A Survivors Guide to Downsizing Your Home

When your family is having financial problems, health issues, divorce, kids moved out,  you reached an older age or one partner is recently widowed, one of the things you might think about is DOWNSIZING.   In other words, scaling your current family home to a smaller home, unit or moving into an apartment. Unknown to you at this stage is that making this move is emotionally charged and could be extremely traumatic.

Even though you know that it’s the best solution - you can't help feeling a bit depressed because of the emotional attachment to your home and its memories. You might even have second thoughts about the move. The following questions can come up in your mind:

•  Is there enough space in the new home to fit all our possessions?

Leaving the Family Pet Behind Can be Very Stressful

• How do I say Goodbye to my neighbours and friends from our neighbourhood that we've gotten to know over the years. And not to mention the cat. This loss will require grieving time.

                                                                             

If most people have these feelings it must be normal and anyway it passes with the excitement of the new home. Making the new home look pretty, meeting the new neighbours, discovering local shopping, joining the local gym or swimming pool will help to sprout your roots in the new place.

Most people are thrilled with the decision once they have made the move, finding it liberating and wondering why they left it so long to make the move. Once the move is done people are better able accept the change and set the stage for new beginnings.

THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM

THE SALE

Selling your house is said to be one of the most stressful thing you can ever experience. Especially if the house is going to an auction. 

What can you do to reduce anxiety and be more in control?

1. Agree on the lowest price you will accept for the property.

2. Decide whether you are going to rent if your new property isn’t immediately available.

3. Get your paperwork in order. Your conveyancer/solicitor  will assist you with what needs to be gathered such as copies of water bills, council rates, mortgage documents etc. You will also need to fill out identity forms.

4. Have your home ready for viewing at all times. Make sure it is clean, uncluttered and tidy as buyers could pop around at any time.

THE BIG MOVE

 If you thought the idea of downsizing made you sad, wait to the stress of the actual move hits you. There are things to pack and you don’t realize how much stuff you’ve got until you start the boxing experience. 

• Kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms and rooms to clean. 
• Contracts to sign and then you need to work out what furniture will fit in your new smaller home. 
• You do not realize what you have accumulated over the years. If dad has a tool shed where will all the tools go? 
• If you can afford it you may have to sell all your possessions and purchase new items as the furniture you do have is too big or dated. 
• If you are older you may feel overwhelmed so don't be scared to ask your family for help. 
• If you can afford it - enlist a furniture mover who also packs and unpacks for you. The Salvos and St Vincent De Paul's will happily collect your unwanted furniture.

One way around it is to think about things that you use daily and would like to continue using every day in your new home, the rest give them away. 

• Distribute things to family and friends including family mementos, photos and books. 
• Save only those keepsakes that mean the most to you. Don’t ever throw away something that has special memories, is valuable or is a family heirloom.

Focus on the positives

1. Your to do list shrinks. Less or no yard to mow or rake etc. Vacuuming takes two minutes and maybe no garden to water or weed.

2. Your leisure time increases.

3. Security. Less doors to lock. Less stairs to climb. Less possible accidents. If moving into an apartment  - security is the best. Security system in place is for the whole complex. Camera view of visitors and because you can see them you can let them them in and allow them access in to elevator. If you don’t want to see them – you’re not home.

3. Knowing you will be moving into a smaller space forces you to de clutter.

4. The fewer items you need to pack and move, the cheaper the moving bill.

 DO YOU SUFFER FROM ANXIETY?

Whether you do or you don’t its coming. The unknown can make anyone anxious. Triggers range from cost of the move to making new friends. You might be faced with the following decision or thoughts:

• What if there are undesirable living in the complex, loud noise, traffic noises. 
• What stuff to keep and what stuff to get rid of. Items of sentimental value such as that Big Ben clock has been in the family for generations and you must make the decision. 
• Keep or go, even though it won't suit the new place and there is no room for it. Does the item give you happiness? If not  - it can go. Pass them on to family if they want it. If they don’t want it they won’t want it when its left to them so donate them.

If you haven’t moved in 20 or 40 years and if you try to take the move on yourself, if you have no plan, if you are surrounded by 50 boxes, you are going to make the event a bad experience. When you are not pro-active about your move and  there is no professional plan, anxiety awaits you.

SO WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?

