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  • 5 Tips for a Clutter-Free Kid Zone

    5 Tips for a Clutter-Free Kid Zone

    It’s back-to-school season and many families are getting their children ready to return to their fall schedules and routines. This is also a great time to start thinking about cleaning and decluttering kid zones at home. An organized playroom and effective clean-up routines can help children feel prepared to return to their school activities while relieving stress off parents.

    To keep a clutter-free kid zone at home, we have put together five tips for you. 

    Think Twice Before Buying More Items

    One of the main reasons why children’s areas become cluttered and messy is an excess of toys and other belongings. To combat and prevent this, make a conscious effort to buy less and encourage creative and recreational activities more. Of course, new toys are always exciting, but too many too often might cause children to lose interest quickly and they might not value their toys as much. Instead, encourage your children to use what they have and use their imagination to come up with different ways of playing with what’s around. Buying less can help children be satisfied and more creative with less, rather than always wanting and expecting the newest and latest toys.

    Encourage Good Habits

    Make a habit of having a clean-up session every day with your kids. A great and easy goal would be to have them put away their toys every night before bed, or after playtime. Doing this consistently every day will help your kids develop organization habits that they can use at different stages of their lives. Having daily clean-up time also helps to keep clutter under control, rather than letting the clutter build up for weeks until it becomes a stressful factor at home.

    Regift And Donate

    Getting new toys also provides the perfect opportunity to donate to others. Include your children in this process by getting them excited about donating toys to children who need them, or regifting to someone who can give their toys a second round of love. Besides helping keep their space decluttered, this is a great way to teach kids about generosity and selflessness.

    Designate Zones 

    Whenever possible, divide and assign spaces in children’s rooms for different purposes. They can have a zone to play with costumes, a zone for all building block sets, a zone for arts and crafts supplies and a zone to keep all their sports gear, for example. Having clearly designated zones can help children know where to find their toys when it’s playtime and where to put them away at clean-up time.

    Rent A Storage Unit

    Sometimes there simply isn’t enough space to store all your children’s belongings. When this happens, you can rent a storage unit. With a storage unit you will get the additional space you need for those extra items while having ease of access whenever you need them. Many storage facilities, such as U-Lock Mini Storage, offer month-to-month rental so you can rent a storage unit for however long you need it! 

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!

  • 6 Nursery Room Organization Tips to Save Space at Home

    6 Nursery Room Organization Tips to Save Space at Home

    A nursery can be the coziest, most charming room in the house, but it can also be the smallest. If you live in a smaller place, you might even be sharing some of the master bedroom space with the new baby, so effective storage solutions are essential.

    You will want to have the perfect nursery ready to welcome the new family member. However, it’s no surprise that babies come with a lot of stuff and need a lot of supplies and, before you know it, your nursery may be full to the brim with items. 

    To help you make the most of your nursery space and stay organized, here are six organization tips for you!

    Store Excess Items in Bins under the Crib

    When you are tight on space, it’s crucial to make the most of every square foot you have. The space beneath the crib is a great spot to store extra items that you might not need right away. Use bins to store extra diapers, wipes, out-of-season clothes and formula. Choosing clear plastic bins allows you to easily find what is stored in each bin. 

    If these plastic bins are throwing the look of your nursery off, you can use a crib skirt to hide them underneath. Alternatively, you can use nice woven baskets or decorative cloth bins. 

    Keep Supplies in A Shower Caddy

    Diapers are an everyday essential and they need to be kept handy. If your changing station is lacking diaper storage, or additional space for other supplies, try using a shower caddy. You can hang the caddy on a wall nearby where you can easily reach for a fresh diaper or wipe when your baby needs a change. This way, you’ll add useful vertical storage to your space. You can even give the caddy a coat of paint to make it match your nursery’s colour scheme and decor!

    Use A Tension Rod to Hang Baby Shoes

    Baby shoes might well be the second cutest thing in your nursery, after your baby. However, the tiny shoes might get easily mixed up or lost if you have them stashed in a corner or drawer. To keep them organized, you can install a tension rod in the room (the closet is an ideal place) and add curtain clips to hold the shoes. Hang each pair with the clips and make it easier for you to choose a pair for your baby’s outfit.

