Founded in 1890, Hansen Bros. Moving & Storage the parent company of Portabox has successfully weathered many history-changing events including the Great Seattle Fire, WWI, the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Great Depression, WWII, the 2008 recession, and 9/11 among many other public crises. We are taking the current COVID-19 threat very seriously and will promptly adhere to any and all directives from local, state and federal government officials. Hansen Bros. and Portabox have been categorized as an essential industry business (moving & relocation) within the current mandate established by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee.

As essential services, we will maintain normal operations until such time as either company management determines we must close our offices or we are directed to do so by a governmental authority. We are taking extensive precautionary measures including the adoption of all CDC guidelines and the establishment of our own policies intended to minimize health risks for all customers, employees, contractors, vendors, and community stakeholders. We are proud to be able to support the needs of our customers during this crucial time but are prepared to quickly change course as required.

Stay safe together with Hansen Bros. and Portabox

The COVID-19 crisis is fluid and there are many uncertainties and factors outside of our control that may, with little or no advance notice, impact our delivery of moving & storage services. Please be aware the current crisis could potentially result in small inconveniences such as a delayed project start time or significant inconveniences such as the complete rescheduling of services.

Although there are many unknowns to be navigated, you can be certain that Hansen Bros. and Portabox will be timely and transparent in our communications regarding servicing your moving & storage needs, and our professional relocation consultants will work diligently to offer creative solutions in the event your project is impacted by the current health crisis.

Steps We're Taking:

  • Company-wide Implementation of all precautionary measures recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
  • Office staff and crews are being monitored daily for symptoms and/or known exposure by management and asked to go home, contact their healthcare provider, and self-quarantine as directed. Staff that experience symptoms and/or aware of exposure when not at work have been directed to stay home and notify their supervisor.
  • Office staff and crews are receiving daily briefings on precautionary measures and have been directed to follow them on and off the job.
  • Office staff and crews are being instructed to maintain appropriate “social distance” of 6 feet minimum between one another, customers, and all other people.
  • Office staff and crews are being provided with appropriate hand sanitizer and surface disinfecting supplies. They have been directed to disinfect truck cabs and moving equipment between each move to the best of their ability. These supplies will continue to be replenished as we are able, based on availability from retailers.
  • We are limiting visitation to our branch offices. If you wish to purchase moving boxes or supplies, please simply call in your order and we will happily deliver to your vehicle outside.

We are all in this together.  The team at Hansen Bros. and Portabox is proud to continue offering our services in accordance with the necessary precautions outlined above. We are here to make the process of storing belongings seamless & safe for you.

4 ways how self storage helps self-discipline

Step 1 of 2

MM slash DD slash YYYY

If you are lacking in the self-discipline department, dealing with a storage unit can actually help you quite a bit if you approach it the right way. The first thing that you will need is the unit itself. There are some great PortaBox Storage solutions that you can utilize for this purpose. The second thing you will need to do is modify the way you are going to be using your unit. If your primary goal is improving your self-discipline, you will need to think about everything in a completely another manner. In this article, we are going to provide you with four distinct ways of how self storage helps self-discipline if you allow it to.

How self storage helps self-discipline in 4 ways

burger and fries
Remove all temptations and you will have an easier time!

Here are the main ways in which you can improve your self-discipline when using a storage unit:

  1. It can teach you about removing temptations
  2. A storage unit can take you out of your “comfort zone”
  3. Storage can teach you about breaks, rewards, and treats
  4. You will be able to learn about forgiving yourself for small mishaps

Teaching about removing temptations

One of the primary ways of improving self-discipline has always been to remove all the temptations of your former way of thinking. “Out of sight, out of mind” as the old proverb goes. And self storage in West Seattle is the perfect place to start practicing it. Removing temptations from your home might be a bit difficult, not so within the confines of a storage unit. Whenever you want to work on your discipline, head on over to your unit, and work on it there. There will be no temptations because you will arrange it so. The goal is to spend time in your storage unit on various tasks and improve on what you wish to improve.

If you want to improve your focus, remove all the distractions, and get to it. And if you want to eat less, only bring what you want to eat with you.

Taking you out of your “comfort zone”

A storage unit will force you to abandon your normal routine if you spend enough time in it. This is really important when it comes to self-discipline, as switching your routine is notoriously hard to do. And you can laser-focus on the task ahead while inside the Ballard self storage. Focus on one thing at a time, acknowledging that it is going to be hard and that you will fail a lot. That is how improvement works. We are hardwired to fall back to our usual habits but if you embrace that it will take time, you are on the right track.

  • Here’s a bit of science that concerns habits. According to Charles Duhigg (writer of The Power of Habit), our habits come from the part of the brain that is called the “basal ganglia”. This part is also associated with memories, patterns, and emotions, which form the habits themselves. We make decisions in another part, which is the prefrontal cortex. Now, when any behavior turns to habit, we stop using the decision making part of our brain and let the basal ganglia take over. In order to break the habit itself, we need to actively decide to do it. Which feels wrong and we fail at it a lot.

The storage unit provides a “controlled environment” and it will constantly remind you that you need to make these decisions, thus making it easier.

living room
You will need to go out of your comfort zone, and a storage unit is a great place for that.

How self storage helps self-discipline – It can teach you about using breaks, rewards, and treats

Trying to improve your discipline does not mean that you should feel miserable all the time for not doing what you want. In fact, that is the best way not to succeed at it. What you want to do is make a schedule of breaks and incorporate treats and rewards into your program. The specifics depend on what you want to accomplish, of course. Rewards are especially powerful tools at your disposal. There are numerous scientific studies on the impact they have on discipline. Whenever you succeed at whatever you are trying to improve on, give yourself a reward of some sort. It is best if you connect the reward to the thing that you want to do.

  • For example, if you are trying to lose weight and not eat too much, treat yourself to something you really like after spending time in a storage unit, provided that you resisted the temptation to eat something while working inside.

You will be able to learn about forgiving yourself for small mishaps in a safe environment

Let’s face it, you are most likely going to fail at some point. And that is perfectly fine. There will be times when you are doing phenomenally and there will be times where you will be faced with a failure. The main thing is not to let failures stop you from moving on. While working in a storage unit, no one but you will see that you have failed. Which will make the whole process easier. Even so, you may get befuddled with anger, guilt, or frustration at times. Learn to forgive yourself and to acknowledge that you are but a human and not perfect. Use those failures as stepping stones and get right back into it. The longer you wail in frustration, the harder the next step will be. And the next step is always the most important one.

man leaning on wooden table
Don’t be too hard on yourself, accept failures, and move on.

Finding a perfect storage unit

You want several things from your perfect unit. First, it needs to be close to your home. Second, it needs to be affordable so you don’t feel bad about renting it. And it also needs to have all the basic traits of a good storage unit. Which is exactly what PortaBox storage offers. The best way to find out more about our solutions is to contact us and tell us exactly what you need. We will take it over from there.

Latest Posts