Blog
Five Ways of Decluttering Before Christmas
Christmas is very much a prime-time when it comes to decluttering – with all the extra guests and presents you need to make room for, not to mention all the festive food and drink that usually goes hand in hand with the festive season.
Here Hamiltons Removals, who supply packing materials for customers in Norfolk, Suffolk and further afield, look at five key ways to make sure you have enough space when December 25 comes round, and how we can help you achieve that goal.
Clearing out the Spare Room
You may have guests staying or children coming home from university for the Christmas break. If so, you may need to stop using the guest room or their room as additional storage space so that they feel at home and comfortable during their stay.
Going Through the Kitchen Cupboards
How many items do you think will be in the back of your cupboards that you haven’t checked in a long time? Probably quite a lot will be passed their ‘use by’ date, never mind the ‘best before’. The same applies to your medicine cabinet.
Regardless, you will need as much space as possible for all the extra food that you are likely to buy at Christmas. So even things that are still good may need to be eaten up so that you have enough room in the fridge, freezer or kitchen cupboards.
The same also applies goes for clothes. If there is anything you haven’t worn in the last 12 months, it might be time to think about giving it to a charity shop.
Your Personal Correspondence
This is less of an issue now that everything is digital, but even so. You don’t really need to keep all those bank statements, insurance documents and other letters longer than a year. Shred them (rather than just put them in the bin) on an annual basis. Keeping them for 12 months will enable you to compare your spending habits, but you shouldn’t need to keep them for any longer than that.
And, on a digital level, go through your inbox/deleted items/spam folders and get rid of anything you don’t need permanently. Also, get rid of any recorded TV programmes you haven’t watched in the past year. At the very least, this will help your PC and set-top box run a little faster and more smoothly.
Move the Furniture Around
There is good reason not to make the TV a focal point for all the seats. Think about making the tree (and the presents) the centre of attention instead. Turning your view away from the TV will also help you to think how to maximise the space in your living room (for example, sofas up against or near to the walls) for you, your guests and everything that will be going on.
Think Flexible Storage
Sofa beds rather than sofas will mean more people can ‘sleep over’. In addition, sofa beds will often let you store bed linen underneath. Divans with plenty of storage space are also a more practical choice than just two mattresses.
In the kitchen, expandable shelves, two-tier cutlery drawers, wineglass racks and many other storage solutions will help you to save space and declutter countertops, shelves and other cupboards.
Consider Self Storage
Self storage will help if you have any seasonal items that you don’t want to part with (for instance, summer clothes or sports gear) and will need again when the warmer weather returns. If you have any early Christmas presents that you don’t want children (or partners) to find before the big day, you could put these into storage at the same time, well out of the way of any inquisitive eyes.
If you need a secure self storage facility, Hamiltons’ has two in the heart of East Anglia – in Harleston and Aldeby, close to the Norfolk/Suffolk border. The former has a range of room sizes, while the latter has units that are suitable for larger items such as lawnmowers, bikes and caravans, which you won’t need until it gets warmer. Both sites combine easy access for users with high levels of security. For more details on our Safe N Stored sites, follow this link.
Packing Materials from Norfolk-based Hamiltons Removals
In a lot of cases, you will need top-quality packing materials for all the items you have decluttered – whether they are going in the loft, in the bin (as in the case of out-of-date food or cosmetics) to the charity shop or into self storage.
As well as our self storage facilities, Hamiltons Removals also supply a range of convenient packing materials from our base at Harleston on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. We have small, medium and large decluttering kits available from our online shop.
Each of the kits includes medium and large boxes, tape, bubblewrap, marker pens and inventory sheets so you can keep track of what has gone where.
Top Broadband Tips When Moving Home or Business
Internet connectivity is becoming an increasingly important factor for home and business owners as and when they decide to move. The move towards working from home means that good broadband coverage is even more essential for householders, while commercial organisations can ill afford to be offline for any length of time.
Hamiltons Removals are a leading Norfolk removal company, who are able to offer high-quality packages for both domestic and commercial clients. Here we look at the six broadband-related steps you should be taking before you move.
Prepare Early
As with so many things, it pays off if you sort this type of problem out early on because you don’t want to be relying on your mobile phone for all your internet coverage – especially if you have data limits that could easily be exceeded.
While it may be as simple as plugging in your new router, you may need a new line. In such cases, estimates show that the major providers take between one and two weeks to get customers set up in their new property – and you don’t want this to be any longer than necessary.
Check With Your Current Provider
Do they provide coverage in your new area, and at your specific property? There are also a number of useful online sites that you can use to check this as well.
Another important question, as touched on in the last point is – has the home or premises had internet before? Increasingly for both domestic and commercial properties, the answer is now ‘yes’. However, if it hasn’t, will you need to install a new line and prepare accordingly.
Check with New Providers
It may also be worth checking with other providers if they have better coverage in your new area, particularly if it’s a rural one. If their coverage is better, or if your current provider won’t operate in your new home or business location, then consider switching.
However, there may be cancellation fees involved, so this will need to be factored into the overall cost of the move, as well as possible time delays. The COVID pandemic has also made it a lot more difficult for broadband providers to offer a full and prompt service.
You May Not Have Much Choice
Remember that in some new-build flats and neighbourhoods, there are what are known as ‘micro monopolies’ in place. This is where all the broadband services are provided exclusively by one company, and you don’t have any choice.
The good news is, particularly in flats in urban areas, these tend to be pretty much state-of-the-art, so you don’t have to worry about the quality of the coverage.
What About Tenants?
If you are moving into a leasehold flat, then check with your landlord well in advance what the situation is. If you will be paying the bills directly to the supplier, then you can make your own checks as to who provides the best or cheapest service.
However, if you will pay your broadband bills through your landlord, then it’s usually their responsibility to change provider, and you won’t be able to. Don’t let this put you off asking them, though, particularly if you think it could save you some money.
Business Coverage
With businesses, the whole process could take considerably longer because there could be a lot more services involved. For instance, BT asks for a minimum of 10 days’ notice if customers want their business broadband service operating on the same day as their phone line. They also warn that it could take up to 26 days for a single line transfer if an engineer is needed and it’s during a period of poor weather.
The major providers all have dedicated business departments who will be able to help. Whoever you choose, get in touch as early as practicably possible. It may also help if you try to get your new premises IT operational before you move out of your old one.
Domestic and Commercial Moves With Hamiltons Removals
Norfolk removal company Hamiltons Removals have many years of experience in organising domestic and commercial removals to Suffolk, Norfolk, all parts of East Anglia, and beyond.
With business moves, we will liaise with your company’s IT department (if you have dedicated staff) to make sure all your PCs, laptops, tablets, printers, faxes and photocopiers are all carefully packaged and transported using specialist materials and vehicles. And, we will also take equal care of any domestic high-tech equipment, whether it’s for an individual move or part of an employee relocation.
To learn more about our specialist IT service for businesses, follow this link and fill in the online contact form. You can also call us on 01379 855203 for any queries about domestic or commercial moves.