    Sort Baby Clothes by Size And Season

    Babies grow fast! This means going through several items in their wardrobe as they outgrow smaller clothing. To keep up with their pace, sort clothes by size and place them in plastic bins or drawers in your closet. It’s best to keep clothes upright to easily see and reach for each outfit. This way, you can rotate through each size as your baby grows and move the smaller items into self storage. 

    Use Bins Or Baskets for Accessible Toy Storage

    Before your baby is even born, you’re going to deal with a growing toy collection. It’s important to keep them tidy and in one place to avoid hazards and clutter. To do so, you can use baskets, tubs or bins. 

    Placing these containers on or near the ground will allow your baby to easily access them at the crawling and walking stages. Not only will your baby be able to reach these containers, but you can also use them to build good habits to put toys away and tidy up after playtime.

    Rent A Storage Unit

    Another great option for you to free up space in your nursery and home, is to rent a storage unit. If you have items sitting around that you don’t often need or use, you can store them in a storage unit for a short or long term, and access these items whenever you need to.

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we offer storage units across Greater Vancouver and Greater Vancouver Island. We offer self storage Burnaby, self storage South Surrey and White Rock, self storage Chilliwack, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Parksville, and self storage Victoria. Book a storage unit today! Contact us if you have any questions.

  • 5 Basement Organization and Storage Tips

    5 Basement Organization and Storage Tips

    If you find yourself in the middle of a cluttered, dusty basement, you’re not alone. Messy basements are more common than we’d like to admit. We often dump unnecessary belongings into the basement with the idea that we’ll get to organizing later. However, between work and other activities in our lives, we often neglect this space in our house. 

    To help you bring your basement back to life for your family to enjoy a space for entertainment and other activities, we have five basement organization tips for you.

    Get Rid of Items You Don’t Need

    The first step to organize your basement is purging and cleaning. It’s important to take note of what you have, what you need and what you don’t.

    Spend a couple of days doing a thorough inventory of everything in your basement. As you go through your belongings, evaluate each item and decide whether to keep it and find a spot for it, or to get rid of it by donating, recycling or throwing it in the trash.

    Making these decisions might be hard, so here are a few things to consider that might help you through the process:

    Have you used it recently? Is it valuable to you? If not, it’s time to donate, recycle or chuck it.

    Is this an item you seldom use and can borrow from someone should you need it? Give it to someone who might use it more often and lend it to you now and then.

    Do you need a whole set, or can you keep just the essential? Pick what you need and get rid of the rest.

    As you go, clean the areas that have cleared out after getting rid of items. This will make the cleaning process less challenging 

    Create a Storage Layout

    Now that your basement is clean, dry and hopefully smelling better, it’s time to create a storage plan. Think of all the things you decided to keep after the decluttering phase and create categories you can sort them into. Then, designate zones where you will store certain types of items. These zones can be split into seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter) or types (toys, Christmas, vacationing, etc.). Mark each zone with clear labels and start sorting your items into each of these zones.

    Having these zones will help keep the clutter under control by making it easier to know where to find items you need, and where to put them away once you don’t need them. 

    Install Sturdy Shelving and Use Air-tight Containers

    Once you have sorted your items into their corresponding zones, you can decide the size and amount of containers you will need for each zone. It’s best to use clear plastic containers so you can see what’s stored inside. Additionally, containers should be air-tight to keep out pests like silverfish and other bugs. Add a few desiccant packets to control moisture and fill the containers with your items. 

    Now that you know how many zones and containers you have, it’s time to get some sturdy and durable shelving and hardware. Open shelving is a great choice because it allows air circulation while providing ease of access to your items. You can also install a few hooks to hang bags and other lighter items. 

    Do Yearly Inventory Checks

    You have invested time and effort to clean up and organize your basement; now, keep it that way. Set a reminder to review the stored inventory once a year, and continue to get rid of items that you no longer need. Get into the habit of going through what you already have before adding new items to your basement. 

