We’ve all heard about spring cleaning and how it helps to start off the warm season with the right foot. If you were out and about enjoying the good weather and placed cleaning on the back burner, don’t worry! Summer is an ideal time to get everything in place before the cold weather, and it still gives you plenty of time to enjoy your garage and relax.

Where you visit your garage very sporadically or every day, organising it will help you find everything you need. So, what easy steps can you take to ensure your garage is organised this summer?

Help Yourself Find What You Need

Trying to find something you need and failing is a very frustrating feeling. It can be maddening to try to sort through piles and piles of your belongings, so ensuring that you have everything in its specific place will save you time.

Make sure that you organise smaller objects in labelled boxes or small organisers. Bigger things, if possible, can go on walls to keep them off the floor. Group similar items together in bins and make sure that the items that you access the most are at hand.

Transform Your Space

Have you ever dreamed of having a multi-purpose garage? Or perhaps you would like to have a space dedicated to a hobby that you love? When you free up floor space and utilise shelving units to their best use, you get the chance to explore other uses for your garage.

Whether you want to have a ‘man cave’, a home cinema, or a space completely dedicated to music, you can create your perfect room.

Organise Your Things

Clutter can be the bane of your existence. It’s so easy to just place things here and there and say ‘I’ll put them away later’ and then you never do. Take some time this summer to finish what you started and actually put your belongings away where they won’t bother you.

If you have valuable belongings in your garage, make sure to place them in storage boxes that resist any pest or mould from damaging them. Precious memories are to be treasured, and it can be heartbreaking to lose something you love.

Providing expert garage renting in the UK, here at Lock Up Garages we will help you find the solution you need. You can also get in touch with our friendly team if you want to know more about how we can help you find storage solutions.

Similar to garages, storage units provide ideal places for storing your belongings and possessions and to keep them safe. Many people buy storage units at auctions and, when they open them, what they find inside is often surprising. From vintage to very rare items, storage units can hide fantastic items that the world has been looking for for decades.

These are only a few examples of rare items found in storage units:

The First Superman Comic

Actor Nicholas Cage had his vintage comic book, “Action Comic No. 1” stolen 11 years before it was found in a storage unit in Southern California. Worth approximately $1 million, the comic is the first Superman one. A man contacted Mark Balelo, a collectables expert, saying how he’d bought a storage locker and found the comic inside.

A Rocket

There are a few shows focusing on storage unit auctions and what people can find in them. Auction Hunters is another of those shows, and Allen Haff and Clinton “Ton” Jones were at auctions throughout Miami and Fort Lauderdale while filming their season in 2011.

What they found was a NASA countdown clock and a rocket in Miami, which they paid $1,500 for the storage unit. Often, rare and strange items such as these can be found in the thousands of abandoned storage units around the world.

James Bond’s Submarine Car

For less than $100 in 1989, a man bought the contents of a storage unit in Long Island. After he and his brother opened the unit the next time, they found a white sports car missing wheels and with a dented roof. Dough Redenius, co-founder of the Ian Fleming Foundation, stated that the brothers had no idea how valuable their discovery was.

The car was the famous submarine car used by James Bond in the film The Spy Who Loved Me, from 1977. Eight versions of this car appear in the film but only seven had been accounted for until this discovery. The car was later sold to Tesla founder Elon Musk for $1 million.

Burt Reynolds’ Possessions

The actor acquired and collected both artefacts and memorabilia throughout his acting career and stored his possessions in storage units. He defaulted on his payment in 1999 and the units went up for auction. A group of people got together, however, and bought a lot of the items to found the Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum. These items included letters from other celebrities, Roy Rogers’ saddle, and honorary sheriff’s badges.

We provide secure storage for all of your (rare) possessions, so get in touch if you’re in need of a solution!

We all know that traditionally garages are bought, built and used for storing your car.

However, we believe the space can be used for much more than just somewhere to keep your car warm and safe at night. Whether you use the area for its main purpose or not, it can serve as an exciting and innovative space for many other things. From a gym to an office space, or even a home cinema, a garage can be an inexpensive and convenient way to get the space you’ve always dreamt of. But in what way is a garage more than just storage room for your car?

Other Vehicles

It’s not just cars that need a home, other vehicles do too! You may be more of a two-wheel driver and sport a motorbike, or even a bicycle. These vehicles still need a place to live, and your garage could be the perfect place. By storing your bike in the extra space in the garage, you can save possible trips and slips over wheels and pedals in the hallway. You could even store all three vehicles in the garage, if the space is big enough. You could even invest in aa bike rack for the wall.

