Too much stuff, and too little space? In the midst of a transition from one home to another? A common problem for many people. There are multiple options for storing your home, office, surplus of goods, or recreation toys. You can store your goods with a moving company, in self-storage, or in your own home basement. No matter where or who you trust to store your items, much disappointment or damage can happen with the unpredictability of mother nature or poor planning.

Here are some pointers to help you AHEAD of time. Plan ahead and save yourself energy and heart-ache later on.

1. Think about location when selecting your storage. Where, how easily must it be accessed, how often will you need to access?
2. Storing lots of boxes? Try to fill the boxes to the top when packing, even if it’s just with padding and old, crumpled newspapers. Boxes that are only half-filled tend to collapse if anything’s placed on them.
3. If you’re storing a refrigerator in your unit leave the door ajar. This will prevent mold from growing inside. Be sure
4. If loading your own unit – leave walk ways in the middle and near the walls of the unit, for access and air flow.
5. Putting pallets, milk crates, or plastic storage bins on the floor of the unit will eliminate the risk of water damage.
6. Full service storage options allows for the unit to be packed professionally; with the blankets, plastic wrap, straps, and all the protection in place during storage.
7. Ask about climate controlled storage. This is best for leather furniture, candles, oil paintings, sensitive electronics, plasma or LCD televisions, records, or any highly sensitive antiques that could be damaged with humidity and heat.
8. Always keep your personal / high value items with you. Don’t store expensive jewelry, identification / personal documents, weaponry (guns and ammo), etc.
9. Empty any gas run equipment before storing, including lawn mowers, trimmers, etc. Just let them run until they are out of juice the last time you use the tools.
10. Don’t store liquids (especially cleaning supplies with harsh chemicals). In the changing temperatures, liquids have the opportunity to freeze, heat, and spill on your keepsakes. If you MUST store liquids like shampoo or lotion (non hazardous) be sure to put them in a zip lock bag and store in a plastic bin.
11. Self Storage? Ask about security measures at the location; cameras? Security guards? Gated area? Code and Key access?
12. Might need to get to it? Put these items closest to the door for easy access.
13. Label. Label. Label. Know what is in each box, in case you need to get to it during storage and so you know where the box goes when you move into your new residence.
14. Use blankets, sheets, and tarps to protect your goods from dust in storage.
16. You are better off renting a smaller unit that is filled or packed to near the top (”high and tight” as they say in the industry), rather than renting a larger unit and only filling the floor area (”floating” per indsustry lingo).
15. Use a professional storage company that protects, provides convenient storage (bring the unit to your residence to load), a variety of options for sizes and climate controlled, and unloads it when you are ready for your delivery… (hint hint, use EXODUS Moving and Storage!).

There’s lots of talk about “buying local” and supporting “local businesses”. But why? What does it mean to us Everyday Joe’s that are just wanting to get the most for our dollar, a quality product, a quality experience?

In the Colorado moving business, being local and independent enables Exodus to control the factors that make for a worry-free home or office move. Not being a big corporation or franchise, we control aspects such as:
- the screening and hiring of move experts
- our standards for customer service
- we don’t subcontract labor. All of our drivers are full-time professional movers, not owner operators that hire their own labor.
- offer value-added services like free recycled boxes, no deposit or contracts to reserve your move date, discounted cleaning services, custom crating, partnerships and coupons with other local businesses.
- Exodus has people that you will know and know you by name, that has the expertise to eliminate the stress from your first phone call… to the very last box you unpack. We don’t send you to an 800 number when you need help.
- Most importantly, we are able to be flexible to meet our customers needs.

There’s a good reason to shop local businesses.
In fact there are TEN (probably more, but here are 10 for your reading pleasure).
1. Keep Money in the Community –
Significantly more money re-circulates locally when purchases are made at locally owned, rather than nationally owned businesses. This multiplier is due in part to locally owned businesses purchasing more often from other local businesses, service providers and farms. Purchasing local helps grow other businesses as well as the local tax base. Studies show that for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $45 goes back into the community and our tax base. For every $100 spent at a chain store, only $14 comes back).
2. Support Community Groups –
Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller locally-owned business owners than they do from large businesses.
3. Keep Our Community Unique –
Where we shop, where we eat and have fun—all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit. “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust
4. Reduce Enviromental Impact –
Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.
5. Create More Jobs –
Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.
6. Get Better Service –
Businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.
7. Invest in Community -
Businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.
8. Put Your Taxes to Good Use -
Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.
9. Buy What You Want Not What Someone Wants You To –
A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
10. Encourage Local Prosperity –
A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

All around supporting local businesses makes Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley and all of Northern Colorado a stronger, fresher, and a more dynamic place to live for our famililes. By focusing on buying local products and services, we are helping to decrease the impact on the enviroment from typical transporting of goods. So, buy and support local businesses, entreprenuers, farmers, services and help NoCo thrive!