    Rent A Storage Unit

    If you have too many items in your basement or in your home that you want to keep, or if you want to free up more space for other activities, you can rent a storage unit to store your belongings. You can rent a storage unit size according to your needs. For example, if you only have a few items to store, you can choose a 5 x 5 feet storage unit. If you have more or bigger items to store, you can rent a 5 x 8 feet storage unit, or bigger. 

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!

  • 6 Effective RV Storage Tips While You’re On The Road

    6 Effective RV Storage Tips While You’re On The Road

    For many, a recreational vehicle is an attractive travel option for its convenience and comfort, and even as a more economic alternative to staying in a hotel, especially when travelling with family. For others, an RV also provides a full-time or temporary home.

    However, space is limited when travelling in an RV. No matter the size of your RV – whether you own a pop-up camper or a luxury motorhome – you’ll want to get organized and pack efficiently to make the most of your travel time! Here are six storage tips to make the most out of your RV space and get organized before hitting the road.

    1.  Baskets Are An RV Must-have

    Before going basket shopping, make sure to measure all your shelf space, cubbies and any empty space in your RV. Baskets come in many sizes, shapes and materials, so knowing the space you have will make it easier to choose the best baskets for your RV.

    Sort your supplies into categorized baskets. For example, you can place your dishes and bowls into one basket, your cups, mugs and straws in another and your cutlery in yet another basket. Besides keeping your place tidy, you’ll be able to bring these items to the table in one trip.

    You can make the most of your space by fitting baskets in tight or underused spaces, such as the space above your cupboards. Here you can place items that you don’t need every day, such as toys, board games and other outdoor tools and supplies.

    2.  Line Your Drawers and Shelves

    When getting ready for your trip, we recommend you place liners on all your storage surfaces, including shelves and drawers. This will not only give your surfaces a fresh, clean look, but they will also help prevent spills and will make your life easier during clean-up.

    Liners provide an extra anti-slip layer to your surfaces to avoid items sliding and falling while the vehicle is moving. If something falls or breaks, cleaning will be as easy as removing the liner carefully and replacing it with a fresh one. Liners come in many patterns and colours, so you’ll surely find the ones that fit your style!

    3.  Make The Most of Your Pantry Space

    Get your grocery list ready for a shopping trip before your travels. Stock up on staples such as canned goods, dry goods such as nuts and cereal, and, of course, yummy camping snacks!

    To maximize your pantry space, place the taller items at the back of your pantry and smaller items in the front. Wired baskets or clear bins are great to store smaller items and bagged items to prevent them from moving around while the RV is in motion. Boxed goods like crackers and snack bars can be stored at the top of your pantry, while heavier items like cans and bottles of water should be placed at the bottom.

    4.  Customize The Space to Your Needs

    When travelling, you won’t have fantastic services like Wi-Fi or cable everywhere, so it’s essential to bring movies for entertainment on a rainy day – especially for the kids! However, bringing DVDs in their cases can quickly stack up and use up valuable space. Instead, you can store your DVDs in a wallet case which can be stored nicely along with some books and magazines.

    Having a command centre for the family can help during your trips! You can set it up on the fridge if it’s magnetic. Otherwise, you can use Command strips on a pantry door or wall. Using a whiteboard with magnets or a cork board with thumbtacks will help you keep important information, such as phone numbers, itinerary, addresses and other notes about your trip, while adding a bit of homey décor.

    5.  Maximize Your Bedroom Space with Labeled Containers

    Storage bins and tubs work wonders for the space under your bed. Here, you can store your bedding, linens and blankets, cleaning and bathroom supplies, outdoor tools and gear, and even extra shoes and clothing.

    Taking the extra step to label and tag your bins, tubs and baskets will be a time saver. Doing this will help you identify the contents of each storage container and quickly find what you’re looking for. This is especially helpful for clothing if you don’t have a dresser, or if you want some extra space in your closet. Labeling your containers will also make cleanup easier – you won’t have to spend hours figuring out what goes where!

