Archive for the ‘Blogroll’ Category
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Professional Moving Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfer
By Jim Carey - Go Mini’s of NY, NJ & CT
Serving Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Bergen, Fairfield and Litchfield
Our third in a series of professional moving tips for the do-it-yourself mover. If you have rented a portable storage container from Go Mini’s or anyone else, you are going to want to know how to best take care of your personal belongings. Refer to this blog as often as necessary to find the tips of all kinds. These are tips the pros would use too.
Tip #3 - Moving a washing machine - You must know these tips before you move one!
We chose the washing machine as a moving tip because moving a washing machine is a potential disaster. Don’t believe us? Movers move washing machines often enough and eventually get burned. And that’s why we have some very important tips for you. In this article, we will tell you the main problems and why they are so.
Problem #1 - Leaking valves
When you hook up a bran new washing machine, you connect your two water hoses from the hot and cold water valves to the hot and cold threaded stems on the back of the washing machine. Assuming this is done correctly, you open up the valves and - Voila! - your water supply is connected. You do not need to do anything with these hoses or valves. There is a good chance you will not touch them until you move or replace the washing machine with a new one. That’s fine, but understand that when you go to disconnect the hoses, the valves may not close for you and, even if they do at first, they may not stay closed. Here’s why. Your standard valve closes off the flow of water with a rubber “seat” inside. When the valve is new, the rubber is flexible and durable. But, over time, your water can corrode the “seat”. Hard mineral deposits can react with the rubber. Chlorinated water will dissolve the rubber. So when you close the valve, you may not have any rubber left to make the closed valve water tight.
Here is another warning! At first, the valves may hold water. But if the “seat” is corroded, a little bit of water pressure may break the seat and turn a drip into a steady flow. Now, if you were in the process of moving out of a house, imagine what could happen 24 or 48 hours after you left the house. The flood could start and will keep going. The problems are potentially disastrous. Imagine you are “down the road” to your new residence while the leak is beginning to reach all corners of the house; destroying carpet, walls or ceilings below. Sorry to scare anyone reading this, but the potential is very real. Bu there is a way to prevent it. Change the valve? No. The other valve is likely soldered onto a pipe and replacing the valve would require the expense of a plumber. The easiest way is to feel comfortable there will be no leak is to attach a threaded valve cap to the valve.
Just remove the hose from the valve. Put some teflon tape over the threads of the valve and firmly tighten a threaded valve cap. Now, if the valve will not hold water, the cap will.
Problem #2 - Never re-use those black hoses, which connect from the valve to the washing machine. Over time, the hoses can get brittle and crack. Solution? - Spend a few bucks and get new hoses.
Problem #3 - Another thing to think about is a conventional washing machine never fully drains all its water. So this means two things. It will be much heavier and will also leak water if you are carrying it on an angle. If possible, leave the washer open for a few days to let some of the water evaporate.
You can move a washing machine but you just need to be aware of the very real risks.
Go Mini’s portable storage containers make it easy to move and store your own items. Now you have professional advice for when you move your washing machine. Always check back to see the latest Professional Moving Tips for the do-it-yourselfer.
Go Mini’s of NY, NJ & CT is an authorized exclusive dealer for Go Mini’s Portable Storage Containers in the Metropolitan New York area serving the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster NY, Bergen NJ, Fairfield and Litchfield, CT. Call us at 866-Go Mini’s to help you move or store today.
Tags: do it yourself moving and storage, Go Mini's, mobile storage containers, moving a washing machine, moving appliances, portable storage containers, professional moving tips
Posted in Blogroll, Go Mini's Updates, Home Organization, Moving Tips | No Comments »
Monday, February 8th, 2010
Professional Moving Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfer
By Jim Carey - Go Mini’s of NY, NJ & CT
Serving Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Bergen, Fairfield and Litchfield
Our second in a series of professional moving tips for the do-it-yourself mover. If you have rented a portable storage container from Go Mini’s or anyone else, you are going to want to know how to best take care of your personal belongings. Refer to this blog as often as necessary to find the tips of all kinds. These are tips the pros would use too.
Tip #2 - Packing fragile dishes and stemware
So you have made the decision to move yourself. Well we have some good advice for you when it comes to packing your fragile dishes and stemware. Let’s start with the first step in packing your own fragile items. Get the best boxes or plastic containers you can. If the pros were packing for you, they would use a very sturdy cardboard box to pack your fragile dishes and stemware. The box the pros use is much more sturdy than other boxes they will use. Ask Go Mini’s for a triple wall corrugated box. Movers refer to these boxes as “dish-paks” or “dish barrels”. The standard volume of this box is 5.2 cubic feet.
