetime of Clutter” where she suggests a method of cleaning to help individuals deal with loss and possessions.

swedish-death-cleaning-authr

Margareta discusses how she dealt with the death of her parents and husband, including dealing with their possessions after. It discusses dostadning, the Swedish idea meaning death cleaning. The idea is to remove clutter so that your death does not become a burden to lovedones you leave behind.

The process is supposedly to begin at 65 and older. Possessions should be shed to avoid leaving loved ones with pile of materialistic things, and no idea what to do with them. This could be through selling items, or donating items.

Your Swedish cleaning could also use the help of a self-storage unit. Contact a self storage provider, for a unit to act as a halfway point. You can transfer all your belongings from home to the storage unit, then visit the storage when you are ready to begin sorting and complete the cleaning. Using a self storage unit for your Swedish Death Cleaning will prevent your home from being cluttered while you work through the process. You do not feel rushed and have sufficient space to involve your loved ones in the process.

So how do you get started? If you keep certain items in your home based on memory or feeling, you don’t need it. The process of Swedish Death Cleaning is to only hold on to what you need. The de-cluttering process has to be critical and not sentimental. The book suggests, cleaning your closets as a first start.

Fun Halloween Scare Ideas

We can talk about clever storage ideas all day but let’s get creative with a few Halloween treats and party ideas.

halloween-hanover

For your Halloween party game, Gross out your guests by filling a box with things resembling eyeballs, intestines, fingers or something slimy. Use a shoe box, cereal box or even an old Tupperware container. Cut a hole big enough for a hand but small enough to still hide the contents. Then cover with a sheet, add in some black paint, fake blood and spider webs to make it even better.

A few ideas to gross out even the bravest of souls include peeled grapes for eyeballs, cooked noodles as guts, canned peaches for liver and last but not least, over cooked rice as maggots. Be creative and let your imagination run wild. Add tomato sauce, cooking oil or even jelly to give it a real twist. Smell is important too so use onions, fish, sauerkraut or any other foul-smelling food. Don’t forget to line the box with a plastic bag to avoid leaks if you’re using wet items. Sit back and enjoy everyone’s reactions.

Why not take finger food to a whole new level with these scary tasty treats.

Big bowl of eyeballs?

Simply pour raspberry dessert into a bowl or plate and drop in a few chocolate eyeballs.

Hot dog mummies

Cut puff pastry into strips and wrap it around a frankfurter and decorate with mustard.

Cheesy bleeding fingers

Doesn’t sound very appetising but don’t let the name scare you. It’s just cheddar cheese, butter, flour and some skinless almonds. Follow this recipe and you’ll end up with a realistic looking plate of bloody fingers.

Storing your keepsake memories

Keeping your treasured memories safe is of utmost importance to many people. When you run out of attic space, or your shelves are overflowing with photo albums it is best to utilize a safe storage unit. However in addition to storing your personal memories in a safe unit, there are also effective ways to store your memories while making space in your home.

Photographs

As we are now well situated in the digital age, it is the best time to make sure your physical copies are stored safely and securely. Photo albums are still the surest way to store photographs but specific types. For longer lasting storage, make use of acid-free paper photo albums to avoid damage or colors leaking out or photographs. An extra tip is organizing your photo albums by order. For example organize albums by year and place into boxes with clear labels of year.

Clothes

Although it is recommended to recycle clothes as often as possible, we all have a clothing item that we keep for memory sake. Whether its a wedding dress or your child’s christening tutu, keeping it in top shape is as importantly of concern. If box storing clothes, make sure to put in a acid-free material. This is mostly likely the best form of cloth storage as it is easily protected from dust and light, as well as avoiding permanent crease. If storing by hanging, it is best to similarly use acid-free material. The best choice of bag is a muslin gown bag; which allows for air circulation while protecting fabric from dust, light and permanent creasing.

Books

If you have a large collection of books, you can struggle with not enough bookshelf space or heavy weight of the books on the shelf. The best solution is to store some of the classics, or frequently less read books, for newer purchases. Use plastic boxes because they are less likely to form mildew or mold. Make sure to label boxes for easy access.

If you’re struggling to find space to store all of your memories in your home, why not consider a self-storage unit? At Hanover Storage, we offer a variety of different size units, all of them clean, secure and modern, and available for access 24/7. Contact us today

Renovate or not?

Renovation is a challenging consideration regardless of whether its a new property you are doing up for your satisfaction or a current property to sell. It is important to consider all factors before renovating.

Understanding the impact of your proposed renovation plans is necessary before any decision is made. Before renovating one must understand, that in most cases, renovation will often last longer and cost more than initially anticipated. This is especially true for new homeowners moving into the property. Also while it might be tempting to try DIY for your renovation, we do not recommend as the best option. It can greatly impact quality of your work or cause irreversible damage. Size is also a factor of consideration that should be decided early on the process. To curb the limits of your renovations due to size, consider renting a storage unit to make space for project work

It is important to consider the location of your property, to decide what renovations will increase property value, even if its not for sale. If surrounding properties have new renovations, it is probably best to do similar ones that might add value to property.

If you are selling, understanding the demographic of the buyer most likely to buy your house is key in renovation considerations. You can tailor your renovations to the current trends and tastes on the housing market. This considerations are important because the market value of your property do sell for more without renovations. Therefore it is a good idea to consult with an estate agent before renovations begin.