It’s been 1 week since we held our “Free Shredding” for Customer Appreciation Day”

Our customers are still coming in to Thank us and Pouch for releasing a bit of stress off them. 

Whether you are moving to a new living space, office, or simply living in a home that’s too small for your belongings, a self-storage unit can be a valuable resource. It helps to have a plan so you can easily access your belongings. Read on for a few tips on preparing your belongings for storage.

Make an Organization Plan
It is important to store items in an organized manner, especially if you plan on  visiting your storage unit on a regular basis . Keep holiday decorations or seasonal items towards the back of the storage unit so you have room for things you will use on a regular basis at the front. This allows you to access them easily whenever needed. Be sure to keep boxes that contain fragile items on top of sturdier ones that can easily support the weight without breaking.

Choose a Storage Unit
Choosing the right storage unit is crucial for keeping belongings safe and organized. You are more likely to accidentally break items if you are attempting to shove them into a space that simply has no room. It may be a good idea to use a storage unit that is a little bigger than you might need; this way, you can access your belongings easily and have extra room for any additional items you may want to add later.

Pack Your Items
While packing items may seem like a straightforward task, different methods do vary in efficiency. Make sure you pack your items in sturdy, quality boxes. These are preferable to bags because they not only protect your belongings, but also stack easily. Use bubble wrap to offer extra protection to your fragile items. You should also label each side of each box so you can identify its contents regardless of the way it is stored.

If you would like more information about preparing your belongings for self storage, contact a POUCH Self Storage Specialist at any POUCH Self Storage & RV location,  visit our website  or call us at (888) 927-6052. We provide service to LA, San Bernardino and the Orange County area.

Sometimes we meet some very interesting people with very interesting stories to tell. Meet Nora, one of our customers here at Trabuco Self Storage. She came into the office and asked if we had some sort of automatic payment because she wouldn’t be around for about a year. Usually that isn’t unusual in our type of business that someone stores their belongings because they are going away. For some reason curiosity sparked me to ask where she was going.  The story was nothing less than fantastic.

Nora is a former teacher and somewhat of a risk taker. Beginning on October 1st she is setting out for the journey of a lifetime, to walk from the California coast to Boston, MA by herself, in 10 months. She is starting in Laguna and following Route 66 during the day, and camping out in the night, she expects the trip to take 10 months to complete. She is walking to honor and raise awareness for a disease her sister has called Huntington’s Disease.  I asked her if there was a way that we can follow her progress as it is very interested, and by permission she allowed me to share with you her journey. She will be post her progress on her Instagram account. http://instagram.com/tenmonthstoboston feel free to follow her progress.

On our truck moves, sometimes we see interesting things. On this particular truck move, we were able to see a squirrel in the deep congestion of Long Beach. With businesses everywhere, the port not far away, and a great amount of vehicle traffic, seeing the beauty of nature really reminds us how wonderful Long Beach can be.

A tenant here at Pouch Self-Storage – Anaheim thought he had a great find today.  He was in his unit looking for items to sell on Craig’s List. He came downstairs and headed to his car with items on his cart. He noticed a bike left by our dumpster. He thought, “ Wow, someone is throwing this away? I can get something for it on Craig’s List! “ So, into the car his new found treasure went. About an hour later, another tenant came downstairs, and saw that his bike was gone! He said, “ Someone stole my bike! “ I asked him, “ Where did you leave it? “ He said right next to the dumpster. I asked him why he didn’t lock it in the bike rack we have outside. “ I don’t have a lock. “, he replied. I told him maybe we can see who might have thought it was left for trash. I quickly reviewed our security cameras and located the incident. Sure enough, I could see who it was and called him immediately. He returned shortly with the bike and apologized for the misunderstanding. The bike’s owner said he completely understood and took responsibility for not properly securing his bike. They shook hands and parted. The bike’s owner came back into the office and thanked me for my assistance. I told him I was glad I could help. I also mentioned that we sell locks!

We had one tenant who came in and invited us to attend one of her events.  She teaches canvas painting and showed us some of the works done by her students for the first time.  She also mentioned that she decided to rent with us because of the easy access to her unit but most of all the safety she feels when she’s at our facility.

When it comes to moving your belongings to a new living space, things can easily become disorganized. There are, however, ways you can stay on task and enjoy a stress-free move. Watch this video for a look at how labeling your moving boxes can help your move.