    6.  Use Self-storage to Organize Your New RV Home

    Making the most of your new RV home space can take some time and practice, especially considering the volume and weight limitations. When you’re planning your first few trips, it might be overwhelming to sort out what you need and what you don’t, and sometimes, you’ll need to leave some of your possessions behind. Using self-storage units will ensure your items are safe, while making it easier for you to organize and decide what to take on your next trip.

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!

    Whether you are planning a long-term trip, or a quick getaway, organizing your RV home and maximizing your limited space can be a challenge, but these simple tips will get you off to a good start!

  • 4 Tips for Organizing Your Garage Before Winter

    4 Tips for Organizing Your Garage Before Winter

    As winter is only a few months away (yikes!), it is a good time to get your garage organized before it finally arrives. Here are five tips you can use to organize your garage before winter:

    Consider what you actually want to store in your garage

    For many homeowners, a garage is the perfect storage for a car, along with assorted yard and sporting equipment. But we don’t all have to use a garage in the same way. What is it that you actually need in your garage?

    If there are items in your garage that you don’t need, consider donating them or storing them in a self-storage unit. If you have old family photos, clothes that you rarely wear or items that have sentimental value, you can keep them in a secure storage unit for a long term.

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!

    Do a pre-winter cleanup

    Once you have cleared up your garage, it’s time to do a thorough cleanup before winter comes! In many cases, garages can get out of control and disorganized during the winter months because when it is cold or rainy out, we may be less likely to spend enough time in the garage to keep things tidy or organized. Use the last weeks of summer or the cooler dry days of fall to clear the clutter from your garage and give it more purpose. This way, your garage can remain clean and useful all winter long.

    Use all the available space

    Many times, our garage floors are full; yet the walls and ceilings are not utilized to their fullest potential. Walls and ceilings can offer an abundance of additional storage that is otherwise wasted.

    Pegboards, lattice with “s” hooks, wall hooks and wall-mounted or free-standing shelving can maximize the space you have, and still leave you floor space for the car, craft tables or whatever you would like to use the middle of your garage for. There are customized garage organizing systems you can buy, but you can certainly find plenty of DIY options to help you organize every available inch, for less.

    You can also use shelf standards, which hang from a single track affixed to wall studs. These systems can bear the weight of heavier objects; standards, hooks, shelves and organizers can be relocated easily.

    Use jars, bins and cabinets

    Invest in a few jars, bins and cabinets to help store items in your garage while minimizing the amount of space used to store these items. Once you place items such as old clothes or document files in a bin or cabinet, you can store these containers vertically, which significantly limits the amount of used space in your garage.

  • 5 Tips for New Parents to Organize Baby Clothes

    5 Tips for New Parents to Organize Baby Clothes

    There are a million things on a new parent’s mind when the time finally comes to bring their baby home. As organized as you may think you were before the big day, there are so many unexpected challenges and changes that come up once you get into a routine at home. For example, maybe keeping your home clean and organized while caring for a newborn is more challenging than you had expected. Moreover, folding and organizing clothes may take up a longer time than anticipated. To help you keep your home organized, here are four tips you can use.

    Keep daily used items close to the changing table

    In the first few weeks, your baby grows so much. You may feel like they are constantly growing out of their clothes and onto the next size up. If your changing table is on your dresser, or close to it, keep those current sizes in the top drawer. If you change your baby in another room like the living room or your bedroom, keep a basket close by with all their current clothing and accessories for easy access. This way you won’t struggle to search for something that fits.

    Use size organizers in the closet

    Adding size labels to your closet is super helpful when organizing your baby’s clothing, especially after your baby shower, when you are overwhelmed with the amount of clothing your little one received. Additionally, hanging items are easier to see and grab rather than folded ones.

    Most baby clothes already come on plastic hangers that are marked with their sizes, so all you need to do is hang them right up in the closet with the corresponding size organizer. Unfortunately, a lot of those cute clothes you got as gifts will end up unworn, with the tags still attached, if the size or season was wrong. Organizing clothing this way allows you to pinpoint which items they didn’t end up wearing so that you can make some returns if necessary. A trick for easy returns is to keep all of the gift receipts in the pockets or attached to the hanger.

