The Storage Blog

Someone to watch over me memorabilia

Memorabilia can often be irreplaceable which is why City of London storage provides a quality storage service to all those who need to make sure the things that matter to them are fully protected.

Part of our job here at London Storage is making you feel secure too. We want you to feel reassured that anything you store with us is handled with care and kept under watch 24 hours a day.

Contact us for further information on memorabilia storage in London.

Tips for DIY storage

It may be that you’re looking to create some space or simply tidy away some of your clutter – we all need to pack things away at some point.  It’s not just people who are moving house who require the use of a few cardboard boxes!

Attics and other storage locations such as garages can easily become overrun with items of sentimental value or things that are being “saved for a rainy day”.  We’ve all fallen into the trap, at some point, of thinking that ‘putting away’ an old book or photo album meant sitting it on top of something else that was placed there many moons ago.  All it can take is one clean out session to organise your personal storage chaos into an easily accessible order – and make a lot more room in the process.

We at City of London Storage don’t just offer storage solutions, we also offer advice.  With the right system and the necessary packaging materials, you’re just a few steps away from turning that dusty, heavily cluttered old unused room into a purposeful, organised storage area.  The first and hardest step, though, is to sort through what you already have – to decide what’s going to stay and what’s going to go.

Items of great sentimental value are hardly ever going to be thrown out on a whim, but it may be that you find something you stored away which you can’t remember putting there.  During this process you may be reunited with lost treasures you thought you would never see again, or encounter heaps of junk seemingly built for the bin.  It’s advisable, though, to check with any family members before throwing away potentially sentimental items – you don’t want to upset anyone!

One thing to remember while sorting through your old possessions is that not all of the things you will never use again are necessarily useless.  Most charity shops will be glad of any clothes, toys or other things you can donate – giving you additional space and a feeling of well being.

When you’ve decided what’s staying and what’s going, you should sort the remaining items into order – the items you pack away at the bottom of box stacks or at the back of a room are going to be difficult to immediately access, so think about whether you’re likely to use anything again soon or not.  After this, it’s time to start packing!

Remember to pack your items sensibly into boxes and try not to overload them – especially if you’re stacking your boxes.  Heavy items can damage boxes and other articles placed underneath, so be careful and put your heavy things at the bottom.  Don’t forget to pack delicate or fragile items in bubble wrap and/or tissue paper to make sure they don’t get damaged while you’re moving them around.  It’s a good idea to summarise a box’s contents on its side in marker pen for future reference.

If you require any additional storage, remember City of London Storage is here to help – but if you feel you can handle your project alone, don’t hesitate to contact us for any advice or check our website to purchase any packing materials you may need.

Document storage for sensitive information

We’ve covered some of this ground before but this is one of those areas that people often don’t realise exists! Yes, even if you don’t have big furniture items to store you can still find a place to safely and securely protect all your important documents and information that could be considered sensitive data.

Who would need this document storage service, you say?

In our experience a diverse variety of people with different reasons need access to a place where they can successfully file away data and information that cannot be lost, stolen, misplaced or copied. Usually it’s businesses seeking for a secure storage of their financial, transactional and private company data.

But that’s not to say that we don’t get individual requests for personal storage purposes. Some people find that they have accumulated so many bank statements, insurance documents and other assorted paperwork over the years they literally don’t know what to do with it – and throwing it away is not a wise option!

City of London Storage provides incredibly secure, purpose-built document storage units that are specifically designed to protect YOUR DATA whatever it may be! We monitor our facilities 24/7 through security CCTV and access to the storage units containing your information is FOR YOU and YOU ONLY.

So what can we store for businesses looking to archive their data?

In light of the computer revolution, paper archives are becoming less and less necessary as all the critical info is being stored on flash drives and the like. That’s not to say that the old paper archives can be destroyed, in fact some companies employ strict policies against this type of action.

So we get a variety of businesses that require storage in London for the purposes of protecting paper archives that they no longer need in-house. The amount of information that runs through large and small companies is overwhelmingly high. For example we deal with;

• Insurance brokers
• Underwriters
• Solicitors
• Recruitment consultants
• Real estate agents
• Retailer outlets
• Boutique shops
• Mechanics & garages
• Independent newsagents

And many other types of businesses and institutions that have a lot of records in need of a new home.

We mentioned previously in another blog that we have encountered start-up businesses needing a safe place for their document storage in London areas as they do not have the capacity nor the security measures for safekeeping options on financial records and transactional info. The bigger businesses generally like to keep paper copies of all their company records and financial transactions off-site in case they suffer an error or incident with their electronic back-ups or even a fire. Privacy, security and safety are paramount for any business.