Pack your belongings by the room from which they came. Do not mix items from different rooms—pack bedroom items with other bedroom items and not with things that go in your bathroom. Label each box by the room it should be unpacked in, and include a list of contents. This will facilitate an organized and focused move.

For additional moving tips, call the  Storage Specialists  at POUCH Self Storage & RV. Our self-storage facilities proudly serve Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. If you would like to know more about our business, please feel free to visit our website at  www.pouchselfstorage.com  or you can call us at (888) 927-6052.

We had a tenant who has not been here for quite some time now.  He showed up and he needed to take his RV out.  Knowing for a fact that it was not used for a long time we told him he might need to check the battery to make sure it will start.  He was quite confident that it will.  He tried for at least an hour and nothing happened.  While he was doing that we tried to locate a towing truck for him.  So when he came in to the office, he said he needed help.  We immediately gave him the number to call.  He appreciated it very much that we’re on top of what he needed.  He called the tow truck company and in no time he was out.  

This week’s Happenings is an extension of last week’s Happenings. Yet again, Chris having such great customer service skills another tenant showed his appreciation by bringing Chris a bouquet of flowers. Go Chris!!!!!!!!

KYODO

SEP 22, 2014

NAGOYA – Despite the popularity of koalas, the number of those kept in Japanese zoos has been more than halved from the mid-1990s peak as their population continues to grow old.

The difficulty of accommodating their fussy eating habits — they feed exclusively on eucalyptus leaves, which are expensive to grow in Japan — is also overshadowing their future in this country.

The first koalas arrived at Japanese zoos in 1984, with the number rising to nearly 100 by 1997, living in nine zoos. Since then, their numbers have continued to dwindle, falling to around 40 at present.

Most koalas in Japan are past breeding age, and mating opportunities for younger ones are declining amid concerns over the risks of inbreeding.

To inject fresh blood into the aging zoo population, an arrangement has been made to introduce six new koalas from Australia, the animal’s only native habitat. They will be the first new koalas to come to Japan in three years.

Masami Kurobe, an expert at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Nagoya, said bringing in new koalas is the only remaining option to stem their decline in Japan. Still, he warned that successful mating may not be easy since koalas are known to be picky when it comes to partners.

“It’s unclear whether this will immediately lead to breeding,” Kurobe said.

Higashiyama Zoo, which cares for five koalas, is responsible for coordinating breeding for the species across zoos nationwide.

Koalas typically live about 10 years when kept in zoos. Threatened by creeping urban development, the loss of forests and car accidents, their population in the wild in Australia has also been shrinking. In 2012, the Australian government designated the koala as an endangered species.

When Japanese zoos keep koalas from Australia, they are required to grow their own eucalyptus trees to make sure a fresh supply of leaves is available at any time. Koalas are very choosy eaters — while they feed exclusively on eucalyptus, they often stop eating if continually served the same variety of leaves.

Higashiyama Zoo grows around 30 varieties of eucalyptus in four locations. Since chemicals can’t be used, bugs have to be removed by hand, bringing the annual cost of growing the eucalyptus to upwards of ¥50 million.

A single koala is more than three times as costly to feed as an elephant, and that rises to more than 17 times when compared with a lion. In fact, the cost of feeding a single koala each year eats up more of Nagoya’s municipal budget than the mayor’s annual pay, which is around ¥8 million.

The Okinawa Zoo and Museum had been keeping three koalas, but the last one died in 2010. Growing eucalyptus trees on the storm-prone subtropical island was a challenge that occupied much of the zookeepers’ time.

“Eucalyptus trees are vulnerable to typhoons and sea breezes as they fall over easily,” a keeper at the Okinawa Zoo recalled. “We were always busy running around.”

Last year, in an attempt to raise awareness about the difficulty of taking care of koalas, Higashiyama Zoo solicited online donations to help cover the feeding costs, collecting around ¥5 million. And yet the initiative drew criticism from people skeptical about keeping koalas at such an astronomical cost.

Kurobe framed the importance of keeping koalas at Japanese zoos as a matter of contingency planning for when the wild koala population is further threatened.

“It’s impossible to keep koalas without people who know a lot about their life and needed facilities,” he said. “The number of koalas in the wild in Australia is rapidly declining, so maybe, continuing to keep (koalas) in Japan will provide some insurance in case of extinction.”

**Note this article originally appears in Japan Times and can be read and referenced here: Japan Times Article ***