    These little plastic discs may not seem like much but can make a huge difference. They are inexpensive, fit most standard closet racks and can be found on most shopping websites.

    Organize by item type

    Keep socks with socks. Dedicate a section of the baby’s dresser to short-sleeve clothing and another to long-sleeve clothing. This way, If it’s a warm day, you’ll know exactly where to grab something with short sleeves; if it’s chilly out, you’ll easily be able to reach for the long-sleeve onesies. With a child that needs your attention, every second counts.

    Keep a hamper close to your changing table

    With a hamper within range, you can take the dirty clothes off the baby and toss them directly into it easily. As a new parent, your hands are always full – literally. You’ll realize it’s amazing what  you can accomplish with one hand while the other holds the baby. Keeping everything you need close by makes navigating through the day that much easier.

    Use a storage unit

    To keep your home organized and clean, you can first declutter and remove all the unnecessary items from your home and move them into a storage unit. You can rent a storage unit for the long-term and access items in the storage unit whenever you need them.

    If you have a lot of stuff that needs to be stored, you can choose a storage unit size that’s a bit bigger, such as a 5×10 storage unit. If you only have a few items to store, go with a closet-sized storage unit, such as a 5×5 storage unit.
    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!

  • 4 Tips for Cleaning and Organizing a Closet

    4 Tips for Cleaning and Organizing a Closet

    Is your clothes closet as clean, organized and streamlined as you’d like it to be? Do you find yourself repeatedly wearing only two or three items from your overstuffed closet? If you are like most people, your closet contains things that no longer fit or items you no longer like to wear. When your closet is disorganized it makes finding what you actually like to wear a frustrating task. As seasons change, it’s a great time to learn how to clean a closet and organize your storage space from top to bottom!

    So set aside a long afternoon, grab the following supplies, put on your tunes and let’s get started!

    1. Take out everything from your closet first

    It might seem like a drastic measure, but the best way to do the job right and be happy with the end result is to actually remove everything from the closet. If it’s been a while since you’ve cleaned your closet, you’ll want to wear a dust mask to avoid headaches or allergies. It’s amazing how much dust accumulates in a closet!

    1. Donate your clothes

    Don’t second guess yourself – remove everything you haven’t worn in the past year and take it to the car to be dropped off the next day at your favorite charity. While there is a possibility you’ll give away something you wish you had down the road, in the long run it will have been worth it. Cleaning out a closet will make future decisions much easier. Chaotic closets end up costing us money! Being more organized will help you know what you actually need to buy going forward and you’ll make less clothing mistakes.

    1. Rent a storage unit

    If you have some outfits that you LOVE but only wear seldomly for special occasions, you can rent a self storage for either short-term or long-term to store these outfits. There are a variety of storage unit sizes for a person to choose from. If you’re looking to store a couple of clothing items, you can go with a 5×5 storage unit which is approximately the size of a walk-in closet.

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we offer storage units across Greater Vancouver and Greater Vancouver Island. We offer self storage Burnaby, self storage South Surrey and White Rock, self storage Chilliwack, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Parksville, and self storage Victoria. Book a storage unit today! Contact us if you have any questions.

    1. Hang up the clothes you actually wear

    Only hang up clothes you wear so that your closet is occupied with outfits that you actually wear. Doing this helps you deter hoarding outfits that you rarely wear and making a huge mess in your closet! If you have some outfits that you’re on the fence about whether you’ll wear them on the regular, we’d recommend storing these items in a storage unit to avoid clustering your closet with outfits that you seldomly wear.

  • 3 Tips and Tricks For Living in a Studio Apartment

    3 Tips and Tricks For Living in a Studio Apartment

    Living in a studio apartment can be challenging since the bedroom and living room are combined. Depending on the space’s size, you have to find ways to live in a studio apartment effectively. We have come up with some valuable studio apartment living tips that will help you re-imagine small spaces.

    Here are three tips and tricks for living in a studio apartment.