Personal storage of documents and data is also a viable option (again which we get requests for) and the need to store private info on behalf of individuals who want to protect their financial details and personal data is a common occurrence. People need to know that they are protected and that their details won’t ever be lost, misplaced or stolen. This is very important particularly in today’s era of identity theft.

With 24 hour, state-of-the-art security systems we really are the most reliable London storage solution for collectives or individuals to safely keep and manage their records. This service is not just applicable to commercial industries but personal requirements too.

For more information on storing your sensitive information Contact Us for some advice or a free no obligation quote.

Sorting through your life – tips from City of London Storage

Okay, so the idea of “sorting through your life” sounds like a bit of a tall order for a London storage service! What we mean by this is sometimes you need a clean-out. Life has a way of accumulating much junk, stuff, bric-a-brac, furniture, appliances, electronics, books, DVDs, crockery, etc. etc. This is where City of London Storage steps in to take care of the things you no longer want to!

So it’s time to start sorting through your life…

Maybe you want to move to a smaller home or perhaps you simply want to make new space available in your current one. It doesn’t matter why, it only matters that you want to get rid of some things but you’re not ready to throw them away or sell them on. Some things you simply can never sell on either because they have implicit sentimental value to you or they are too shaggy and used to ever be picked up by anyone else.

It’s always wise to keep hold of the things you feel you may want to use in future. Rather than chucking them in the bin how about you let us hold onto them for a while? The duration of time that you wish to store with us is entirely up to you – it may be a week, it may be a year! the point is we have the space and the experience to safely and securely look after the things you no longer can.

If you are at all familiar with storage solutions and storage businesses then you will know that it is the safest way to keep the pieces of your life, that you no longer have room or immediate use for, intact!

Say you have toy boxes full of old toys from when you were a child or from when your children were toddlers that you just can’t bring yourself to take to a car boot sale – besides some of them may be worth a lot of money if they’re old and rare enough – but you need the attic/garage space cleared for something else… what do you do?

You talk to us. That’s what you do.

This is just one example of being in a situation that calls for our storage services and storage facilities to be called upon.

Another example that you may or may not have a familiarity with is when you want to buy a new sofa or bed to replace your current one but you are well aware that the old sofa or bed may come in handy further down the line. We can store BIG furniture items like this just as much as we can a box full of antique toys.

Sorting through your life takes work, admittedly, as you have to dig through the past and all the accumulated bits and pieces from over the years. however, once you know what you want to move out of your home and STILL KEEP you can get in touch with us and we’ll do the rest. you’ll have access to your life’s belongings anytime you need them.

It’s that simple.

Moving to greener pastures?

London is a pretty crowded place – that almost goes without saying.  Space is expensive, so of course everyone needs to make the most of what they can get.  Of course, a session of spring cleaning can only go so far, and as a result many people are thinking of moving into something just a little bit bigger.  City of London Storage can help!

The decision to upsize is an entirely understandable one if you have the budget for it, but whether you’re going to be moving abroad or just around the corner, it’s not something to enter into lightly.  It’s likely that, if you’re relocating for a larger space, you’ve got possessions to house.  After all, what better time is there to have a rummage through your bits and pieces to sort out what you need to take with you and what you don’t?

Unless you’re lucky enough to afford to keep your old home as well as your new one, you’re going to have to take most of those things with you.  In which case, why purchase so much more new space just to fill it up with the same non essential items your previous place was stuffed with?  Take the opportunity to decide what you need for practical reasons and what items you need for aesthetic purposes – anything you’re not using or displaying is taking up potential room!  Imagine how much value an extra bedroom would have for your new property, or how much use you’d get from a recreational area, if you can make the room.

So you’re left with boxes upon boxes of sentimental items – memorabilia, family albums, collectables, old books you can’t bring yourself to sell or throw away… You can’t keep them, but you can’t get rid of them – where do they go?  That’s where City of London Storage comes in!

We offer an entirely secure storage environment with 24 hour CCTV security to ensure your valued items stay totally safe, no matter how much or how little you want to store.  Providing a cost effective and efficient storage solution with flexible storage terms is a speciality of ours, and we offer our expert advice when you need it.  If value for money is top of your agenda, take a look at our handy price comparison chart to see how we compare with the competition.

If you’re decorating or renovating your new home, you won’t want your favourite furniture getting in the way or – even worse – getting damaged.  It can happen easily, with building equipment, paint and dust being moved around, so simply don’t take the risk.  City of London Storage offers a secure and friendly service tailor made around your individual requirements.  Don’t worry if you feel the articles you want to store could be classes as ‘unusual’, we’ve had the professional experience to be able to deal with a variety of requests.

We’ll even help you pack for your move, or if you’d prefer to handle that yourself, we can provide any necessary packing materials for your use.  Alternatively, check out our sister company Trek Removals for a full bespoke moving service.