List source: Visit http://www.43things.com/entries/view/330845 for the original article.

If there is one thing you learn from this blog – I ask that it be this – just say NO to internet brokers. I just met another victim of these horrendous industry leeches. More often then not, they are much of the reason our industry currently has a bad name. They are the scary folks in our industry – or rather the ones that set you up with the scary folks. They will find you the lowest bidder – and the lowest bidder is often the one that will dramatically raise your price the day of the move and/or hold your items hostage. They also are most likely the ones to break your belongings with no accountability and even worse, possibly steal from you as well. Please, Please, Please do your own research for your own protection. Check out:

· Better Business Bureau – look for the one in your area/state

· www.movingscam.com

· American Moving & Storage Association – www.moving.org

· The local move regulatory body – in Colorado this is the Public Utilities Commission

· Department of Transportation (DOT) (if long haul move)

For more information go to: http://www.exodusmoving.com/Moving-Horror-Stories

or

http://www.exodusmoving.com/How-to-Choose-a-Mover

Well it happened to me again today – someone thought that we just moved folks locally.  We have been proudly moving our clients nationally and internationally since 1996.  Some people don’t realize this since we are locally owned and operated and we’re independent (not a large van line).  Because of our hometown touch, they think we just focus on our hometown in Colorado.  While we love our hometown and all of Colorado – we literally can move anyone who is moving into or out of Colorado.  So we mean it when we say we are your Loveland Movers, Louisiana Movers and London Movers.  Now we don’t do moves within Louisiana or within London – however if you live in Louisiana and want to move to Colorado – we’re your mover, as well as if you live in Colorado and want to move to Louisiana.  So again please think of us whether you are looking for Denver Movers, Delaware Movers or Denmark Movers!  Just have Colorado be either the place you’re moving to, or the place you’re moving from. 

For more info on our Local Colorado moves check out:  http://www.exodusmoving.com/page.php?page=Local&

For more info on our National moves check out:  http://www.exodusmoving.com/page.php?page=National&

For more info on our International moves check out: http://www.exodusmoving.com/page.php?page=International&

We love and adore our pets.  And in the middle of all the moving parts of a move, sometimes they can get easily forgotten.  But they need your attention too.  Here are some easy ways to give Fido and friends some love during this transition.

1)       Our pets mirror our emotions.  Remember the less stressed you are, the less stressed they are – so make sure to take plenty of deep breaths and reality checks for both you and your pet.

2)      Keep all of your pet’s “necessities” easily accessible throughout your move.  Pack all of your pet’s “non-immediate” items in one box, label the box clearly and ask the movers to have it easily accessible upon arrival to your new home.

3)      Have a Pet Plan for move day.  You don’t want them to get underfoot or dash out the front door as the movers carry your sleeper sofa.  Ideally they could stay somewhere they are used to – for example with a friend, relative or neighbor they know.  Or perhaps at the local kennel where they stay when you are on vacation.   Another option is to keep them in a specific room of the home – remembering that you will need to switch rooms when items need to be removed.  Of course let the movers know that your pet is in that room.

4)      Planes, trains and automobiles.  The Humane Society highly recommends transporting your animals via car.  Unfortunately airlines are notorious for treating your pet as “mere baggage.”  However there is a website called www.petflight.com that can give you the more “pet-friendly” airlines.  If you are traveling by car, and you know this stresses your pet, ask your vet what you can do to keep them as calm as possible.  Also keep in mind that if you are going to need to stay in a hotel, that not all hotels are pet-friendly – so make sure you find one that is.  Also bring along your pet’s favorite toy/blanket etc. so that they have something that smells and feels familiar along the route.  As far as trains, it would appear that none of the national carriers allow pets as passengers.

5)      Familiarity breeds comfort.  Don’t change their food.  This can wreak havoc on their stomach when they can least handle it. Try to keep everything as similar as possible – food, toys, bed, kitty litter, leash etc.

6)      Get your ducks in a row (especially if your pet is a duck! Quack. Sorry couldn’t help myself.)  Make sure you have your animal’s vet records with you.  Also make sure their vaccines and check-ups are up-to-date.  As soon as you have a new phone number, make sure to get your pet a new tag with the correct info.   You also may need to get a pet license in your new location.

The value of spring cleaning never becomes more evident than when you are moving.  Clearly the more stuff you have, the more you need to move.  Trying to do spring cleaning and moving at the same time can add to your stress levels that are already at an all time high.  So as soon as you learn that you are moving, no matter what time of year, follow these top 5 Lessons Learned around spring cleaning and moving.  It will make your life, and your move, so much easier.

