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.

Storing Halloween decorations – tricks or treats?

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Another year and another Halloween gone by! And now that you’re all done with tricks and treats, you might be wondering what are you going to do with all the decorations now that Halloween is over. How will you go about storing all those Halloween decorations? And how will you prepare them for their stay in the storage unit? The ideal option is a temporary storage Seattle solution, which involves renting a portable storage unit. As for the packing materials and how to prepare your decorations, this article is going to serve as your guide.

Storing Halloween decorations and you – What packing materials will you need?

The first thing that needs to be on your mind is the safety of your items. Some of the decorations can be very fragile and will require special handling. To ensure the maximum amount of protection, you are going to need to obtain suitable packing materials. Here are some of the main ones that you will need:

  • Plastic containers
  • Packing paper
  • Bubble wrapping
  • Packing peanuts
  • Packing tape
  • Plenty of padding

Of course, you need to tailor the materials toward the specific items you wish to store. There are a couple of solutions that you can employ. First, you can ask your local storage provider about recommendations. For example, if you are utilizing a self storage Marysville solution, you can contact the people that work there and have them provide you with a couple of tips. Alternatively, you may want to pay a visit to the local cosplay center. They have years of experience with storing all manner of props, costumes, and the like. They are sure to give you excellent advice and might even have some of the materials you can use.

Other considerations when storing Halloween decorations

After you obtain all the materials, there are a couple of additional things that you may want to consider before starting to pack. To provide your items with the best protection for their stay in the storage unit, you will want to:

  • Sort everything before you start packing
  • Be very careful
  • Label everything

There’s also the problem of transporting your belongings to a storage unit. Ideally, you will want to find a storage provider in your area that will come and pick up the Halloween decorations after you pack them. For example, if you are living in Mill Creek, and want to utilize one of the Mill Creek self storage options, PortaBox can provide you with such a service. Our team will arrive at your location, pick up your decorations and bring them to our secure storage unit. Alternatively, you can organize the transport on your own but you may need additional supplies. Depending on how many boxes/bins you need to transport, you may want to look into moving rope and similar items to protect your items during transit.

Best storage containers for the job

The most important things in this particular packing process are the containers. For Halloween decorations, you will want to opt for plastic containers instead of the regular cardboard ones. The reason for this is because they are much sturdier and way better at containing any spills. Since many of the decorations have something to do with pumpkins, paint, and similar, plastic bins are the way to go. You may also want to learn how to choose a storage container for specific items. But, in general, plastic containers are your number one option.

Sorting your decorations

You may want to start the sorting process while you are still using the decorations. All you need to do is walk around and make a list of all the Halloween items you will want to store. As some of the items will be stored together, this is the time to think about the container sizes. You can also write down which items go inside a specific box at this point. It will help you pack a lot more efficiently.

Or you can divide the decorations by theme (ghosts, pumpkins, figurines, costumes, props, etc.) and store those together. Or even think about the next year and how you want to utilize the decorations. Either way, you will want to have a plan for packing as well as unpacking.

Be careful when packing

When it comes to the packing of Halloween decorations, rule #1 is – Be careful. Most decorations are quite fragile, as they are usually made out of paper, ceramic, or even glass. Then there are the electronic bits that need special care. This is the time to utilize all the packing materials you previously acquired. Be generous with bubble wrapping and consider storing your decorations inside smaller boxes. Larger containers may feature some jostling, which can put some of your items in danger.

Another thing that you need to consider is the “hardware”. All those hooks, hangers, and similar can be quite dangerous to other decorations. You will want to pack those inside a special box, as they are quite sturdy.

This brings us to our last point. As you will be packing your items in different boxes, sometimes separating the pieces into several containers, you will need to find a way to organize the whole thing. And the best thing to help you with that are:

Labels

Whenever you finish packing a box, slap a label on it. Be as detailed as you possibly can be, as that will be of immense help when unpacking. While you may think “Yeah, I know where I packed what” (and you do), chances are when the time to unpack the decorations comes, your memory might be a bit fuzzy. But if you have every box carefully labeled, you will be able to refresh it in no time at all.

You will also want to “augment” your labels with a color-coded system when storing Halloween decorations. Let’s say that you mark all of the boxes with Halloween decorations orange. When the time to use these items comes again, you will know at a glance which boxes contain what you need.

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