CRS Dueling Holloween Pumpkins Headed to AAA New York Auto Club's Spooktacular

Thinking outside the cardboard box

We are always looking for ways to be more green and provide our customers ways to save our resources.  Bungo Box contacted me recently about their growing company and product.   What follows is from Sarah Sekula their PR Director.  They currently have locations in the southeast US and parts of Canada. 

Florida entrepreneur Tom Cannon hopes cardboard will go the way of the dinosaur.

It’s a long shot, but a worthy goal. After all, only half of the cardboard Americans use actually gets recycled. The rest gets hauled off to the landfill. Cannon's 2 and 1/2-year-old company, BungoBox, hopes to change that statistic with his simple, yet innovative, concept. “We rent reusable plastic bins as an alternative to the traditional disposable cardboard box and packing tape,” Cannon, 39, says.

Highlights:
--When you reuse cardboard boxes, they can last for approximately four moves. The stronger, more durable plastic moving boxes that BungoBox rents can be reused up to 400 times. After that, they are recycled and made into new bins.

--Surprisingly, until now, there really hasn’t been a good alternative to using cardboard. We’ve been using the same environmentally unfriendly materials for the past several hundred years.

www.bungobox.com

BLS Unemployment in September 2011 report

As reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics - interesting not much progress

The number of unemployed persons, at 14.0 million, was essentially unchanged in September, and the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent. Since April, the rate has held in a narrow range from 9.0 to 9.2 percent.

[Chart data]

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.8 percent), adult women (8.1 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (8.0 percent), blacks (16.0 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) showed little or no change in September. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted.
The civilian labor force increased by 423,000 in September, but the labor force participation rate—the percentage of the civilian noninstitutional working-age population who are in the labor force—was little changed, at 64.2 percent.

Self Storage at Origin and Destination

In October's issue of Consumers Relocation's E News we featured an article about self storage.  While we have addressed this in this blog before this is a great summary of all the things you must consider when moving out of or into self storage (Mini Storage).  Here is a reprint of that article.

Moving Topic #4&5: Self Storage; At Origin & Destination
By Amy Olsen

When moving, timing doesn’t always work out perfectly and you may need to be out of your house before you’re actually ready to move, your new house might not be ready yet or you just want to move things to or from your storage unit. When this is the case, you have another option- self storage. Storage is a great and affordable option when you are in a bind and can cost anywhere from $10 to hundreds of dollars per month depending on different circumstances and your needs. Here are some things to help you when your move involves self storage.

At Origin
Moving out of a storage unit is a very exciting time, especially when your belongings have been stored for a while. You tend to forget what is actually in the unit let alone in the boxes! There are several things to consider when moving out of a storage unit to make the move smooth and successful. Here are some tips to help you when your move involves self storage:

• Consider a unit that is large enough to make access easy. Also be sure to ask the manager if a unit is tractor trailer accessible. If a large tractor trailer cannot pull right up to the unit for easy access, you will incur an additional charge on loading. A shuttle charge is when a mover has to load into a smaller truck and then offload into the moving van. Charges are based on the weight and distance. This can occur at either end of the loading or unloading, at origin or destination.
• If you can, go into your storage unit ahead of time. Go through your things and decide what is important to keep and what can be tossed. After you have done this, move things around and organize so it is easier to navigate through the unit.
• Allow the mover to gain access to the unit when preparing the estimate so they can accurately evaluate what is being moved. The more the mover can access, the more accurate the estimate will be.
• Be prepared to repack things. If boxes have been in storage for more than a year, they will typically start to breakdown and can actually collapse during the move. If the mover determines during loading that the boxes are too flimsy, he can, at his discretion repack boxes and you will be charged for it. So if you notice boxes falling apart, try to repack in a new box.
• Most movers will not bind your moving estimate when self storage is involved due to their inability to accurately evaluate what is being moved. Be prepared to give an accurate description of what you have.
• Typically, self storage units contents have been packed by the owner and many have a tendency to over pack boxes. Movers estimate weight for boxes based on the contents- books, pillows, clothes etc. There can be quite a difference in weight, in particular if large boxes are packed with books or heavy items. Over packed boxes can be heavier than normally expected and can throw the weight estimate off considerably.

At Destination
So your house isn’t ready yet? Not sure where you are going to live? Moving your things into self storage can buy you some time. There are different size units and some units with temperature. All range in price depending on the amenities, size and location. Here are some useful tips when moving into a self storage unit.

• The MOST important thing to remember when moving your belongings into a self storage unit is the release of liability of the mover once everything is unloaded into the unit even if you discover damage at a later date. It is crucial to be there when you things are unloaded so that you can note any damaged or missing items on the inventory as the items are being placed into the facility. The movers will not consider a claim if you move the items out of the storage unit before filing.
• Be sure that you have rented a large enough unit.
• To keep your furniture from any damage while in the unit, place wooden pallets on the floor before you move things in. This will keep the contents off the floor and keep things dry. Wood furniture can get damaged if the temperature goes into extreme temp zones.
• Be sure to determine beforehand whether a tractor trailer or 18-wheeler can access your unit. If it cannot, a shuttle will be needed which will cost extra.

Self storage is a great option when moving, just keep in mind these tips that were compiled by our professional move consultants at CRS and if you have any questions or concerns during your move, they will be available to assist you.

---