Comparing Moving Container Companies

Moving containers have become a popular way to move possessions.

How Moving Containers Work

It’s easy to have the container delivered straight to your home and have it placed on the street or driveway outside. With a container, you can take as much time as you need to load your belongings. When you’re done packing, the container company comes out and puts the container on a truck and either takes it to a storage unit or delivers it to your new home.

Different Types of Moving Containers & Companies

However, with many different companies to choose from and each one offering different services, pricing and sizes, it can be difficult to pinpoint the one that’s right for you. Comparing your portable moving options will ensure you choose the company and service best suited to your needs.

U-Haul U-Boxes

U-Boxes from U-Haul come in a single size: 7 feet 6 inches high, 5 feet wide and 8 feet long. Each container holds about a room-and-a-half of your stuff, up to 2,000 pounds. The containers are made out of heavy-duty plywood and covered with a weather-resistant cover to keep your possessions safe from the elements. U-Haul also allows you to transport U-Boxes yourself if you have a vehicle with towing capability.

PODS

PODS containers come in three sizes: The smallest is 7 feet long, 7 feet wide and 8 feet high; the two larger sizes are 8 feet high and wide, and either 12 feet or 16 feet long.

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The smallest container holds about a room’s worth of stuff, while the largest size will hold items from about three or four rooms. Each container has a steel frame with an aluminum skin with a lightweight steel roll-up door. You pack up the container at your place and use your own lock for security.

U-Pack Moving’s ReloCube

The ReloCube measures 8 feet 4 inches high, 7 feet wide and 6 feet 3 inches long and holds about one room’s worth of stuff. The container is weatherproof, with steel framing and aluminum side panels, and fits into a standard parking space. Customers can use their own padlocks on the containers for added security.

1-800-PACK-RAT

1-800-PACK-RAT containers are available in two sizes–12 feet long and 16 feet long, both of which are 8 feet high and wide. The 12-foot container holds between one and two rooms while the 16-foot container can hold between three and four rooms.

PACK-RAT moving containers are made from steel components, including the frame, walls and door. They have embedded metal skids which provide 6 inches of ground clearance to ensure your items remain dry at all times.

Door-To-Door Storage

Door-To-Door Storage offers one size of moving container that is 7 feet high, 5 feet wide and 8 feet long. Each container holds about 40 to 50 medium-sized boxes—enough space to pack a single room.

The moving containers are made of construction-grade wood. The floor is raised 4 inches from ground level for easy loading and to keep your items protected from water damage. While the storage container is located outside, it’s covered by a weather-resistant cover.

United Mayflower

United Mayflower offers a single storage-container size that is 16 feet long and 8 feet high and wide, which the company says provides enough space to fit the entire contents of a 1,500-square-foot home. The container is constructed of an all-steel frame with aluminum side panels and roll-up door. It is waterproof and it comes with tie-down rings for keeping your articles safe and secure.

SmartBox

SmartBox containers are available in one size that is 7 feet high, 5 feet wide and 8 feet long, which are capable of holding about a room to a room-and-a-half of furniture and goods, up to 2,000 pounds.

4 Tips For Keeping In Touch After A Long Distance Move

One of the hardest aspects of moving isn’t packing up, it’s saying goodbye. Especially if you have lived in one spot for decades, the house has become home and the friends have become family. Whether you are moving across the state or the country, the distance is scary. If you have kids, your kids may have even more difficulty with the goodbye than you do.

As Dallas long distance movers, the professionals at Black Tie Moving know what you’re going through. We have moved hundreds of families across the country and have seen the angst in saying goodbye. While it may be intimidating, there are ways to manage the distance so you can enjoy the new chapter.