Skip Bin Hire is a Must for Downsizing

Downsizing can take you on an emotional roller coaster whether you are young or old. Understand that the benefits of downsizing outweigh the negatives. Make sure you keep the things you love and if you can afford it  - hire professionals to handle the professional move and a professional skip bin hire company to remove all your recyclable and non recyclable waste.

We would love to hear your comments, your questions or your experience from a recent downsizing and if you are about to downsize - we wish you all the best!

                                                                     

HOW TO REDUCE THE COST OF YOUR HOUSE MOVE

Moving house is no easy task and often it can be both stressful and expensive.

The trick to handling the move and avoiding mental and financial stress is to make a plan and then stick to it. Organisation is the key to a well-managed move, but understand that with a whole house to relocate you might not have time to get organised..

REMEMBER:- The fewer items you have to move the cheaper the removalists will charge.

Firstly start by decluttering every room in the house, garage and backyard.

DISCARD OR DONATE? Pile up all the discarded goods in a pile. Consider donating your unwanted goods to the St Vincent de Paul Society or The Salvo’s .

 Any sale worthy items you might want to hold a garage sale or list them online.

                                                                     

FINAL STEP. Call a reliable local skip bin hire company, such as Need A Skip Now 1300 605 624 to discuss your skip hire requirements.

Or jump on their website to get a quote or to book a bin. 

If you have any other tips on planning a House Move - we would love to see your comments below....
                                                   

Skip Bin Hire Melbourne Open During Christmas and New Year

Are you looking forward to your summer break with your family and at the same time looking to finish all your household projects and prepare for 2019?  

Most of the household projects, whether it's a clean up of your home, moving houses, clearing up a garage or finishing that landscaping or gardening project - will involve getting rid of rubbish or waste, generated as a result of your project.

One of the challenges during Christmas / New Year is to find a Skip Bin Hire company, which is actually Open for Business and operating during the Festive Season.

The great news are - if you are in Melbourne - the guys from Need A Skip Now is exactly the company that never shuts their doors during this exciting and festive season.  The reason being is a constant demand from its loyal and new customers, who are really looking forward to making their holidays productive and need to be associated with a Bin Company, which is on stand by and ready to deliver and pickup bins to enable the projects to go on in December and January months.

Not only Need A Skip Now team is fully operational, but they also offer complete telephone and live chat support Monday to Saturday.  To get an assistance with choosing the right bin size and waste type for your Project - give this bin company a call on 1300 605 624 or get an instant all inclusive skip bin quote online and book your bin via secure website.

We wish you all the best with your 2018 / 2019 summer projects around your house and don't hesitate to post your questions in the comments below.  Happy New Year folks!

Rubbish and Waste - What To Do When Moving Your House

Moving House In January and Need to Get Rid of all the Rubbish Before Your Big Move?

January is traditionally the busiest time of the year for Australian Families to move their home.  There seem to be more instances of our fellow Melbournians moving homes in January then in any other month of the year.

One of the reasons that happens is because many people take holidays from work in January, to spend some quality time with their kids and that allows them the time to pack and prepare for the big move.

Another reason for people to try and complete the moving and settling into a new home in January is so that by the start of the new school year - the families can settle in the new home, unpack, get their kids uniforms ready and find their lunch boxes, so that the kids and parents can start a new school year in somewhat organised fashion and try to avoid the chaos of moving and unpacking.

One of the biggest challenges during organising a move of the house is clearing the clutter and deciding what to take and what not to take into the new home.  This challenge also can be looked at as an opportunity to "lighten your load" and a chance to review your items and de-clutter, so that your move is lighter and you will start your life in the new home with only the things you need and not the things that you might potentially need in the future, but most likely not.

One of the tedious places to sort for most families is the clutter in the garage.  Particularly if you are used to use your garage for storage of various items, which you were not ready to throw out, yet have no immediate or foreseeable use for.  As a general rule and drawing from the personal experience of moving various houses with the 3 kids in tow, if you haven't used the items in the last 12 months, most likely you will not be using them in the future.  This generally applies to clothing, please keep in mind that in the 12 months you've gone through all the seasons and if you haven't required that clothing in the whole year, chances are - you will not be missing them in the future either.

Another area to consider is your childrens' toys.  In particular 1000's pieces of Leggo, which your kids might never attempt to put together again.  It is a good idea to engage your kids and go through the toy box together and honestly decide what is age appropriate and whether you need to be spending an extra hourly rate on the removalists to load the items into the truck and then off-load on another end if these items will never be used again.