    1. Rent a storage unit

    Since a studio apartment is minimal in space, it’s ideal to keep as few items in the apartment as possible. To do so, we recommend renting a storage unit. By renting a storage unit, you can store items that you seldom use or use them seasonally such as snowboarding equipment or camping gear and access these items whenever you need them.

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we offer storage units across Greater Vancouver and Greater Vancouver Island. We offer self storage Burnaby, self storage South Surrey and White Rock, self storage Chilliwack, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Parksville, and self storage Victoria. Book a storage unit today! Contact us if you have any questions.

    1. Buy multi-purpose furniture according to your lifestyle

    Create a space where you can hang out with friends, watch TV, and work on your laptop. To do this, think multipurpose. Instead of buying a desk, a TV stand, and a bookshelf, install wall shelving that you can use for all three. Instead of buying a huge, bulky couch, get a couple of smaller armchairs. But before you buy anything, think of how you’re going to live in space.

    Here are some questions to ask yourself:

    • Do I need to work in this space? If so, how can I fit in a desk or use another area (like a dining table) to serve this purpose?
    • Realistically, how many people will I have over for get-togethers? Make sure you have space for everyone to sit. If you only have one or two people over, a larger scale two-seater sofa should suffice. If you have more, think about a smaller couch in addition to floor poufs and accent chairs.
    • Am I making the space do too much? Is there some functionality you could give up to make your apartment seem more streamlined? Perhaps you don’t need to have a gym studio in the corner. Maybe you can do your work at a coffee shop instead of in the apartment. Sometimes, a compromise can help your home base feel more serene.
    1. Declutter kitchen utensils and clean your kitchen often

    In a studio apartment, your kitchen is probably going to be one of two things: a strip of cabinets against one wall of the living room, or a room so small there’s hardly enough space to open the refrigerator door all the way. How can you make it work? Consider doing the following.

    • Only buy essential kitchen utensils.

    Remember that you don’t really need a tofu press, and twelve different knives aren’t necessary. Don’t let your cabinets fill up with boxes of pasta and cans of vegetables that you’re never going to use.

    • Clean your kitchen routinely

    Whatever you do, do not let kitchen messes build up. Wash the dishes as you use them, throw out expired food right away and wipe down all your surfaces after cooking.

  • 4 Tips for Cleaning Your Home

    4 Tips for Cleaning Your Home

    When we want to purchase other items for our homes, it’s usually because we think we need those items to make our lives better. That said, If we take an honest look, these extra items end up being the cause of additional clutter and stress in our lives. It’s become almost second nature in our culture to think we are going to enhance our life with something new when inadvertently we have made it more complicated.

    If you are looking for ways to clean your home, here are four simple tips you can use.

    1. Avoid impulse purchases

    When you can, don’t go to places that will cause you to buy more stuff to deal with or tempt you with more decisions to make. Try consolidating shopping lists and trips so you don’t make multiple visits in a week. It’s amazing how much less you buy and how much easier your subsequent decisions are when you spend less time going into stores.

    1. Rent a storage unit

    If you have some items or belonging laying around your home and occupying space, consider booking a storage unit to store these items for short-term or long-term. For example, if you have some outdoor sports gear or outfits that  you use or wear once in a while, you can store them in a storage unit (e.g. 5×5 storage unit or 5×6 storage unit), and gain access and use them when you need these outfits or sports gear. There are a variety of storage unit sizes you can choose from. If you’re looking to store clothing items, you can go with a 5×5 storage unit which is approximately the size of a walk-in closet.

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we offer storage units across Greater Vancouver and Greater Vancouver Island. We offer self storage Burnaby, self storage South Surrey and White Rock, self storage Chilliwack, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Parksville, and self storage Victoria. Book a storage unit today! Contact us if you have any questions.

    1. Clean your home on a weekly basis

    It’s easy to keep you home tidy if you clean it on a weekly basis. Every week, you can clean up your home by assuring that laundry is done, all your belongings are in the right places (e.g. clean cups are in the cabinet and your clothes are hanging in the closet). Doing this weekly limits the amount of cleaning you have to do each week and helps keeping your home clean and organized at all times!

