3 Hacks For Chinese New Year Spring Cleaning

With Chinese New Year right around the corner, most people are planning to start their spring cleaning activities to welcome the lunar New Year. If you still have not started your CNY spring cleaning, here are three spring cleaning hacks to speed up the cleaning process.

Create a cleaning plan

Never start without a plan. If you are short of time, gather your family and divide the workload to cover different parts of the home. Each family member can clean and handle their personal room for a start. For common areas such as the living room and kitchen, each family member can handle any one of these cleaning objectives: decluttering, mopping, and vacuuming. They can also plan to do it on different days of the week when they are free.

With a cleaning plan and schedule, you will also know who is in charge and how much time is required. This strategy will help reduce the time needed to figure out who and what to do, especially if you are short of time.

Seek professional help

Really busy (or too lazy) to do the cleaning yourself? Don’t fret. You can always seek professional help. There are many part-time cleaners that you can engage in Singapore. Just check out companies such as Helping, HomeFresh, HelperGo etc., who will provide professionally trained housekeepers at an affordable cost starting from $18/hour.

If you are new to these cleaning services, you might even enjoy a first-time promotion which could be a good time to try, especially during the Chinese New Year period.

Declutter and organise your home

Planning for your small reunion dinner or gathering at home this year? Start decluttering your home so that your loved ones can enjoy more space. It might also be a good time to recycle or donate items of good condition to people or organisations in need, so you can also share the blessings with them while making more room at home.

For individuals or families who are looking to store their seasonal or festive items and hardly used furniture sets, you can also rent a self-storage unit to store all of these items. These self-storage units can come in handy as they are like an extension of your home space which you can access 24 hours, any time, any day.

This Chinese New Year, be the first 20 new customers to sign up for any walk-in unit with a minimum of 6 months storage duration, you can also enjoy more perks on top of existing discounts such as:

• Extra 2000 e-points if you sign up for an account under the Yes! app
• $200 movers rebate if you are renting a walk-in unit
• An exclusive limited-edition Extra Space Asia red packet set

Call us today at 6771 3100 to find out more about our various storage options available.

Click here to learn more about our Chinese New Year promotions today!

Miss having a casual chit chat with your coworkers in the office? We totally get that feeling! However, with the ongoing COVID situation, working from home will definitely remain the default option for most organisations to keep everyone safe. In this case, why not find ways to make your work-from-home (WFH) more joyful during this pandemic?

Here are 3 tips for you!

1. Give yourself a break

Unlike working in the office when lunchtime is determined by when your colleagues eat, there is no fixed timing (read: milestones of the day) when you are working from home. Time can become unclear, and you might even miss those meal breaks altogether. As such, remember to give yourself a break of at least an hour to eat your meals peacefully away from your workstation. You can order food in advance and eat it when they are hot. Intentional breaks will make your day better, and you can avoid suffering burnout too, which is quite common when people start working from home. Remember to also not overwork as we know it is hard to know when the workday ends. Give yourself a break when you need it cause only you know your body best!

2.Upgrade your home office setup

In the initial stages of working from home, some of us might think that this is a short-term plan. However, as time passes, WFH has become a common default arrangement. When we’re in the office, we probably have an ergonomic chair and a proper workstation. But at home, most of us would just settle for a kitchen table and basic chair or even stool. Why not give yourself some upgrades to improve your work efficiency but also bring overall benefits to your health? These upgrades can include an ergonomic office chair and laptop stands, tech upgrades like a wireless mouse and a good desktop monitor. Another benefit of WFH is the flexibility of choosing where to work in your home, so try testing different spots in your home to find the best place to work. Your body will definitely thank you over time.

3. Create a comfortable home space

When you WFH, it can become common to spend a good 24 hours at home. As such, consider creating a comfortable home space where you can work and rest. Start by decluttering your home and throw or donate items that you no longer require. If you have bulky items or even seasonal items that take up a lot of space at home, you can also try storing them in storage facilities like Extra Space Asia Self Storage and enjoy more space at home.