• Make Plans- A great to help ease the pain of goodbye is to know there will be a next time. Before you leave, make plans to visit friends, family, or even a special place again. Even if it’s a year down the road, the concrete date will give you and your family something to look forward to.
• Technology- Technological advancements are great for keeping in touch despite the distance. Calls, video chats, and social media enable you to communicate with your friends and family as often as you want.
• Say See You Later- Make plans to say goodbye to some of your favorite local haunts and loved ones before you head out. Soak up the experiences and cherish the memories. Make the most of each moment and remember to say see you later.
• Get Excited- Whether you are initially excited about the move or not, look for the exciting aspects. Whether it’s local attractions, trying new restaurants, or decorating the new home, find something you can get excited about at the new place. This will give you something to look forward after the last box is loaded and goodbyes are over.

While uprooting your life isn’t easy, these tips will help make the transition a little easier. Be sure to use these tips to help say goodbye. Make your move a little easier on you by choosing movers of the highest caliber. Call the long distance moving experts at Black Tie Moving. We provide moving services that go above and beyond to ensure you have a red carpet experience. Call today!

Tips for Moving in the Summer: How to Survive Your Summer Move

Summer is the most popular season to move house because of the great number of advantages that a summer move has to offer. Statistical data show that for millions of Americans, summer is the best time to move to a new home: kids are out of school, the weather is nice, and the home buying season is at its peak.

However, moving during the peak moving season isn’t a walk in the park by any means, and you will still need to achieve perfect or close-to-perfect organization in order to crown your relocation efforts with success.

Pay attention to the following summer moving tips as guidance when preparing and planning your summer move.

1. Start the summer move preparation ASAP
As Soon As Possible sounds like the perfect time to start preparing for your summer move. Gift yourself a good head start – for example, if you’re moving in July, start your preparations in May, or even in April.

The great thing about planning your relocation as far ahead as possible is that you’ll have a much higher chance of being 100% ready for your Moving day. But that’s not all. Planning your summer move early will

keep your stress levels within reasonable values because the more tasks you’ve completed, the less worried you will be that you won’t finish the preparation on time;
give you a fighting chance to tackle the laborious and time-consuming task of packing your home for a move;
give you much better options to select a top-rated moving company to handle the most difficult aspects of your move (see below for more info);
compensate for any moving mistakes you may have made due to inexperience or unawareness.
How to prepare for a summer move? It’s strongly recommendable that you follow a good moving checklist – a detailed to-do list that will guide you from the first day of your summer move until the very last one, or even beyond that.

2. Combat the higher demand for movers
Tips for moving during peak season
The increased demand for good movers in the summer will make your hunt for a reputable, reliable and affordable moving company a bit more challenging.

Thanks to the benefits of moving in the summer – nice weather, summer break, time off work, peak home-buying season – summer is the busiest period of the moving industry. About 70% of all residential moves take place between May and September (the official peak season is said to be between May 15 and August 31), which automatically means that the best moving companies will be in great demand during that period.

How these relocation statistics relate to you and your home move, you may ask? The high demand for movers in the summer means that if you fail to secure a top-rated moving company in advance, you may have to settle for a less reputable one. While not necessarily a bad mover, a mediocre moving company will hardly offer the quality services you need and expect for a problem-free move.

Do yourself a favor – book a trustworthy mover well in advance, preferably as soon as your home move is confirmed. Oftentimes, early booking may prompt a welcoming discount from the mover’s price.

3. Manage the higher moving costs
Is it more expensive to move in the summer? Unfortunately, it is.

The increased demand for professional moving companies during the summer period will usually mean higher moving company rates too. As a result, you may be forced to pay more for the same moving services and conditions than you would during the off-peak season.

One good way to make up for the higher movers rates in the summer is to manage to find an affordable moving company that still offers high-quality services. This is not an easy thing to do, but it’s perfectly achievable as long as you know the steps.

Another proven way to move in the summer while still keeping within your budget is to cut your moving costs and expenses with the help of special cost reduction techniques. Here are the top 3 ways to make your summer move cheaper:

Move only the items you really intend to use in the future. Fewer items = lower transportation cost;
Sell online or at a garage sale all the stuff you’re not taking with you. Add the earned money to your budget;
Pack up whatever you can by yourself and leave to professional packers only the special items you own, if any.
13 tips for saving money when moving

4. Be smart when choosing your move-out date
How to move in the summer
Choosing a weekday for your move-out date should give you an advantage.