De-clutter your life and de-stress your mind!

We at City of London Storage are getting in the mood for a good spring clean and would encourage all of our readers to do the same.  It’s about more than just making the place look pretty, though!

Are you experiencing frequent headaches?  Starting to feel ill?  Perhaps you’re getting irritable, anxious or feeling generally down…  Does this sound like you?  These are just some of the many potential symptoms of one of the most increasingly common psychological conditions of modern times – stress.

Almost everyone suffers from stress at some point in their life, and it can be caused by any one or any combination of a plethora of incidents and situations, from family problems to employment.  Workplace stress is one of the most familiar forms for most of us, and everyone understands the relief felt at the end of the working day (from an often cluttered office).  At home is where we can finally relax after a tiring day of mental and/or physical exertion… or is it?

Clutter gets everywhere, not just at work.  A book you pick up, but don’t put back… Postcards from every continent that don’t have a home… Some cushions that haven’t been moved in months… There are thousands of ways for clutter to build up, which leads to a subtly more stressful home environment.

The practice of Feng Shui regards the clearing of clutter as a removal of ‘stagnant chi’, which is a good first step in cleansing and revitalising an area.  Even if you’re not into Feng Shui, a psychological approach proposes that clutter provides more information for the eyes to process, leading to increased cognitive activity and less relaxation.  Alternatively it could be thought of as a reminder of how much housework there is left to do!  Whatever your attitudes and perspectives on how, the fact remains that clutter adds to stress.

It’s the right time of year for a spring cleaning, so why not get started?  Tidying up your home environment is a step in the right direction to tidying up your own mind.  Putting things back where they belong and running the vacuum around is one thing, but why not use the concept of a spring clean to really refresh your home?  Take a new look at that old sofa, move the chairs around a little, perhaps get rid of some ancient and unnecessary cupboards.

Space is one thing that we all need and never seem to have enough of!  Making room is a great way to de-clutter your home, and you need look no further than City of London Storage for all your packing and storage needs.  If you can’t find anywhere to put that standing lamp or just want to keep your files and folders out of the way, we’re fully equipped with reliable, secure and cost effective storage solutions tailored around your requirements.  We also offer impartial advice on packing and storage, so if you want to know how best to create new space in your home, simply contact us and we’ll guide you through it.

Pack up your troubles but make sure you pack them up right!

When it comes to storage of your possessions, City of London Storage knows how to do it the right way.

However, through years of experience we also know how best to pack those items – especially on things like house moves when you may need to store valuables without losing a thing.

The best piece of advice here is – preparation, preparation, preparation!

So here’s our ten step guide to packing!

1. Take it one room at a time:  If you are moving house, then the very best way to ensure you don’t lose anything is to pack your rooms one at a time and if you can, start packing the items that don’t get a lot of use.

2. Write it all down:  A really good idea is to write down what you’re packing and label all the boxes clearly.  One technique that is very effective is to write the room it belongs to and then list below that the contents within the box.  This helps if you do end up packing something that you need to find quickly!

3. Don’t scrimp on the boxes:  While we all want to keep costs down, if you’re storing goods in a box, make sure the box you choose is sturdy enough to take the contents and buy plenty of parcel tape to support the top and bottom.  Additionally, by choosing good strong boxes, you’ll find they’re much easier to stack which in turn means better use of storage space.

4. Tape everything!:  As well as the top of the box, make sure you remember to tape everything up tightly.

5. Don’t try and get it all in:  If you are packing a box, try to remember that at some point you or someone else will need to carry it!  So try not to over fill it or cram things in.  Much better to have an extra couple of boxes than one that collapses or even worse loses the contents in transit.

6. Keep it safe:  Make sure you wrap all the contents in bubble wrap.  Newspaper is good for cushioning but you’ll find that the ink will come off so if the contents of the box are important, it’s usually best to go with bubble wrap.  It provides excellent cushioning to items and it can always be reused!

7. Essentials:  Remember we said to pack the least used items?  Well you should also pack the essentials items you want in a separate box or two.  This can include things like clothes (school uniform springs to mind), toiletries, cereals/tea/coffee) etc.  By doing this, you know that if you need to get to them it won’t mean unpacking half the house to find them.

8. Special Care:  For the really precious items, it’s always best to keep those packed for storage in their own box, with plenty of bubble wrap and tape to keep the contents secured.  If you have things like large mirrors then it’ll be best to bubble wrap them all the way around and not rely on materials to protect them during transit. 

Don’t forget if this all proves too problematic for you – speak to us about our packing service!

We’ll be following up on our storage solutions blogs in the next few weeks and hopefully we’ll bring you some new and innovative stories on the things that people put into storage in London!

Pallet Storage – What can you expect?