Wasted Space

If you don’t drive at all and have that extra space to your advantage, you can still put it to use. You don’t want the space to be wasted. There are all kinds of ways you can put the space to use, simply dependant on what you need to store. It may be a case of you just have a bit of clutter, and we know the statement “out of sight, out of mind” is true in this case. Whether it be some DIY tools, old children’s toys or bric-a-brac you are waiting to sell at the local car boot sale, a garage could be the perfect solution.

Office or Studio Use

Monthly membership rates at a gym can be a bit steep, especially if you opt for a peak time membership. By using a garage space as a home gym, you won’t face any of these scary expenses, and you can visit the home gym at any time. Buying the equipment and stocking your own garage space out will work out much cheaper, and you can even bring friends round to take advantage of your new workout space.

Hybrid Room

The wonderful thing about a garage is that it can serve multiple purposes. If you are a jack of all trades, or simply have a lot going on, you could divide your garage up into different zones. One corner could be your office space, and the others could even be a workout zone, a corner for old clutter and the other for a sewing station or craft corner. Whatever you need the space for, garages tend to be big enough to use it for a variety of things.

At Lock Up Garages, we supply you with garages that serve many purposes, and all the above and more are feasible. If you would like to know any more information about our services and how our garages can help you out, simply get in touch. If you don’t have a garage at home, or even a car to store, a garage is much more than that and we would love to discuss how you can put our garages to use!

Now some of the world’s biggest and most respected companies, their humble beginnings can all be traced back to garages.

Your garage is truly what you make of it!

Disney

Walt Disney has always had a big fascination and love for cartooning, which translated to an interest in being an animator. Today’s highest-grossing media conglomerate started at Walt Disney’s uncle’s house in 1923. The ‘First Disney Studio’ started in the garage, with productions such as the Alice Comedies, part of the original Alice in Wonderland, being filmed on the premises.

Yankee Candle Company

Michael Kittredge made his first candle at 16 years old in 1969 from melted crayons, to give his mother as a gift. As his neighbours started expressing interest, he started to make more and in four years moved out of the garage to a bigger building. The Yankee Candle Company is now the US’ largest scented candle manufacturer.

Apple

Steve Wozniak started developing the baseline for Apple personal computers, the Apple I, with Steve Jobs at the latter’s garage. Assembling the circuit boards, building parts, and constructing everything needed was done from the garage. They managed to build 50 computers by hand in just 30 days.

Google

Now the best search website in the world, Google started in Susan Wojcicki’s garage in 1998. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Stanford Graduate students, based their operations at the garage for five months while indexing websites and developing algorithms. They outgrew the garage in a year, taking Susan along as their Vice President of Product Management.

Harley-Davidson

William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson worked out of a friend’s wooden shed in 1901 to build their motor-bicycle. The then equivalent to a garage was only 10 ft by 15 ft but they quickly expanded and formed their company in 1903. As the most well-known brand of high-octane and high-quality motorbikes, it seems hard to believe that their first prototype was for a small motored bicycle.

Dell

Beginning the Dell Computer Corporation in his off-campus dorm accommodation in 1984, Michael Dell started building his computers while still at the University of Texas at Austin. When confident that his business would be successful, he dropped out of university and ran his business from his garage. His computers began to sell really well in 1985, making him a gross profit of $73 million just in that first year.

Providing the best possible garages for rent, at Lock Up Garages we’re sure you’ll find what you need. Simply get in touch if you have any questions!

Have you ever wondered about the value of things that you keep in your garage? Or if other people have a hidden treasure hiding in their garage sale that they just don’t know about, perfect for you to discover and make a profit from for yourself? Well, some people have managed to do that by buying some of the strangest objects you might imagine. Not your usual garage sale buys in the slightest.

So, what are some of the weirdest things that people have found in their garages that turned out to be a treasure?

16^th Century Oil Painting

Have you ever watched the comedy series Are You Being Served? British comedy at its finest and the reason one man decided to buy a random painting, because it reminded him of his favourite character from the series. It was only later that he chose to translate a French inscription that he discovered it was actually a 1573 painting by the painter Francois Quesnel. Having it appraised he found that it was worth an estimated £5,000!

Not bad for a painting reminiscent of a sitcom.

Original Avengers Artboard

For comic book fans, this will create a great sense of jealousy. One little girl ventured to a garage sale and discovered some uncoloured drawings, wanting to colour them in she had her stepfather buy them for her. However, before he let a crayon touch paper he had the thought that perhaps the drawings would be worth something. They were: around $48,000. Unfortunately, they had also been reported stolen and arrests followed (though they were later released).

Declaration of Independence

Kind of. It wasn’t the official declaration locked up behind many layers of security, only accessible to the likes of Nicholas Cage, but a version of it. Many writers have a first draft, but the Declaration of Independence is perhaps one of the only documents with around 200 copies. John Quincy Adams commissioned 200 copies in 1820 to ensure it remained intact and independence was preserved no matter what, which this garage sale find just happened to be. Worth a reported $477,000: it seems there is a price for freedom after all.