Moving in summer – the busiest period of the relocation industry – will require careful scheduling on your part. It’s easy to guess that booking your move-out day during Memorial Day weekend or the last weekend in July will cost you even more money and the chance of securing a good mover in that time frame is minimal.

Be prudent – avoid booking your move at the beginning and the end of the summer months as well, including the weekends. That’s not always possible, but it’s good to keep it in mind as a bonus cost-saving technique. Ideally, you’ll want to schedule your summer move on a weekday roughly in the middle of a month.

If you have school-age children, then it’s important to take into consideration the best time to move in relation to their school year. One of the pros of moving in the summer is that students don’t go to school during the summer break, so you should be able to complete the move with minimal disruption of their academic year.

Things to know when deciding on a moving date

5. Take control of your summer packing
Considering the importance of packing as the major task in your moving checklist, our tips for moving in the summer continue with a few pieces of summer packing advice.

Be realistic about packing in the summer. Do not underestimate the time you’ll need to complete the packing project – after all, that task is labeled as the most time-consuming one for a good reason. Inventory your entire home and start packing your things little by little from Day 1 of your preparation.
Make sure you secure all the required packing materials early enough as packing supplies are also in high demand during the peak moving season. If you’ve hired full-service movers and you’re paying them to take care of the packing job for you, then you have little to worry about. But if you’re packing on your own, then one of your biggest worries will be where to find free moving boxes.
Avoid the most common packing mistakes – costly errors that can slow down or even halt temporarily your packing inertia. As a rule of thumb, as long as you follow a good packing timeline, you should be able to tackle the toughest moving task with great success.
The best packing tips for moving

6. Be careful when packing and moving heat sensitive items
Moving during the peak moving season will often mean that you’re going to have to battle your way through the very high temperatures outside.

Our tips for moving house in the summer continue with practical advice on how to protect any heat sensitive items from the summer heat – after all, there are specific items that won’t fare well in the extreme temperature inside a moving truck.

Safety tips for moving in summer
The summer heat may damage some of your heat sensitive items, so make sure you protect them properly.

Sensitive electronics. It’s best to transport relatively small electronic devices (stereos, laptops, tablets, smartphones, or even more compact TVs) in your own personal vehicle where you can have a much higher control over the temperature. Remember that the temperatures inside a moving truck can reach extreme values pretty quickly. Whenever possible, pack the electronic equipment in its original packaging for best protection and air circulation.

Blu-ray disks, DVDs, CDs. Media disks just can’t handle the summer heat so well, so it’s best to keep them in their original plastic cases. Place any disks that are particularly important inside travel (storage) CD cases equipped with individual vinyl sleeves for extra protection. Backup the information, either online or on an external hard drive, of any computer disks that contain really valuable information.
Candles. If possible, do not take with you any items that will most certainly melt during the summer move, for example – wax candles.
Perishable food. Perishable food is forbidden for transport during any season, not just in the summer. Use up or give away your remaining food supplies.
Plants. Moving companies will not agree to move your plants because the latter won’t likely survive the summer move. Click here to learn how you can move plants to a new home on your own.
How to pack for a move like a professional

7. Stay safe in the summer heat
Moving to a new home in the summer can be a bit tricky and even dangerous because of the intensive sunshine and the resulted heat. To stay safe when moving during the hottest season of the year, here are some pieces of advice on how to beat the summer heat:

Schedule an early start. If you live in a city with a particularly hot climate, then you must start your move very early in the morning. Avoid moving out anywhere between 11 am and 4 pm when the intensity of the sun is the strongest. Select a mover that will be willing to accommodate a morning move.
Stay hydrated. The extra summer heat and your extra efforts on Moving day mean that your organism will need much more water to stay properly hydrated. Make sure you replenish the expelled fluids in your body (expelled by sweating) by drinking enough liquids (water’s your best choice, of course) in order to avoid any undesirable symptoms of dehydration. So, when moving in summer, provide plenty of bottled water for you and your movers alike.
Turn on the air–conditioner. If you have air-conditioning in your home, turn it on. Keeping the air cool inside will prevent you and your movers from overheating and/or sweating too much. If you don’t have an air-conditioner, then position a few portable electric fans on strategic spots to keep things cool.
Wear suitable clothes. Our tips for moving in summer remind that it’s your top priority to maintain a high level of safety. And to do just that, you will have to wear clothes that are fitted for a summer move. Wear lightweight clothes that are made of breathable and loose-fitting fabrics. Opt for light-colored clothing that will help you stay cooler. Also, a hat and sunglasses will help you stay protected from the strong summer sun rays.
Apply sunscreen. While working outside under the intensive sunshine, protect your skin by applying sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. The parts of your body that are the most susceptible to sunburn are your face, neck, ears, and shoulders. Apply the sunscreen around 10 minutes before going out in the sun, and re-apply it every hour to remain protected.
Serious moving day mistakes to avoid

8. Be on the lookout for rogue movers
Rogue movers are known to take advantage of the intensified demand for movers during the height of the relocation industry. Such dishonest moving companies will often use fraudulent tactics to scam the people who are getting ready to move to another home.

Check out the most common moving scams used by rogue moving companies so that you can stay protected during your summer move. Remember that prevention is still the best medicine.

Tips for moving in summer
Keep things safe and enjoy your summer move!

Low-ball estimates. Dishonest movers will frequently give unrealistically low-cost estimates to their potential customers to hook them. If you do happen to get a moving quote that is too good to be true, then you need to be extra cautious how you proceed.

Large deposits. Moving deposits are normal during the peak moving season because moving companies want to make sure they will be protected in case some of their customers back out from their scheduled moves at the last minute. Nevertheless, moving deposits should not be more than around 20% of the estimated sum. So, stay away from companies that demand much larger deposits in cash. ALWAYS pay the deposit with a credit card or a debit card (easier to despite the payment in case of fraud), and select a refundable deposit, whenever applicable.
Suspicious paperwork. Every single agreement between you and the moving company should be laid out in writing, in a clear and unambiguous way. Request your moving contract in advance and read it thoroughly to check for any tricky clauses. Dishonest movers rely on the assumption that customers won’t make the effort to read the entire moving documentation. Discuss with the movers anything that doesn’t feel right, and NEVER sign blank documents.
Must-read: Protect your move: How to avoid moving scams

HOW TO HELP CHILDREN ADAPT AFTER A LOS ANGELES MOVE

As you are in the process of preparing for a Los Angeles move, you have begun to question how you can help your children acclimate to their new environment. You begin to wonder if they will make friends at school, if there are any nearby playgrounds, and you worry your children will miss their old home.

If you need assistance in helping your children adapt in a time of transition, here are a few tips that you can learn from.

Walk the line between providing dependence and independence. As you ponder how you should interact with your children after you move into your new home, one of the most important practices is to be there for them while also providing necessary space. Whether they understand it or not, children will usually be upset at their parents for a move. Children thrive on familiarity; regardless of why the move happened, kids will feel that their parents were somewhat responsible for a change in their life. Therefore, they may be unknowingly upset and want to be distanced from parents for a little while. For this reason, it is important that you give your kids space when they need it and comfort them when they ask. Let their room be a private place where they can deal with their emotions. Allow your kids to make minor decisions regarding the décor or layout of their rooms. This can help them feel like they are in charge of their new space which creates a sense of comfortability in a time of transition.

