5 Cheap Packing Materials that Work Well

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When it comes time to pack your boxes prior to moving day, the right filler can prevent damage from the experience. Although you may drive carefully, various vibrations within the vehicle or perhaps from sliding the boxes into place can damage your valuables. Wrapping your wine glasses in newspaper can only do so much and isn’t a guaranteed method of protecting them. While you could put money into packing foam, there are other ways you can safely protect your valuables from damage during your move.

1. Foam Peanuts – Packing peanuts are a great way to solidify the protection in your boxes. Because of their size and resilience, you can fill a box full of fragile goods reinforced with packing peanuts to create a solid and stable package. If you use these peanuts correctly, even violently shaking the box full of fragile goods wouldn’t cause them to break. The best part is, these peanuts are fairly cheap and can go a long way when it comes to packing your goods. When you’re done with the move, simply put them back in the shipping bag and sell them on eBay or use them somewhere else.

2. Newspaper – One of the most common of fragile-item packing materials when it comes time to move is the use of old newspapers. While millions of people will use newspaper to wrap fragile items such as glasses, crinkling them up into a ball or twisting them can also give newspaper the ability to provide extra protection from movement within the box. Even wrapped several times with the sports section, a glass can still break by hitting another one within the box. If you use a wadded ball of newspaper in between each item, there is far less of a chance from breakage while moving.

3. Towels – Household towels are a great way to protect valuables when moving. Using towels to insulate fragile items from interacting with each other inside the box can greatly reduce damage from shaking or dropping boxes. Thick towels used in a zigzag pattern weaving in and out of your glass plates can possibly protect these goods from even the most violent of drops. However, this is dependent of the towel you are using and the weight of the plates themselves.

4. Clothing – Like towels, clothing can be used as a great insulator to protect items from being reduced to shards of sharp glass. Sweaters and thicker garments are especially useful given their fluffy and cotton-esque nature. Of course, you want to make sure the clothes are clean when you’re packing. The last thing you want to smell is body odor when you are sipping wine from your favorite glass after a hard day of moving.

5. Grocery Bags – Many of us have a drawer in the kitchen filled with grocery bags. We use them for a variety of purposes, especially for those who own pets. While it does take a great deal of these bags to completely secure the likes of glasses from hitting each other, they can be used for reinforced padding within the box. Any additional protection you can add is always better than going without.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money for packing materials when it comes time to move. Many of these suggestions can be found around the home and can be recycled for other uses when you’re done. Don’t leave your valuable and fragile items at fate’s doorstep. Pack them in good and tight and relieve the stress of finding your favorite glasses smashed at the bottom of the box.

This is article is contributed by Madoline Hatter. Madoline is a freelance writer and blog junkie from ChangeOfAddressForm.com. You can reach her at: m.hatter12@gmail.com.

Ultimate Self-Storage for Fine Art Paintings and Estate Furniture

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Are you part of a niche market of demanding persons that need more upscale and sophisticated storage options?

Deluxe air-conditioned storage units are brightly lit & extremely clean

Persons with irreplaceable heirlooms, estate executors and professional art collectors can benefit from Jiffy Self-Storage upscale storage, thereby providing more storage choices and diversity in a tight storage market. These deluxe storage units are brightly lit, extremely clean, versatile and secure. Boasting extra wide loading doors, high ceilings, air conditioning, heating, low humidity and ventilated filtered air, each unit is also available with individual security alarm, multiple power outlets and internet access.

Fine furniture art will thrive in air conditioned comfort & reduced humidity

These kinds of amenities are not offered by other storage facilities in Canada. Jiffy Self-Storage is always the first to recognize evolving consumer needs. Winner of the Consumer Choice Award 17 years in row and a perfect record of zero complaints with the Better Business Bureau, our accomplishments speak for themselves.

Deluxe unit sizes start at 141 sq. ft. and up and range in various storage sizes. Standard self-storage units start at 25 sq. ft. There is a limited supply of these special units available. Call 416-745-4339 for further details and to reserve your ultimate storage unit now.