With the correct type of box selected, we can move on to wrapping and packing. Get clean paper. WARNING!!! - Old Newspapers can leave ink stains on fine china. Go Mini’s of NY, NJ and CT offers un-printed newspaper. Place your item to be wrapped on the corner of the paper and wrap the paper and fold in the sides. Usually you can create a double layer or more using this technique. For larger items, like dinner plates, you will not get a double layer. So start by wrapping the plate in two pieces of paper at the same time.
BEFORE YOU PUT ANYTHING IN THE BOX - Crumple up several pieces of paper and make a cushion-y layer in the bottom of your box. Now you can begin to put dishes in the box. Start by putting your larger items in like plates. If you have a set of plates, they will fit together nicely. Then surround your plates with another cushion of crumpled up paper. You are going to work your way up from the bottom building a series of layers. Crumpled up paper is the key. Keep using it between layers of dishes. Make sure to not leave any empty spaces in the box. This way, the box will not settle and neither will the dishes packed inside.
Go Mini’s portable storage containers make it easy to move and store your own items. Now you have advice to pack like the experts. Always check back to see the latest Professional Moving Tips for the do-it-yourselfer.
Go Mini’s of NY, NJ & CT is an authorized exclusive dealer for Go Mini’s Portable Storage Containers in the Metropolitan New York area serving the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster NY, Bergen NJ, Fairfield and Litchfield, CT. Call us at 866-Go Mini’s to help you move or store today.
Tags: do it yourself moving and storage, Go Mini's, packing dishes, portable storage containers, professional moving tips
Posted in Blogroll, Home Organization, Miscellaneous, Moving Tips, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
Professional Moving Tips for the do-it-yourselfer
By Jim Carey - Go Mini’s of NY, NJ and CT
As previously announced, we are pleased to bring you our first in a series of professional moving tips for the do-it-yourself mover. If you have rented a portable storage container from Go Mini’s or anyone else, you are going to want to know how to best take care of your personal belongings. Refer to this blog as often as necessary to find the tips of all kinds. These are tips the pros would use too.
Tip #1 - Prevent “load shift” during transit.
We thought our very first tip should give the kind of advice every do-it-yourself mover should know. When a professional mover loads your items onto a moving truck, one of their primary objectives is to load the truck in a way that will prevent load shift. Movers know when they are driving down the road, they will encounter steep hills, sharp turns, sudden stops, large potholes etc. You as the do-it-yourself mover should know your possessions will encounter the same potential issues when they are in transit.
That’s why you need to think about load shift!
One strategy used by the pros to prevent load shift is one you can easily use too. Large flat items are the answer. Mattresses and other large flat items like plywood are perfect for helping to prevent load shift. DO NOT load mattresses or plywood into your Go Mini portable storage container first. Start by counting how many of these large flat items you have and plan to load them strategically throughout your Go Mini. It’s even more effective if you use straps or rope to tighten the mattress or plywood against the load.
Just in case this is not clear, stand the large flat item up on its end. When you are looking into the Mini, you should be face to face with the wide side of the mattress or plywood you are using to secure your load. Another benefit of this is, after you have secured the flat item with straps or rope, you have another flat wall to start building another tier of boxes and furniture.
If possible, save a flat item for the end of your load. Here’s why. After you have rolled down the door, you do not want to have something shift and then lean against the roll-up door of your portable storage container. It has happened to a few people in the past.
Loading your Go Mini’s portable storage container is easy with its translucent roof and ground level entrance. Be sure to look back for more tips on how the pro’s load furniture and boxes. We’ll make this Professional Moving Tips series a valuable resource to our customer’s.
Tags: do-it-yourself moving, Go Mini's, load shift, moving tips, Portable Moving and Storage, portable storage container, professional moving tips
Posted in Blogroll, Miscellaneous, Moving Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
Michael Maroon, owner of Go Mini’s Portable Storage of Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, is heading to Haiti to join the relief efforts. Michael is going with the Chadasha Foundation, a Christian group of physicians and businessmen in the Knoxville, TN area who are always working in Haiti. They have an orphanage and hospital there on a compound near the Dominican Republic border. They have turned the orphanage into a hospital, which was housing 500 to 600 patients as of January 19th. They will be there for 7 days.
We send our thoughts and prayers out to the people of Haiti and to everyone assisting in the relief efforts.
Posted in Blogroll, Go Mini's Updates, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, December 24th, 2009
Dec 23, 2009
By Tammy Stevens, GO MINI’S Minneapolis, MN
What a fabulous opportunity. Here in our beautiful white winter GO MINI’S MN was able to donate one of our portable storage containers for a great cause. GO MINI’S was loud and proud out front of the Coldwell Banker Burnet Real Estate Agency waiting to accept the donations of toys from all the wonderful people in the community.
We just received a letter from the Branch Vice President Ken Johnson thanking us for our support and to let us know that they received over 750 toys for local children in need at the event held on Saturday, December 5th. “We are so fortunate to have such wonderful support from our community.”