Let your kids feel their emotions, but stay positive for them. Moving is not easy, and children cannot always comprehend how they feel. They may be upset, they may lash out at you, but it is important that you support them throughout their emotional states. It is good to be real with your children, but it is also important that you show positivity throughout the process. You can say that things are hard, you can commiserate with their sadness, but always come out on the other side as a positive leader. Being a positive role model accomplishes two purposes for your children.

First, it gives your children the ability to be upset. When a parent is upset about something, children will unknowingly hide their emotions to try to help their parent. However, this is unhealthy for kids because they are unable to comprehend why they are swallowing their emotions and they may internalize the negativity. By being positive throughout the process, you are giving your children the ability to show their full emotions and deal with the transition in a healthy manner.

Second, positivity helps your children acclimate more quickly. There is a reason why many kids cannot help but smile when a parent is being silly with them. Children are heavily influenced by their parents’ emotions. This means that a parent’s ability to normalize the new environment will help children normalize the situation as well. You are their rock and their stability, and your positivity will guide them through their difficult time in facing the unknown.

Finish the moving process completely. One of the worst things a recently moved family can do is leave things packed for the next couple of months. Children are highly sensitive to their surrounding environments. This is due to the fact that children have a hard time understanding and waiting for “the future.” On average, kids are much more “in the moment” than adults. So, when a child sees a box of belongings, they do not see the end result of those belongings becoming items in the living room. What they see is uncertainty and hesitation of the moving process, and they will react accordingly. When boxes are left packed for weeks or months, kids will have a hard time trusting their new home is their long-term place of residence. Children need tangible examples of permanence. One of those examples is the unpacking of all the items.

HELPING CHILDREN ACCLIMATE IN THEIR LOS ANGELES MOVES

Between jobs, kids, and the stress of moving, it is rare to see a family complete a move in a suitable, healthy manner. Giving your kids the tools they need to acclimate to their new environment necessitates your energy and time, which you may not have if you move on your own. At Affordable Quality Moving Services, our goal is to quickly and efficiently perform your Los Angeles move at an affordable price. We free up your time and energy so you can help your kids get familiarized with their new surroundings. This is why AQMS exists: to take care of your Los Angeles move so you can take care of your family.

Reach out to us for a free estimate of our services by calling (818) 960-1988. We give in-home estimates so we can walk you through our process with your items.

Why One Client Chose HubSpot:

A London-based CEO with three lines of business contacted me to help his team think through choosing between HubSpot and WordPress. Different members of his team advocated for WordPress, while others advocated for HubSpot.

HubSpot vs. WordPress

Their primary concern was cost of ownership. The cost of moving or the initial setup would not be a big factor for their budget.  This is because they had over half a million records in their email lists and they knew that the size of the list is what would drive up the price of any solution.

They were currently hosting a custom website platform on RackSpace and using SugarCRM.

Marketing automation, landing pages, CTA’s (calls to action) and blogging were strong drivers in their decision making. They wanted a platform to enable marketing and sales to be more independent and quicker when it comes to creating content, whether it be blog posts or landing pages for special promotions or marketing programs.

The challenge was that their current platform had limitations that inhibited their ability to:

1. Blog effectively while observing SEO best practices regarding keywords and meta data
2. Create and edit website pages that include CTAs
3. Create and edit landing pages that include CTAs
4. Link those CTAs to specific automated marketing emails systems
5. Link those CTAs to SugarCRM which connects the leads to the sales team
6. Send out email marketing messages to a subset of their multiple email lists based on actions performed by those contacts on their website

Their current email marketing falls into two large categories.

1) Automatically triggered emails

• Upon account creation, a new user receives a series of emails. Lost password and “you haven’t logged in in over x period of time” are two additional automated emails. The current system used Mandrillapp and supplied around 20,0000 emails a month

2) Manual emails and newsletters. These were sent using http://www.ymlp.com/and totaled 500,000 each month

• Monthly emails, weekly tip newsletter
• Direct sell offers
• Lead generation emails

The final decision was made to move forward with HubSpot. They became convinced that HubSpot’s lead nurturing tools, activity in the marketing space and experience were more appropriate for their business than a customized WordPress solution. This was despite a very compelling alternative, which they put a lot of thought into.