    1. When in doubt, donate it

    If you have random belongings laying around your home and you aren’t sure if you want to keep them or not, you can donate to local charities. For example, if you have some older electronic devices or clothing that you most likely won’t use again, you can contact your local charities and ask if they would find these useful. If these charities find these items of us, donate these items to the charities! Doing this helps you achieve an excellent good deed as well as declutter your home!

  • 4 Steps for Organizing Your Drawers

    4 Steps for Organizing Your Drawers

    Drawers are a fantastic way to compartmentalize one’s belongings. But, it can also get real messy, real fast… Especially if you clean with the “out of sight, out of mind” approach. From office desk drawers to “junk” drawers, let us teach you how to reverse the entropy in those pesky little compartments in 4 easy steps. 

    1: Emptying and Dusting the Drawers

    Emptying out the drawer is a great idea to understand what exactly has been packing inside. Although you can still attempt to organize the drawer with all your belongings inside, it won’t be as effective to declutter for step 2, and be especially difficult for cleaning the dust out of the drawer itself.

    Next, use a handheld vacuum or hose attachment to remove the dust that has accumulated inside. After all the dust has been removed, you can move onto using a cleaning spray on the drawer and subsequently wiping it clean with a microfiber cloth. If you spot any stubborn stains, baking soda and a wet brush works as a gentle exfoliant.

    2: Sorting & Decluttering

    Now, turn your attention to your pile of belongings you’ve removed from the drawer and categorize the items on utility. This is a great way to determine if you should actually keep the items. As you’re doing this, keep an eye out for items that are damaged and sort those into items that you would fix, recycle, or throw away. 

    Although it can be tough to say goodbye to your possessions, here are 4 helpful questions to help you decide if you should keep your possessions. 

    1. Have you used the item within the last six months? 
    2. Do you foresee yourself using this item in the near future? Some seasonal items are exceptions to rule 1, as they can be cycled between storage and drawers as necessary. 
    3. Would you purchase this item again? If not, and you’ve said no to rules 1 and 2, it’s time to let it go.
    4. Would you keep the item if you were movin? If not, it’s time to say goodbye. 

    Finally, consider the size of your drawer. If it’s a small drawer, don’t expect to keep more items than what you are able to fit within it. As for the no-pile, they can be sold at a garage sale or donated to a local charity shop. 

    3: Designating space for the organized items

    Similar to the previous tip, it is important to organize the drawers to make sure you have enough space for everything you’re choosing to keep, and that you’re able to categorize these items efficiently. 

    For example, if you have a drawer full of power tools, screws, and mail, consider removing the mail into another safe place in your office drawer. Similarly, instead of folding hoodings and placing it into a dresser, the most efficient use of space would be hanging it up. The bottom line is that you’re keeping only the essentials in your home, and you’re doing so in a way that maximizes the space you have. 

    4: Getting creative in categorizing your belongings

    You’re all set in organizing your drawers and deciding what to keep. For items that are small and may require further sorting, the next step may be to think about getting dividers to keep things neat. Drawer liners are a great choice in dividing the space into usable sections, and they are also great in helping to minimize dust. A liner without holes is great for preventing any dust accumulation on the drawer underneath, and it is also easier to clean than going back to step 1. 

    However, if you are on a tight budget, shoe boxes and cereal boxes are great make-shift containers for organizing dresser drawers. The bottom of cereal boxes are great too for storing silverware and utensils. Egg cartons and ice-cube trays are also a good method for storing smaller items, such as jewelry, on a budget.

    And finally…

    There you have it! Four steps to cleaning and organizing your drawer. However, if you’re someone who has gone through these four steps and still aren’t able to part with their belongings, it may be time to look into a self-storage unit to tidy your belongings. And conveniently – these 4 steps are great for organizing your drawers in the storage unit too!

    At U-Lock Mini Storage, we have storage facilities across Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island. Our facilities include self storage Victoria, self storage Parksville, self storage Nanaimo, self storage Burnaby, self storage White Rock and Surrey, and self storage Chilliwack. Contact us if you have any questions!