These toys were donated to TOYS FOR TOTS by the agents & friends of Coldwell Banker Burnet’s Minnetonka/Excelsior offices as part of the annual “Trees for Toys” event. GO MINI’s MN Portable Storage was proud to be a part of such a heartfelt charitable cause.
See you next year!!! Happy Holidays
Tags: Go Mini's, Minneapolis, moving & storage, portable self storage, Portable Storage, portable storage rental, portable storage units, St. Paul
Posted in Blogroll, Facilities Management, Go Mini's Updates, Home Organization, Miscellaneous, Moving Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
by Peter Dempsey - December 2009
The heavy wet snowfall that has fallen on Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Rockland Counties, NY last night was followed by heavy rainfall. This lead to “ponding” of water in several areas and is causing basement flooding across the entire region. In some instances, there have been some flat roofs with water backing up and coming in through roofs. The result is flood damage and a big mess for home and business owners.
Go Mini’s has dispatched several of its weather proof portable storage units this morning. Restoration companies as well as home and business owners have called looking for immediate delivery. Call volume began to slow down from early this morning when flooding first began to occur. Perhaps Ulster County in the northern area of our service region will start to see flooding. The snow lasted a bit longer there.
We are thankful for the continued business from our restoration companies and wish our new customers from this morning good luck in dealing with these floods. Our Go Mini’s stand 8 inches off the ground so the items they put in the Mini will be safe. But we have cautioned them to keep snow from building up around the Mini just to be sure there are no chances of water rising above the 8 inch ground clearance. Do any Go Mini’s dealers have any stories of flooding after a snow storm? Let us know.
Tags: Dutchess, flat roofs flooding, flood damage, home, Orange, Portable Storage, Putnam, Restoration companies, Rockland, weatherproof storage, Westchester
Posted in Blogroll, Facilities Management, Go Mini's Updates, Miscellaneous | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
By Tom Grimes - Go Mini’s of NY, CT and NJ - December 8, 2009
We all agree the original portable on demand storage concept came from PODS. Hence their name. They grew into a corporate giant with their first to market advantage and, quite frankly, their great concept for moving and storage. But they are also being outpaced in many markets by smaller, locally operated portable storage container companies. Go Mini’s in the New York metro area (specifically Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Litchfield, Fairfield and Bergen Counties) is one such company doing just that.
Instead of a national call center to handle customer calls, Go Mini’s of NY, CT & NJ handles calls locally. So many of their customers are of the “need it now” type. They can’t get that from PODS. But when they call Go Mini’s, the person on the phone usually knows where the delivery trucks are and can arrange an urgent delivery happen in just a few minutes. Customers love knowing they do not need to spend time on the phone waiting for a special person to arrange an expedited delivery. With Go Mini’s, they know fast response is a common practice. This fast response time is critical to the restoration business, to contractors, to Realtors whose clients move out of a home and have a closing fall through on they one they are supposed to move to. You get the point. It is important to get the customer their Mini quickly. In the counties listed above, there is nobody faster than Go Mini’s. Because Go Mini’s meets the needs of these customers, they become repeat customers.
Tom Grimes is a local representative of Go Mini’s. Tom creates relationships with businesses in different industries who never knew they could have such an easy portable storage system that delivers quickly in support of their operation. If you have a need for portable storage, whether it is for holiday inventory, renovating or restoration projects, de-cluttering or home staging, give Go Mini’s a call.
Tags: Go Mini's NY CT NJ, Go Mini's Westchester Putnam Dutchess Orange Rockland Ulster Fairfield Litchfield Bergen, holiday inventory, PODS, Portable Moving and Storage, Portable on demand storage, Portable Storage, renovating, restoration
Posted in Blogroll, Go Mini's Updates, Miscellaneous, Moving Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, November 20th, 2009
November 19, 2009
By Tammy Stevens, GO MINI’S - Minneapolis, MN
Last week my husband, Dirk Stevens and I were invited to one of the largest ServiceMasters Restoration Companies that serve the Minneapolis area, celebrating their new warehouse.
ServiceMasters is one of many restoration companies that has been using our GO MINI’S dealership for over 3 years now and I asked them why they used GO MINI’S ? The answer seemed universal amongst all our restoration companies. They said it was simple…we were easy to do business with! They loved working with a locally owned agency. A one-minute phone call with their purchase order, the delivery address, when they needed it and where to place the portable storage container and the transaction was done.
Our clients have more than enough to do when there is a water or fire emergency and know that we understand a sense of urgency. All our restoration companies have our home phone but do not abuse it. Having a vendor’s home phone makes a statement about our commitment.
GO MINI’S has been a fantastic fit for restoration companies.