For many people, pallet storage is a practical solution to storing of products, items to sell, documents and more.

Many companies store their goods on a pallet within a warehouse, but in London finding storage that is not at a premium cost can be challenging.  However, City of London Storage prides itself on offering just that.

As well as being within the M25, our costs are kept relatively low so that as a business, storage outside of the main business premises is achievable and above all cost effective.

Here at City of London Storage we pretty much do everything from stripping containers for you through to moving around.

We can collect your pallets and bring them to the warehouse for you – which is often a good option if you are stuck for time or are under a bit of pressure to get yourself some more space – or we can accept delivery of your pallets for you.

This can include deliveries of goods on your behalf, where all items are professional checked against an inventory and then carefully stored within our high security warehouse.

We can store pallets on top of pallets but equally, we have racking which is specially designed to take pallets for you.

The benefits of a storage provider include things like lower costs, where you don’t have to pay for someone to manage the stock, but they can also save you purchasing extra equipment as well.  Even something simple like a fork lift truck can be costly, but with a service provider all of these things are already at hand.

Unlike many other pallet storage companies in London we don’t have a minimum storage term either, so if you’re a bit stuck and need some help because you’ve got some stock coming in but no where to put it, then we can help.

We have totally secure facilities here at City of London Storage which includes 24 hour CCTV and most importantly have a friendly team of professionals who have years of experience in storage, who can help you find the most cost effective methods of storing and moving your pallets for you.

For free advice and a competitive quote why not give us a call the next time you want some pallet storage?

Students – Thinking of end of term storage in London?

If you are a student, you may well be thinking about what you’ll do when you finish your course, or indeed what you might do if you’re planning on taking a year out for travelling.

Storing at mum and dad’s can be a helpful option but this is not always ideal, especially when they have plans for the house and your old room!

So if you don’t really want to see your belongings lost in an abyss or worst still, thrown out on your behalf because your parents don’t think you need certain possessions anymore, then self-storage may be the answer.

Of course, the other side of this is how much stuff you may have collected during your time at university or even college.  So what’s a good way to deal with it?

First off, you might be surprised to know that storing your belongings is actually a lot cheaper than you may think!  In fact, if you are in-between homes or you are temporarily moving around, self-storage can be a perfect resolution to your storage problems.

The main benefits are:

You can get access to your belongings easily

Self-storage with 24 hour security means your belongings will be completely safe and secure

If you only need storage for two or three months, you may find that it’s actually cheaper than getting someone to move to each place you’re going to be

You can store pretty much anything really – from books to furniture so there’s no need to worry if your complete Star Wars collection is what you need looking after while you’re on the move

There is no minimum or maximum term for storage

You can drop your items to be stored off or you can get us to collect them for you

You can be absolutely certain that when you want to get access to your storage area you will be able to do so easily

Finally, if you’re around London you’ll know that it can be very expensive to store your belongings.  At City of London Storage, we’re within the M25, making our storage solutions the best value, while still retaining the location.

If you are about to get to your end of term and are currently wondering what to do about your possessions, why not give us a call and find out how we can help you.

After all, do you really want to take everything back to mum and dad’s, only to be phased with the prospect of moving it all again later, or perhaps even having to travel hundreds of miles to get to it?

We offer free advice and a free competitive quote, so why not see how much we can save you today?

Are you looking or document or archive storage in London that won’t break the budget?

As more and more companies are trying to cut costs and streamline their efforts, City of London Storage has been busy, providing document and archive storage to help businesses achieve their goals.

The thing about our approach is that it is bespoke and as many companies have a statutory need to ensure that their company records are kept for a period of time after they are produced, we have developed our service with this in mind.

However, as we all know, space in London costs a premium, so if you are a business that has that need to keep documentation for any period of time, keeping it in your office can actually be extremely costly.

Our service is very simple and offers what are simple, cost effective solutions for clients and their document handling and storage.

However, if you’re perhaps in the middle of moving and wondering what to do with all the papers until you’re settled in, you’ll be pleased to know that City of London storage also has options to give you short-term storage as well.

It is extremely important to ensure you gain access, which is why we offer a very flexible approach to you being able to access the documents easily, but most importantly we provide highly secure storage.  This is covered by 24 hour CCTV security and of course our, professional approach to your needs.

Our state-of-the-art security includes alarms, fire and smoke detection systems and of course the human touch, which is probably the most important part of our service.  We do care and we like our clients to know that we care – which is why they come back and use us again and again.

We are currently compiling a selection of brochures for our services so if you are interested in a quote or indeed would like to be on the list to receive our brochures when they are ready, do contact us.

We are always happy to help and can offer free advice with a smile!

Contact us today to see how we can help you store your archive documents.  You won’t be disappointed!