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.

Decluttering your kitchen – how and why

Step 1 of 2

MM slash DD slash YYYY

The kitchen is one of the most beloved areas in every household. It’s the place where you prepare delightful treats for your family with plenty of love and it’s the place where the entire household gets together for meals. Unfortunately, the kitchen is also a place where we keep a lot of different and small items which create a mess. That’s why decluttering your kitchen should be on your to-do list every once in a while. We here at PortaBox Storage did all the research for you. We have come up with a few simple ways for you to declutter your kitchen and get rid of all the mess in a simple and easy manner.

Decluttering your kitchen – why?

A clean and spacious kitchen as a product of decluttering your kitchen.
A clean kitchen is something most people dream about.

The WHY part is easy. For starters, the kitchen is the place that you use every day and you use it for one very important thing – preparing food. Naturally, you will want to keep this area clean and sanitized. Moreover, there are some situations in particular that call for the decluttering of your kitchen. Let’s say you are moving, remodeling, or placing some of your items in portable Issaquah self storage units. Then you will want to include the kitchen and clear the contents of this room. Besides, a clean and mess-free kitchen will be easier for you to get around in, which will make all the time you spend in this area much more enjoyable.

Decluttering your kitchen – how?

Now we come to the more interesting and trickier part. Decluttering any room of your home is never easy. However, decluttering a kitchen that is full of small items is beyond complex. Even deciding between throwing your items, donating them, or placing them in a Redmond self storage unit will be difficult, and you can rest assured that everything that comes before that will also give you trouble.

Think about the actions you perform the most in your kitchen

When it comes to your kitchen, you really need to think about practicality first and foremost. Of course, you want your kitchen to look nice and pretty, but you don’t want it to be at the expense of its functionality. The good news is that you don’t have to compromise functionality for looks – you just have to think about the things you do most in your kitchen.

What’s the point of putting a huge appliance in the middle of your counter if you have to rummage through many different cupboards just to be able to make a cup of coffee? Leave only those items and appliances that you use on a regular basis. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you need to throw away any of your items. You can simply place them inside door-to-door storage Seattle and have them stored in a safe place. You can retrieve them whenever you feel the need, so you really would be getting the best deal.

Get rid of spares in order to declutter your kitchen

This part is most likely going to give you the most trouble. But think about it – do you really need to keep five different sets of plates and cutlery? There’s no need for you to do that, but you are most likely justifying it because some sets were a gift, others you bought by yourself, and some were passed down onto you. While it’s fine to keep some items that you are particularly attached to, you definitely shouldn’t let your emotions take over the entire process. Therefore, get rid of as many spares as you can.

A woman holding a coffee mug.
Coffee mugs are fun to buy, but you might not need so many of them.

We suggest you leave one set that you plan to use in your daily life and one that will serve as a spare. And don’t even think what will happen if you have to throw a party and use more than what you got. You should remember that you can always buy disposable plates or even borrow some sets from your neighbors. The options are limitless.

Make the most of your shelves

Shelves are one of the world’s greatest inventions. They can be used inside portable storage solutions and they can be used in every room of your house – including the kitchen. Their versatility is in the fact that they can add a lot of space to your area, but there is a trick – you need to use them to the fullest. Having shelves that are going to have a lot of unusable space between items is simply unacceptable. Think about all that space you are wasting.

By using the layout in the most efficient manner, you can add as much as 50% more storage in your kitchen. And if you are wondering how that’s going to help with decluttering your kitchen, just think about all the items you will get to remove from your countertops and put them inside cupboards. That will automatically make your kitchen look more put together.

Make the most out of the food you have

Throwing away perfectly good food or ingredients is a shame. Unfortunately, this is something that happens to most of us. Sometimes, you will buy so many unnecessary ingredients that they might end up buried somewhere at the back of a cupboard. You won’t see them for who knows how long, which is why you will forget about their existence. In order to reduce the amount of food you waste, it would be good to declutter the food section of your kitchen. 

Vegetables on a desk.
Lay all of the food you have on a table and see what you are working with.

Therefore, make sure you take out all the food you have in your kitchen and put it on a counter. Once you have a visual of all the food you are working with, you can arrange it in a food section. Every little detail should be taken into account when decluttering your kitchen. After all, even a few misplaced items can cause a lot of mess, and that’s the last thing that you want.

Latest Posts