I am very pleased that we could help lead them to the solution that best meets their needs. If their needs should change in the future I have no doubt that they will call BlogWranglers again, this time to discuss migrating from HubSpot to WordPress.

What are your criteria and which platform suits your needs? Let us know in the comments.

Best Household Products of 2017: New Movers Review:

Moving can be stressful at the best of times. There’s so much to consider that things can quickly become overwhelming. One of the many decisions you’ll need to make is what to pack and what to toss out. Now is the perfect time to replace aging and useless appliances and household products that are gathering dust on the shelves.

It’s human nature to collect stuff. It’s also human nature to resist ever throwing that stuff away. And so it sits, unused and unwanted with no purpose or design. When you’re packing for a move, consider what products you no longer use and which ones you need to replace. To help you with your task, here are the best new household products of 2017.

Robotic Lawn Mower: Worx Landroid M – $999
Let’s face it. Your lawn mower has seen better days. Rust is likely eating through the body, it doesn’t have nearly the same pep that it used to, and it’s been eons since you’ve cleaned the grass out of it. Add to that the fact that packing a lawn mower into a moving van is a pain. There’s no reason you shouldn’t replace your lawnmower. But why just replace it when you can upgrade it?

The Worx Landroid M is an autonomous robotic lawn mower. That’s right, with the Landroid M you never have to waste a Sunday afternoon again. With minimal setup, this guy will mow the lawn for you. Let that sink in for a moment. You never have to mow the lawn again! According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s perfect for smaller yards, and cheaper than a lot of its competitors. So sit back and relax while your new robot army does all the work.

Need some help moving as well? Get a free quote from FlatRate today.

Music and More: Sonos One – $299
Sonos has long been the frontrunner when it comes to wirelessly streaming music in the home. The new Sonos One, a single wireless music speaker system, adds Alexa into the mix. Not only can you listen to all your favorite sources, from Spotify to Pandora, but now you can control the entire system through a voice activated interface. What HiFi reports that the sound quality is amazing, so ditch that bulky boombox before your move and move onto a Sonos whole home audio system. Put one in any room of the house and control it from anywhere. Whether you’re telling Alexa to play your favorite song in the game room or adding to your grocery list, you won’t be disappointed.

Moving Beyond the Blender: Ninja Chef – $199
Why be a home chef when you can be a Ninja in the kitchen? If your old blender can’t even puree a tomato, it’s time for an upgrade. Don’t pack that dull bladed has-been; instead, check out the new Ninja Chef. With a 1500 watt, variable speed motor you’ll make quick work of everything from vegetables to peanuts. It’s over-built parts and sleek design mean that you can chop, blend, or pulverize any food item in your kitchen. It’s cheaper than a Vitamix, more reliable than your old hand-me-down, and will make you a pro in the kitchen in no time.

Settling into a new house is no simple task, and while these household products might help alleviate the headaches, why not hire movers who will make your move as quick and painless as possible? Find one that understands you and your needs, and you’ve found something special.

Contact the professionals at FlatRate to get started with your perfect move today.

How to Store Garden Tools, Gas Tools and Backyard Barbecues (So They Don’t Break)

Putting the lid on another barbeque season means more than polishing off the potato chips. Storing garden and gas tools, as well as your trusty barbecue, takes some know-how if you want them to be ready to go next spring.

Putting all your toys and tools into self-storage involves a bit of work as well. Slightly different work, since the rules in a self-storage facility are probably not the same as the rules in your garage. (Disclaimer: I’ve never seen your garage.)

So before you stash everything and shut those doors, properly prepare your items for the dark, coming months. When it’s time to let it all back out into the sun, you’ll be happy you did.