What Kind of Lock Should You Use on Your Storage Unit?

Posted by Guest Blogger - Brian Shreckengast | Top Storage Tips | Post Comments »

If you’re spending the money to store your valuables, you want to make sure those valuables stay safe. While finding a safe and secure storage facility is an important step, don’t forget that many facilities will require you to supply your own lock. While this may sound simple, keep in mind that there are several different types of locks. So which type of lock should you choose? Which lock will best secure your storage facility?

Before we talk about the different types of locks available, let’s discuss a few basics. First, and most important, is the material your lock is made out of. Stainless steel is ideal: though there are more durable materials, most of these are prohibitively expensive, meaning stainless steel is the strongest available to the general market. Stainless steel is also most-resistant to corrosion and rust than other common lock materials. While titanium is strong and light, it’s easier to cut through than steel. Brass and aluminum will be cheaper, but they’re the easiest to cut through of all, so the few dollars you might save on a lock aren’t worth anything if someone can easily cut through that lock with bolt cutters. When it comes to the shackle (the piece that enters the locking mechanism), boron is actually stronger than stainless steel, but either should work for your purposes—just make sure the shackle has a weather-proof coating.

Dual ball bearing locking mechanisms are the strongest, while dual levers work well too. Avoid single-lever locking mechanisms, as these don’t secure the shackle quite as well. A pin tumbler increases the sophistication of the key switch, with more pins providing more protection—meaning your lock will be much harder to pick. The highest pin count is typically seven, descending down to three.

Types:

Chain locks: cheap and versatile, chain locks connect the shackle to the lock’s body with a length of chain links. The advantage of chain locks is that they’ll fit almost any kind of door, a flexibility that means you’re more likely to use them again in the future. However, we don’t recommend their use when securing a storage unit. Because of the articulated nature of the links in the chain, chain locks have a large number of breaking points. These breaking points are exposed to the elements and vulnerable to bolt-cutters. Some of those who rent storage units think that bike-locks, with their vinyl, plastic, or rubber coatings, will be better protected. This is a serious mistake that we warn against: both bike locks and chain locks are vulnerable to the elements and break-ins and so should never be sued to secure your storage unit.

Padlocks or ‘U-Locks’: As the most popular type of lock, padlocks are probably what pops into your mind when you think of a lock—if you’re still hazy, they’re named ‘U’ locks for a reason. While u-locks are cheap, typically made of stainless steel, and strong, they also have a few weaknesses—namely, their shackles and keyholes are exposed to the elements, meaning that the keys and shackle necks have a tendency to break off into the lock in cold weather. Also, the long, curved neck of the shackle presents a tender target for a thief’s bolt-cutters. While padlocks aren’t the best type of lock to secure your storage unit, they’ll often be enough—just make sure the neck of the shackle is thick, it has a double-locking mechanism, the keyhole is protected with anti-pick pins, and it’s made of stainless steel (or at least brass).

Disc Locks: Round in shape, these locks are compact, thick, and solid. Their shackles (the piece of metal that goes through the eye of the door) are short, and are thus better-protected from both the elements and bolt-cutters. Disc locks are also more likely than other types of locks to feature anti-pick pins. Because of these security measures, thieves will be forced to smash disc locks off the door—a difficult feat, given their stout steel body. Disc locks are typically more expensive than other types of locks, but despite this we recommend them as the best type of lock to secure your storage unit.

Locks can range in price from just a few dollars to over a hundred. Generally, your price range should depend on the security level of the storage facility and the value of your belongings—if the former is high and the latter low, you should be safe aiming at the cheap end. That being said, we strongly recommend against paying anything less than $10, as these locks are assuredly made of cheap materials and in the long run will not be worth even that much. We suggest aiming at $20-$25, as these locks are almost guaranteed to include the features we recommended above, and will generally work just as well for your purposes as a lock that costs $100.

Brian Shreckengast is a writer at SelfStorageDeals.com, where he blogs about storage, moving, and living cheaply in various cities across the U.S.A.