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.

6 common packing mistakes that people make when storing items

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If you are planning to take your items to a storage unit, you will need to pack them beforehand. Now, the packing process for storing items is misleadingly “easy”. It is all too common to fall prey to common packing mistakes when going through it. You might not give yourself enough time or you might not buy enough supplies, that sort of thing. The best way not to make a mistake is to get familiar with them. Therefore, before you relocate your items to one of the Bellevue self storage facilities, you might want to familiarize yourself with these common errors. And that is exactly what you will do by reading this article.

6 common packing mistakes and how to avoid them

one of the most common packing mistakes - a house full of clutter
A cluttered home is much harder to pack.

Here’s a list of all the most common packing errors that you may succumb to:

  • Not getting enough supplies
  • Packing everything you see
  • Not enough protection
  • Not planning ahead
  • Giving yourself too little time
  • Being too meticulous about packing

The important thing is that you take time to think about the whole process. But not too much time, as that may hinder your other efforts. How to strike the “perfect balance”, then? There is no right answer for everyone, unfortunately. What you can do is set the time limit for every stage of the packing process. But even that may be insufficient. The best thing to do is to consult self storage Boise professionals when you are considering how to pack fragile and more valuable items. They can provide you with expert advice on how to make the most out of the packing process.

But for now, let’s focus on not making any important mistakes, starting with:

Common mistake #1: Not having enough supplies

Almost every packing process starts the same, you try to boost your productivity and pack item after item only to realize that you are out of supplies at one point. This ends up with a necessary run to the store, which saps you of the time you have allotted to the packing process. It also gets you out of the “packing mindset”, lowering the productivity of future efforts.

The simplest way to avoid this particular mistake is to simply purchase a bit more supplies than what you need. There are numerous calculators floating around the internet and you might want to utilize them to make sure that you will have enough supplies. You will need to input some general information such as the size of your home, the number of items you have, and the packing style of your preference. Alternatively, you can get in touch with PortaBox Storage Seattle and we can help you out. Our team of experts will deduce the optimal supply and can even provide you with all the necessary materials and containers you might need.

Common packing mistakes #2: No decluttering

one of the most common packing mistakes - a house full of clutter
A cluttered home is much harder to pack.

The next mistake is packing everything that you lay your eyes on. The fact of the matter is that taking your items to a storage unit is the perfect time to get rid of the clutter. By not doing so, you will make it harder on yourself on several “fronts”. First, the process will require more packing supplies. Second, unpacking will be a lot more difficult. And, finally, it will use up a lot of your time and energy, unnecessarily so.

To avoid this mistake, you will want to separate the items depending on their usefulness. If you have some belongings that haven’t seen a use for, let’s say a year, these are the prime candidates to leave behind. Anything that does not serve any purpose, or is replaced by newer items goes into the same pile.

Common mistake #3: Not securing your items

Sometimes, you may be enticed to simply throw things inside a box and hope for the best. And that is a wrong approach to take when it comes to packing. However, it is easy to make this mistake thinking that your belongings are “safe enough”. While some items can endure such treatment, others might not. Therefore, you might want to take some time to think about which of your belongings require added protection. Normally, you may want to utilize packing materials for anything that is breakable, as well as your electronics and less-durable plastic items. You don’t need all that much to secure your items, really. Some packing paper and bubble wrap will be just fine. You can even utilize “homemade” solutions such as linens and socks.

Common mistake #4: Not having a plan

person writing down something in a notebook
Before you start doing anything else, create a plan!

The packing process is as much mental exertion as it is a physical one. The more thought you put into it, the better it will be. One of the most common mistakes is to disregard the need to think and simply start packing without any real plan. This may result in more energy being wasted, as well as more time required to pack. Needless to say, the packing process will be far from optimal.

If you want to avoid this mistake, all you need to do is create a plan ahead of time. It’s advisable that you write it down but having it in your head will do in a hurry. What you want to do is to create a “blueprint” of the packing process. Note the order of packing and any special necessities your items might require.

Common packing mistakes #5: Too little time to pack

As far as packing mistakes go, this is one of the worst. Even if you take great care to avoid all the others, if you don’t avoid this one it’s all for naught. Well, perhaps not that disastrous but having enough time is quite important. The less time you devote to the packing process, the more prone you will be to making other common mistakes (and quite a few uncommon ones). Working under time pressure is stressful, after all, and you don’t want any undue stress on your proverbial plate. So, make sure you have plenty of time to finish the packing process!

Common mistake #6: Perfectionism

The last mistake has to do with wanting to do everything “perfectly”. The reason why this is a mistake is that it is effectively a huge waste of time. You don’t need to be overly meticulous when packing your belongings, nor do you need to play Tetris with them.

There is no absolutely perfect way to pack items for storage. If you want to make the process as best as you can and avoid all the common packing mistakes, try to optimize the time and resources that are at your disposal. Being a perfectionist is a huge boon if you apply it to the right spot.

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