Looking after caravans, campervans and the odd ice-cream van...

Nature's own beautiful firework display is now available for everyone to enjoy and there are some amazing colours out there. Reminding us to make the most of the milder weather and sunshine, especially with the darker nights this week, before we have to batten down the hatches and resort to an evening in front of the flickering screen. Many caravan and campervan owners have returned after their last outing at half term and are wondering whether that large vehicle now parked in their garden, blocking the way and the sunlight, is actually quite such a good idea for the whole of the winter.

This could be why have seen a steady stream of mobile homes in all shapes and sizes wending their way into our storage depot from the local villages and as far away as London - we are very close to the M40. This is such a cost-effective way to ensure that these very valuable vehicles are kept securely over the winter months. We are even arranging for some of the campervans to have an MOT, so that the owners do not have to travel to us and waste a very boring morning having this routine, but essential work carried out. Interiors can be kept totally pristine by using a couple of moisture absorbing Absorpoles for sale at our packing shop.

One very relieved caravan owner arrived just before dark yesterday, as her vehicle had been vandalised and broken into on the drive outside her house and storing it with us meant that there was no need to repair the damage immediately - it could be done at her leisure and the caravan was totally secure stored here. Another relieved ice-cream van owner came all the way from Basingstoke, not because his van was damaged, but because he needed somewhere very secure to keep his van stored for the winter months. Using our start-up service means that he can be assured that the vehicle will start immediately when spring arrives and the demand for ice-cream resumes. Perhaps one of the celebrity chefs should promote baked Alaska then he could sell ice-cream all year round, but then we would lose a customer - so not such a good idea!

National Declutter Week 23-31st October

Here we are just about to embark on National Declutter Week (23rd - 31st October). There are probably not many people out there who are aware of this, or who have even heard of decluttering. In our throwaway society it is easy to accumulate, or even hoard far too many things that we never use again. Taking a week to consider decluttering options could be very beneficial. It's actually quite a lberating experience to get rid of all those unwanted items. For those with children, it is half-term, so they could assist in the process. Mid-October is the ideal time to clear out before Christmas.

Many of your unwanted items can be recycled: take them to the local charity shop: www.charityshops.org.uk, for furniture re-use: www.frn.org.uk, or to www.ethicalecoart.co.uk for unwanted items to be incorporated into furniture design renaissance, your local freecycling group www.freecycle.org.ui, your local scrapstore, for Oxford is: www.orninoco.org.uk. If you still feel emotionally attached to something and are not quite ready for that separation, why not compromise and put it into storage? You can even come and visit it if needs be!

There are decluttering organisations with professionals who will come into your home/office and help you with those difficult decisions. Two local ones that we work with are: www.clearlyorganised.co.uk - Naomi Saunders and www.lesleyanngentry.com - Lesley Ann Gentry.
Further hints and tips on decluttering are available at: www.storage.co.uk/national-declutter-week

Social media works!

We have heard today that we have won the storage.co.uk award for Social Media Integration, so what would be more appropriate than making an announcement about it on our blog! Having been somewhat lax in adding new content for the past few weeks, it seems a good time to get going again.

This just goes to show that social media is becoming a very useful tool for marketing and general communication within the business community and that more and more people are recognising the benefits of using some, if not all of them: Twitter, Faceboook, Youtube and of course a blog.



Note to self - make sure our storage news is added again on a regular basis

'Start-ups think inside the box'

Yes, the papers do sometimes speak the truth! We are able to completely verify this, because following the recent article by Rachel Bridge in the Business Section of the ‘Sunday Times’ http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article7120550.ece , where she extols the virtues of starting and running a business from a self-storage centre: comfirming that there is no need to become locked into a long-term rental agreement, and that you can operate the space used on a pay-as-you go system, we have just had another start-up business take on one of our ‘offices in a box’. They are importing and supplying specialist saw blades.

The first delivery of the blades is arriving next week and there is storage space available just opposite the office unit. This is all very exciting and as the orders start to take off, we can arrange the courier collections and ensure that all parcels received in are put in the correct place, even when the owner is not here (he will be able to take a holiday, as we can keep it all ticking over for him).

Should several of his customers need to meet with him at one time, or he needs to give a presentation, then the meeting and training rooms are available for hire at an hourly rate in the serviced offices on the Business Park - right next door. As his business grows there is ample space and the facilities available to accommodate it. It’s a no-brainer really!

Word of mouth recommendation really works!

The effect of word-of-mouth recommendation is often the strongest form of marketing your business. This has certainly been the case for us recently, when an accountant we knew realized that his client was a victim of her own success and struggling to cope with all the new business she was getting.

During maternity leave she started to design knitwear and was incredibly successful at having her designs accepted by a very high profile fashion chain. This entailed sourcing a knitwear manufacturer in China to create her product for her and ship them to the U.K.

A small family home is just about able to cope with the arrival of the new range for each season, as they are shipped out quickly to the retailer, but when they have been launched into an e-commerce site as well and there are then potentially hundreds of new clients to be shipped to, her family home is literally bursting at the seams.

This is where we have been able to come in. Each new range is now being shipped direct to us from China, we check it and put it into store. We then deliver out the wholesale stock to the retailers, along with all the smaller orders for the individual customers. We are even coping with any of the returns that come back.

Our client can now concentrate on her core business of designing the knitwear, along with its marketing – the part that she enjoys and leave the humdrum pick, pack and dispatch side to us – the part that we have the expertise in. Everyone’s a winner!

Not just social networking

Learning about social networking, how to check if your website is user-friendly and make hats were some of the things in store for us when we recently attended and had a stand at the 'Build a Better Business Event' hosted by ‘The Late Breakfast’ at the Milton Park Innovation Centre. Phil Heard from 1 Stop Insurance Consultants Ltd. had an even better time, as he was the lucky winner of our competition and he won a £50 voucher for a meal and drinks at The Jam Factory in Oxford – ‘What a wonderful surprise’ he said. If you don’t like surprises, but would like to be treated to something wonderful, just take out six months’ storage with us (see blog entry below) and we will have a voucher sent out to you by return post – so simple! Call us for further details on: 01865 891406

Eat out on Barretts Storage

It’s sometimes difficult to justify giving yourself a treat, especially as we are still being told that we are not out of the woods yet with this recession. We have all been lead to believe that the ‘dining in’ is the new ‘dining out’, but there is nothing like the real thing, being able to chose a meal, a good wine and been waited upon. So, we thought that this should be available to our customers!

We are now offering the opportunity to have a free meal and drink voucher worth £50 at the Jam Factory in Oxford for any customers who pay for six months’ storage in advance (on midi vaults and above). That’s all there is to it, there are no hidden clauses and we hope that you will drink a toast to your goods being held in our store! There is no reason, with the offer still open, why you can’t go out for another meal in six months’ time too! Contact: info@barretts-selfstorage.co.uk for more information