Ancient Treasure

Looking for a new fruit bowl to act as the centrepiece of your dining table? Well, be careful what you put into your £2 garage sale finds as you may accidentally be using ancient treasure. Instead of a pretty bowl, it was actually a 1,000-year-old Chinese treasure. It’s quality and intact state meant that it sold for approximately £2.2 million… a profit made one million times over.

At Lock Up Garages, we specialise in providing garages for rent up and down the country. If you would like to find out more about any of our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team by calling 020 8882 8575 and we will be more than happy to advise you further.

With temperatures rising, it’s essential that your possessions are safe inside your garage. After all, the heat can ruin them easily and when you put things in storage, you want them to be safe at all times; the last thing you want is to be constantly stressing about whether or not they’re getting damaged!

However, no amount of careful thinking will help if you are storing items that should never be kept in a garage. We have already looked at some of these items, such as books and wood, so what else shouldn’t you store in your garage?

Wine

This beverage always needs to be stored in the appropriate place, which is why many wine lovers invest in their own cellar. However, you don’t need to build a cellar in your home in order to keep your wine safe – you just need to avoid storing it in the garage, especially in summer! When wine becomes too warm, the taste won’t be the same. In addition, both the wine and the wine can expand, which will allow air to enter the bottle and, of course, ruin the wine!

Vinyl Records

You might not have a lot of space in your home for your vinyl collection, but your garage should never be on top of your list for storing records. Mice and other critters nest in celluloid, and mould and mildew can grow on the surface of the vinyl and on the paper case, completely ruining them. Also, the heat will ruffle and coil the materials, rendering your records useless.

Mattresses

Again, it might seem like a good idea to store old or unused mattresses in the garage (out of sight, out of mind), but this couldn’t be further from the truth! Mattresses become exposed to a variety of unpleasant things while there, from rodents and insects to dust and humidity. No matter how insulated the garage is, you still run the risk of damaging the mattress.

Paintings

Storing paintings in a garage is also never a good idea, especially if they’re valuable! With the humidity and heat levels always present inside garages, you would be exposing them to differences in temperature and wetness – this, of course, will not do your paintings any favours. These delicate items should be stored in more appropriate locations, in order for them to not become damaged.

Garages are great places to store (nearly) everything, so take a look at our lock-up garages and how they can help you keep your possessions safe and organised!

Summer is almost here and so you may be beginning to think about all of the things that you will be buying and need to store. Whether it’s a new bike or something a little more exotic, making a room for your summer purchases is an important task. Or you may just want to give your garage a good old clean, either way, you will need a plan of action to get your organisation underway.

Here are some tips to get you started:

Box It

It may seem obvious, but many people struggle to find space in the garage as they have piled items into the space without thought over a long period of time. You may be surprised by how much space you can actually save by putting these ragtag items into boxes. Boxes neatly stack away, hold a plethora of things that you might not want to have just lying around and make moving all of your items that much easier next time.

Start from Scratch

This one is a high effort and high reward method. The idea is that you take everything out of the garage, then meticulously go through and place it back inside in a much more space-saving fashion. This method also means that for a time you have a free garage which you can spruce up in itself to make the space feel new. A bit of paint could be the perfect solution to do just this, especially if its white as it can help your space feel like a much bigger space.

Sort Your Items

Sometimes, grouping your items together can be the best way to sort your garage and make it much more accessible. Group together everything of the same type – i.e. your bikes, files and other similar items – and designate them a particular area of the garage. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous you can even label all of these and put in them in alphabetical order. This is the path to a super organised garage.

Delete the Waste

Of course, a final way you can organise your garage is by eliminating some of the items altogether. Throw away the excess items that you no longer have a need for. Take the time to finally part with that long-forgotten gym equipment, the rusty outdoor benches or other miscellaneous items you forgot you even had. Start throwing and save today!

At Lock Up Garages, we specialise in providing garages for rent up and down the country. If you would like to find out more about any of our services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team by calling 020 8882 8575 and we will be more than happy to advise you further.

So, get your gloves and cleaning supplies and get ready to deep clean your garage!

Follow these three simple steps and you’ll be finished in no time:

Decluttering

Garages tend to get cluttered very quickly, which makes it difficult for you to navigate and find what you need. Clutter can become dangerous, as you can trip over something and seriously injure yourself. In addition, if you happen to have any mould in your garage, you might not be able to see it due to having piles and piles of your belongings.

Make sure to remove what you don’t use and don’t need, so that you can have more space in your garage. You can give away items you don’t need to charity, and be sure that someone in need will appreciate them.

