The first time I heard about a moving pod was when my cousin moved home from college in Connecticut back to Los Angeles to start her new career. It was a “hybrid” move: part do-it-yourself, part professional movers. What’s more, my cousin hadn’t found a place to live, so she was able to “couch surf” at family and friends’ houses while she looked for a new pad, all the while her stuff was safe and dry in the moving pod storage facility down the street. Nice.
Today I was watching an episode of “Designed to Sell” where they talked about how the main problem in selling the feature home was due to all the CL u TT e R. This is a common issue with many homes needing to be sold and is probably one of the easiest problems to solve. Most professional organizers suggest homeowners or renters sort through their stuff and place them into one of three categories:
1. Sell-via friends or family, garage sale, or classifieds (eh, hem…like, DiggersList.com)
2. Donate-there are many organizations like the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army who would welcome gently used items. Currently, Habitat for Humanity is donating portions of their sales to Haiti relief efforts (see: DiggersList Blog).
3. Trash-This should be a last resort. In light of the Haiti earthquakes, we might take a second look to see if there are any items we can donate to one of the organizations above (books, sheets, blankets, toys (or even parts of toys), baskets, etc.). These efforts will be in force for many months, if not years, to come.
I gathered from this episode, that there’s another option:
4. Pods-If you still have things that you don’t want to sell, donate, or trash-try storing them! I noticed that the “Design to Sell” crew had placed a POD outside the featured home. This is another great solution to facilitate the “de-cluttering” and staging of your house to sell.
Picture this: You decide to sell your home. You look around at the years of acquiring, collecting, and storing of things, things, and more things. “I must de-clutter!” you wisely say to yourself. You start sorting and organizing-selling, donating, trashing. You’ve done well. Still, your sister, mother, friend, or neighbor (umm…armchair stagers) says “There’s still too much stuff in here!”. Enter: moving pod (i.e. PODS, 1-800-PACK-RAT, Smart Move, Door to Door). You can now store away, for as long as you need to sell and stage your home, all the excess items, furniture, boat, motorcycle, etc., that you wish to take with you to your new place!
After doing some research, I realized moving pods are not only convenient, they’re flexible, too. Here are some basic features:
• Pods of many different sizes/volumes are dropped off at your residence (check for specific drop-off requirements-you might need permission from your building manager if stored for more than one day). You can keep the pod at your home for as long as you wish-one day, to one month. You move on your schedule.
• Pods come with special fasteners (clasps and strong points) depending on the size and shape of your items for secure moving.
• Pods can hold/move boats and vehicles-because pods are placed on ground level, there is no need for special lifts or cranes to load.
• Pods are environmentally controlled for items such as wines, fabrics and leathers, electronics, etc.
• You can store your pod at their storage facility for as long or short as you wish and have access to store more or retrieve items at your convenience.
The cons: price. A storage facility is usually less expensive a month; however, you will need to hire a truck and pay for gas and possibly insurance-an even draw? My suggestion would be to “haggle” with your pod distributor to see if they can meet or come close to the price of standing storage.
Pods…there not just for peas anymore…they’re also for pea-ple! Ba-dum-bump!