Tags: Anoka, Blaine, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Fridley, Go Mini's, Inver Grove Heights, Lino Lakes, Minneapolis, moving & storage, Portable Storage, Ramsey, St. Paul, Woodbury
Posted in Blogroll, Facilities Management, Go Mini's Updates, Home Organization, Miscellaneous, Moving Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Home Staging with Go Mini’s in NY, NJ & CT
By Jim Carey, Go Mini’s of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
Go Mini’s offers a variety of benefits to homeowners preparing to sell their home. When preparing to sell a home, a small investment in staging will help you sell your home faster AND for more money. Home-staging and decluttering may seem like a daunting task, but Go Mini’s makes the process so much faster and easier. Here is a great article from our associate home stager, Claudia Jacobs, to explain why home staging is so beneficial.
Stage It Before You List It
By Claudia Jacobs
Listing a house before staging it is like going to a business meeting in your bathrobe and slippers. The first five to 10 days a house is on the market is the time when the most foot traffic between buyers, agents and brokers occurs. More people will tour the property in the beginning, so why not stage it before you list it and show the property at its best right from the start.
Sure, staging will help if you wait 30, 60 or 90 days to market the house, but by then it’s no longer a fresh listing. A house for sale draws most of its potential buyers during the first 10 days on the market. Why gamble by not making a great first impression?
Ideally the best time to stage is months before the house goes on the market. A typical staging client is the homeowner who is going to sell in the near future and is willing to do what it takes to prepare the house to sell. This is the listing a Realtor wants because a staged home is ready for its close up from day one.
It is difficult to be objective in one’s own home. A staging consultation gives room-by-room instructions on what needs to be done before putting the house on the market. The staging professional offers suggestions for the de-cluttering process, including storage solutions with an eye toward a future move.
Some Realtors do not want to offend their clients with brutal honesty but a staging professional knows how to handle all those negative situations and touchy subjects with creative ideas that will pay dividends at closing. Staging is also tax deductable to the seller (IRS form 523, Selling Your Home).
For Realtors, including home staging to your presentation is smart marketing and sets that realtor apart as someone who has the best interest of the seller in mind. It also shows knowledge of current marketing strategies, which can help a Realtor get the listing.
Claudia is a long time associate of Go-Mini’s in NY, NJ & CT. She operates Claudia Jacobs Designs in Goshen NY and is an experienced decorator specializing in real estate staging. She can be reached at 845-294-8993 or online at www.claudiajacobsdesign.com .
Home staging makes so much sense for the home seller. Remember that most people view a home in the first 10 days. Call Go Mini’s in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut to bring you one of their portable storage units quickly. You will make the tasks of home staging and decluttering go so much faster and easier.
Tags: Connecticut, CT, declutter, Dutchess, Fairfield, Go Mini’s, home selling tips, home staging tips, How to home stage, Hudson Valley, Litchfield, New Jersey, New York, NJ, NY, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Westchester
Posted in Blogroll, Go Mini's Updates, Home Organization, Miscellaneous, Moving Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Friday, October 9th, 2009
by Lynn Larsen, Go Mini’s Hudson/Nashua, NH and Manchester, NH
When I speak to one of my friends about portable storage containers here in New Hampshire they often assume that all portable storage containers are pretty much the same. However there are some important differences that as a consumer you should be aware of.
With the increase in popularity of portable storage containers, many companies are using this term to cover what used to be known as “freight” containers. These are often older containers meant for overseas shipping. They can be rusty and leaky, with gaps around the door that would allow insects or small rodents to enter.
Unlike Go Mini’s clean, shiny, finished interiors, the interiors of these freight containers are usually unfinished. When placing your items inside a smoothly-finished Go Mini’s container, you can be comfortable that nothing is going to snag your upholstery or leather finish or grate against your fine wood furniture.
Freight containers sit directly on the ground, offering no air space underneath the container for air circulation. Go Mini’s portable storage containers are slightly raised on low wheels, so air circulates underneath them, reducing the potential for dampness.
Go Mini’s feature an easy-to-operate, roll-up door. Freight container doors are heavy and swing outwards, and can be awkward for the average person to handle.
When you enter a freight container, it’s dark inside! It’s hard to find items you may have stored inside. Unless you prop the door open well, it can bang closed behind you. Go Mini’s portable storage containers have translucent roofs that let in plenty of light. So you can easily find your stored items and loading is easier too.
These are just some of the differences to be aware of when choosing portable storage containers. Remember, the cheapest portable storage solution isn’t always the least expensive in the long run!
Tags: Add new tag, freight containers, Go Mini's, Hudson, Manchester, movers, moving containers, moving tips, Nashua, New Hampshire, NH, portable storage containers, self-moves
Posted in Blogroll, Home Organization, Miscellaneous, Moving Tips, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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