Cleaning

After decluttering, make sure to thoroughly clean your garage. Allergens are particularly harmful, and dust or mould need to be taken care of so that you don’t develop or worsen any health issues. With asthma being a big concern, ensure that every object is properly cleaned. You might not have realised that your cardboard boxes have developed mould, so check them all individually.

Sort through your possessions and make piles of what you don’t need. Donate them to charity or to friends, to make sure that they are still utilised and not wasted!

Organising

Take some time to think about how you want to organise your belongings. Do you need shelving? More boxes? How often do you need to access what belongings? An efficient system will ensure that your possessions occupy less space and that you can reach them quickly when you need them.

Label boxes, shelves, and everything else. You’ll find that you’re more organised and the effects will be seen on your mood. An organised garage leaves you less stressed and worried, and you can relax and focus on what matters to you!

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a long process. Start small and work your way up to the bigger items for an efficient organisational method. If you need a garage to storage your growing amount of possessions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us! Our friendly team is always available to answer any questions you might have, providing you with the best possible service.

This could be down to poor drainage, ventilation, and little natural light, all of which are a haven for mould growth, as mould thrives in damp, dark environments.

Mould is removable but you want to be able to prevent it forming as best as you can; here are a variety of ways on how to prevent mould from forming in your garage.

Dehumidifier –  Installing a dehumidifier will lower the moisture levels in your garage. Water is a large factor in what causes mould, and so reducing the water within will reduce the risk of mould. A healthy level of humidity should be between 30-50% of the room, any higher than this will be a danger sign of mould to fest.

Natural light and air – if you can, open your garage door for a couple of hours a day to keep fresh air spreading throughout the space. Adequate ventilation will reduce the risk of mould forming and spreading.

Dry area – you should remove any standing water which you come across in your garage. Wipe any surfaces using a sponge to soak up any moisture to lower the risk.

Shelves – try not to keep your items on the floor and keep them on shelves if possible. This is to prevent moisture infesting your belongings which will spread throughout your garage.

Roof – check your roof is in good condition as if there are any gaps, water will find its way through. On days where the weather is very bad, this can cause a problem. This combined with bad ventilation will be a huge cause for mould to form and that is what you want to prevent. Also check your garage door too, as a lot of the doors rarely have a tight seal to the floor when shut, which allows water to get in.

Replace Cardboard – cardboard and wood are prime objects for mould to form from, this is due to the items insulating and capturing moisture in the air which forms the mould and it spreads from there. Cardboard and wood get damp very easily and quickly which is certainly not what you want in this sort of environment. Replacing these two with plastic will eliminate the risk of that happening, preventing mould from forming.

Waterproof paint – Using waterproof paint on the walls or concrete will stop moisture from sticking and forming, which is another prevention for mould to form.

Mould growth not only damages the structure of the garage but also its containments. If mould has formed it can be removed by scrubbing thoroughly with bleach and warm water, after which, drying thoroughly, but you must take safety precautions if doing so. However, if you take these points into consideration, you should be able to prevent mould from forming in your garage.

Storage units are fantastic for a large number of applications, from helping you make the best garage sale ever to serving as a workshop space. They are also ideal for business! Your lockup garage can give you all the extra room you need to conduct your business, whether in terms of storage or in regard to actual office space. And the best thing about storage units is that they are extremely cost-effective, saving you the money of renting office space somewhere else!

Store Your Office Away

If you’re running a business from home, having extra space can go a long way! If you’re storing desks, documents, boxes, etc., in your own home you might quickly run out of available space – however, if you keep the essentials at home and store the rest (such as equipment) in a separate location, storage units can free up space and allow you to operate your business in a much roomier place. This way, your business won’t take over your home!

In addition, you can keep stock in self-storage, which means that you don’t need to worry about storing products in your home until you sell them. Other items you can store include bulky promotional displays, tools and equipment and archives.

Work from Your Lockup Garage

If, on the other hand, you don’t want to conduct business from home, you also have the option of working from your self-storage unit. The advantages this brings are many. Not only will you have plenty of space for everything you need, but you’ll also have all the necessary peace and quiet to focus on work. Your home-life can get in the way of work, so keeping the two things separate can be more productive!

There are many types of businesses you can run from your storage unit, such as eBay reseller, arts and crafts, mechanic, photo studio, video editing, and much, much more. The options are limitless and can help you achieve the results you’re looking for, whether you’re just starting out, you own a small business or you’re looking to expand.

Many start-ups begin in garages and storage units (and whole shows are even dedicated to them!), which just goes to show the importance these units play in our everyday lives. They might have originated as a way for homeowners to store items that were taking up too much space at home, but now they have a lot of different purposes – using them as an office is only one amongst many!

Take advantage of our amazing prices and fantastic garages to take your business to the next level – we’re always here to answer any queries you might have, so don’t hesitate to contact us.