1)      Cleaning out all of those odds and ends can be very tedious, however if you take them in bite size pieces, it’s amazing what you can accomplish.  Make a list of all of the drawers, cabinets, closets and rooms that need “some love.”  Each drawer gets its own spot on the list.  Then make a schedule to take each one on – perhaps 2-6/week – depending on when you’re moving and how long your list is.  Of course keep in mind a drawer might take 10 minutes, while the garage may need several hours.

2)      If you don’t know whether to keep it or not, let it go.  Really. Craig’s list it. Garage sale it.  Give it to a neighbor.  Donate it.  There are even “give-away” websites like www.freecycle.org to avoid putting items in our landfills.   And in some cases, let it retire to the dump.  Have a pile for each of these different actions, so that you can address each pile at the end of accomplishing the task list in one fell swoop.  This will help keep you focused and from making multiple trips.

3)      If you hate cleaning and organizing, find ways to reward yourself.  For example, when you’re done with the garage, go for a bike ride, get a latte, or whatever floats your boat.  Also helpful if you are a family is to enlist your spouse and your kids.  There is absolutely no reason to do this alone.  If you are alone, then bring along the tunes.  Nothing like good music to keep the process rolling.

4)      Stay committed.  Perhaps you are half way through and just figure – oh, I’ll deal with this stuff when we get to our new home.  The last thing you want to do is pay to move stuff you don’t even want.  Nevermind the annoyance of having everything feel shiny and new, except for the “unwantables/unneedables” you brought with you and now have to deal with.  You will have plenty to do in your new home, neighborhood and town.  Better to enjoy a conversation with your new neighbors than dealing with clutter.

5)      If you found this blog two days before you’re moving, don’t panic.  It’s never good to panic when you’re moving!  Don’t stress it.  Just try to separate the stuff you love and need, from the stuff you don’t and label the boxes as such.  Then put those “unwantable” boxes in the garage or the basement and wait until next spring after you’ve moved and are settled to deal with them.

No doubt about it, one of the unique perks of livin in Northern Colorado is the phenomenal sense of community. Are you thinking of moving to Northern Colorado? Are you new to the Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Greeley or other Northern Colorado towns?  On behalf of Exodus, welcome! Or, Maybe you are a seasoned local and looking to update your calendar of must attend events for summer 2009?

There is always something going on for the entire family in “NoCo”. Whether a festival in Old Town Fort Collins, a parade in Loveland, the Stampede Rodeo and Concert series that takes over Greeley, or a local Farmer’s Market in one of the nearby towns.

Northern Colorado’s summer events aim to provide a great mix of cutural, sporting, entertainment, community, and non-profit events. Just to give you an idea, here are some of Exodus’  Staff  favorites:

FORT COLLINS (check out http://www.downtownfortcollins.com/ for more details)

-    Nelsen’s Old Town Car Show : June 13, 2009 

-    Taste of Fort Collins: June 13, 2009

-    The Colorado Brewer’s Festival : June 27 – 28, 2009

-    4th of July Downtown Fort Collins

-    A Fort Collins Jazz Experience: July 9 – 11, 2009

-    Bohemian Nights, New West Festival: August 14 - 16, 2009

-    Oktoberfest : September 26, 2009

LOVELAND (visit http://www.loveland.org/events/ for more details)

-    Goodguys Colorado Hot Rod and Car Show: June 5- 7, 2009

-    Boyd Lake State Park Concert Series: June 6, 2009 (additional Saturday dates)

-    Colorado Family History Expo: June 13, 2009

-    The Summerside of Loveland (rock concert): June 18, 2009 (additional Saturday dates)

-    4th of July Celebration

-    Summerfest in the Rockies: July 10-12, 2009

-    Loveland Love’s BBQ and Cherry Pie Celebration / Dance: July 10-11, 2009

-    Teen Battle of the Bands: July 22,2009

-    Sculpture in the Park: August 8, 2009

-    Valley 5000 5K Walk: August 14, 2009

-    Old Fashioned Corn Roast Festival: August 21 – 22, 2009

GREELEY (visit http://www.greeleycvb.com/ for all the details)

-    Special Olympics Colorado: June 6-7, 2009

-    Greeley Blues Jams Festival: June 13, 2009

-    Greeley Stampede and Rodeo: June 25 – July 5, 2009

-    Weld County Fair : Last week in July – first week in August

-    First Fridays: First Friday of Each month at Museum, various art exhibits and locations

 We'll keep adding to this list as we find more events. 

Do you know about other events in NoCo? Please add them here and be sure to include the dates and a website link to find more information. Afterall, living in Nothern Coloradi is  a comminity experience, so get out here and play!