Perhaps try considering a garage sale or Facebook Market Place to off-load items of furniture, toys, unnecessary stuff, which serves no more purpose and just creates clutter.

If you are not into garage sales or have pure rubbish, which is of no value to anyone else, the situation will call for the Hire of a Skip Bin, which will also allow you to not double handle the items and everything that will not be adding value in your new house - can be straight away chucked into the bin and leave only the useful items in your house, which you'll be ready to pack with confidence.

Last piece of advise - "if in doubt - throw out" and save yourself packing and unpacking time by leaving the rubbish and junk behind and only taking memories and useful stuff into the new home!

I Need A Bin - What is General Waste Bin Used For?

Here is a Summary of the Most Frequent Uses for the General Waste type of Bin:

Question:What CAN I put into the bin?

Answer: The Type of Waste that you can put into the skip bin depends on what type of rubbish or waste you have booked your bin for.

One of the most common waste types when hiring a bin is a General Waste.

General Waste - which can include all household items and green waste.  Green waste is mainly tree branches, as long as there is no soil or any heavy items from your garden.  The most common reasons in Melbourne, Australia for people to order general waste bins are:

• Moving a house.  People order General Waste bins initially for the old house - where they are moving out from.  Majority of families prefer to sort through and dispose of unnecessary, old, broken items and start their living in a new house with a clutter free environment.

• Parents or older people are moving to a retirement home.  This would mean a very large clean out of the house and would warrant a very large bin, anywhere between 12 cubic meters and 31 cubic meters or a few of those bins.  The number of bins will depend on how big the home, being vacated is and how many years the residents lived there and had a chance to accumulate various furniture and other items.

• Deceased Estates - this would mean a few 31 cubic meters bins as usually the whole house would need to be cleared out, provided that none of the items will be sold.  On average - if the house is at least 3 bedrooms and had more than 1 person living there - there would be enough possessions to fill a large bin, not to count a garage and a back yard.
  

• End of Lease Clean out.  This type of situation is very common with Commercial Leases, where the business has to completely clean out the premises and it usually means very large bins.  The size of the bin and the number of bins will largely depend on what type of premises the business was occupying - whether it was a hairdressing salon, a restaurant, an office or a factory.  Consequently then the bigger the premises and the larger the amount of fixtures and fittings - the larger bin sizes the clean up will warrant and most likely a few bins at that.  

• Annual Factory Clean out.  If annual factory or a warehouse clean out is a regular annual event then the management usually has an idea of what size bin or a number of bins might be appropriate.  Quite often it could be between 12 cubic meters bins and 31 cubic meters bins and anything in between, such as 21 cubic meters bins and 24 cubic meters bins.  As long as the factory or warehouse is being cleaned in a regular intervals - the size of the bin will probably be consistent from one clean up to the next one.

• Annual or Semi-Annual Schools Clean Up.  Most schools will utilize the school holidays for a regular clean up, which would required a minimum of a 6 cubic meters bin.  When the school is purchasing a new furniture or disposes of an outdated or unsafe equipment or simply has a working bee event - bins are essential in order to facility a central waste collection point and have a deadline by which the bin will be taken away, to ensure clean up will happen within the allocated timeline.

•  Tenants Moving Out of your Investment Property.  Whether you are holding a residential or commercial property - unfortunately in some cases tenants just leave and also leave all the mess behind them.  Of cause this would constitute a breach of the rental agreement however once all the legalities have been dealt with - it is up to the owner to clean up the mess and get their property ready as soon as possible for the re-lease and read to greet a new tenant.  Depending on whether the premises are commercial or residential, the size of the bin and consequent number of the bins will vary.  For an advice on the size of the bin required for each of these situations would be best to contact the bin hire company and get some advice over the phone. In some cases - for a warehouse clean up - there might be a need to outsource the whole job to a Skip Hire Company, where they can come with machinery and load the bins faster, especially if you have a deadline of re-leasing the property.

There are many more reasons for people and organisations to hire a General Waste type of bin, which could be as simple as cleaning out your garage or just an annual Spring Cleaning for your house.  For each of these reasons there is a certain size of bin, which would be suitable from the smallest 2 cubic meters bins to the largest 31 cubic meters bulk bins.

For more information and to discuss your unique situation of bin hire - please contact a friendly team at Need A Skip Now and we will find the perfect bin size for your job.