Garden Tools

Cleaning the blades of your shovels with a piece of burlap or an old rag before winter makes good sense. Sure, tools were made to get dirty, but leaving clumps of dirt on those metal surfaces and even any wooden handles can expose them to moisture, resin and sap, which is not good. There is also the chance that you’ll be allowing some creepy little critters to fester and incubate – not good for your garage, and certainly not endearing to self-storage facility management.

Making sure your tools are dry before you store them is a given. You might also spray a little WD-40 on those metal surfaces and wipe them off with a clean rag or a paper towel, to get them extra clean and rust-resistant. (Note: Avoid that lingering odor of oil; Go easy on the WD, go hard on wiping it off.)

Hedge clippers, pruners and other tools with moving parts will benefit from a little extra lubricant to keep those parts moving freely. If you spot any rust, it would be a great idea to get rid of it with a wire brush. Again, wipe clean and dry and let it all air out.

Before you close up shop, drain and dry out your garden hoses and lawn sprinklers. In your garage, water can do some damage to a hose when it freezes and expands. In your garage as well as in a climate-controlled facility, there’s the potential for rust, not to mention the minor hassle of having water leak out onto some of your other stuff. Get all of that taken care of before storing.

Gas-Powered Tools

Gasoline is like milk, not wine. It goes bad over time.

The gas you leave in your lawn mower or your chainsaw can turn into something like varnish over the winter, potentially corroding the engine’s lines and clogging up the carburetor. If you’re not savvy with tools, I’ll translate that for you: that’s not good.

Luckily, prevention is simple. Experts like our friends at Popular Mechanics advise pouring some stabilizer into a gas can, mixing in some fresh gas, and pouring the mixture into the tank. Let the engine run a couple of minutes to work it through the system and you are good to go (for about three months). Check the manual for your mower (or chainsaw, or leaf blower or weed whacker), but generally, for longer-term storage, it’s advisable to run the tank–which is exactly what you’ll need to do if you are putting these things into self-storage, or onto a moving truck for that matter.

5 Sweet Garage Upgrades That Up Your Home’s Value

Garage additions and upgrades like the 5 in this list can produce an estimated 65 percent return-on-investment.

You might also consider changing the oil in your mower if you’re storing it in your garage for the winter. For a self-storage facility, you’ll want to drain (and properly recycle) that old oil. And be sure to also check and clean the underside of your mower. All the grass, dirt and gunk under there does your mower no favors over time. Give that blade a good cleaning too, in the same manner as with your garden tools.

Warning: Disconnect the mower’s spark plug before putting your hands anywhere near the underside of your mower!

Barbecue Grills

All you hardcore winter grillers up north and year-round barbecue fans down south can skip this part. The rest of us have more work to do.

Outdoor grills should be cleaned well before storing for three reasons:

• Mice and other critters looking for a warm, dry place to hunker down can be lured in by leftover bits of food stuck to the grill and sitting at the bottom of the grill’s interior.
• Mold can and will grow on any organic matter over time, even if you totally burned those Labor Day burgers. Cleaning out any food and greasy residue in the Fall will minimize the chances of a tougher cleaning job in the run-up to Memorial Day.
• Moisture can lead to corrosion and oxidation, not only of the wire grill but all your big bad barbecue’s components. Cleaning out all those food remnants will reduce the chances of moisture collecting over the winter. This includes any drip pans, ash catchers and charcoal grates.

And yes, disconnect the propane or LP gas tanks from your grill and leave them outside. They shouldn’t be stored in your garage and your self-storage facility people won’t let you keep them in your unit. To keep them protected from the elements and potential rust they should be placed on cement or brick, or even some metal grating, not on the ground where they could end up with wet feet for three months straight. Covering them up with a nylon tarp or some durable plastic will help keep the nozzles and valves from rusting as well.

Remember, no matter how incredibly smart you are about cleaning your things, self-storage facilities ultimately have their own policies for storage. Old Man Winter plays by his own rules. Either way, taking a little time now can save you some trouble down the road, when it’s time to bring your backyard back to life.