By storing your items in a self-storage unit, you will still be able to enjoy 24 hours access to your items any time and any day. You can also use the storage unit for your family, personal and even business storage purpose. Click here to find out more about Extra Space Asia Self-Storage.

After you are done with decluttering, you can also try spicing up your home with a new wallpaper or buying some green plants to add some new colours to your home space. Hopefully, with these new additions, it will be more joyful for you to work at home.

When you have children at home, expect toys, books and knick-knacks scattered all over the floor. We know this mess can be frustrating to look at. But it does not have to be that way. Here are 3 smart ways for all parents to try today!

1. Make use of storage boxes

One affordable way to organise all of our kid’s toys, books and miscellaneous items is to use storage boxes. Parents can instantly make a room look more orderly and clean by storing all of these items in different storage boxes and labelling them.

Parents can also explore the option of using transparent storage boxes, so that they can see the contents inside easily without opening each and every box to find something. It will also be good to have different sizes of boxes so that every item in the room has a dedicated storage space. For even more space, you can also think about adding furniture with clever built-in storage compartments.

2. Involve your kids

Good habits start young. It is never too early to introduce and instil good healthy habits in our children. So, encourage them to clean up their toys after playtime. We can start by organising the items in their room properly so that they get accustomed to seeing things in an orderly and organised manner. Once they are older, they can be a part of your small cleaning and home projects. By building all of these good habits regularly, our children will soon learn and make an effort to keep their items and room organised.

3. Explore the KonMari Method

Parents can try the KonMari method, Marie Kondo’s minimalist-inspired approach to tackle your items by category instead of by room. This method begins with tidying our clothes, then moving on to books, papers, miscellaneous items and finally sentimental items. We should only keep items that speak to the heart and discard those that no longer spark joy in our life. We can thank these items for being in our lives and then let them go.

By utilising the KonMari method, it will also help to organise every aspect of the kid’s room. This will also allow our kids to let go of stuff that they don’t require. If the items are still in good condition, we can choose to donate and pass it on to people who would find them useful. Through this process, we can also educate our children about the benefits of decluttering, where we are giving their items a new home and not just getting rid of it. We understand that the process of decluttering and organising a room takes loads of time and effort. However, if the end result is a clean and organised room for children to play, study and sleep in, it will definitely be rewarding.

With these 3 smart tips, you can say goodbye to the stress and frustration when organising your kid’s bedroom. If you are planning to make even more space at home to live in comfortably, you can always consider storing those hardly used items or seasonal items in a self-storage facility like Extra Space Asia. Call us at 6771 3100 today to find out more about the various storage plans.

New Year, new me. That’s what many of us say on the first day of a brand new year. But instead of just a ‘new me’, why not include changing up your home situation for the better too? With many of us still working from home, our homes have become a place where we live for more than 12 hours a day. So it’s definitely important that we find simple ways to keep our home clean and organised. We’ve come up with these 3 simple ways which can be applied any day and any time.

1. Tackle one room at a time

Most of our homes will include more than one room on top of the living room space. This means that you’d definitely need more time and effort to clean up every inch and corner of your home if you were to tackle it all at once. The easier (and forgiving) way would be to clean up room by room. You can always start with the messiest room or the room where you spend most of your time in. Start from the floor space, followed by your closet or your table. By combing these space section by section, you can start finding pockets of space.

You should also find time on a daily or weekly basis to do some personal hygiene tasks such as vacuuming and mopping your floor, changing your bedsheets and curtains, cleaning the surfaces that you often use like your desktop or vanity top to ensure that they are clean with minimal dust accumulation.

2. Remove messy corners

We all have that one messy corner in our home where we would just happily leave our items there, and watch it slowly start to pile up like a mountain. Instead of that, consider clearing and wiping up the mess way before it starts to clutter. You can start by clearing up the current messy corner and make use of storage boxes to hold your small knick-knacks.

Try buying the same type of storage boxes so that if you need to stack them up in your room, it’ll be more consistent and organised looking too. You can also purchase transparent storage boxes instead of those opaque ones so that you’ll be able to find your items much easier over time without the hassle of opening each container. You should also place small labels on each storage boxes so that you can categorise them easier. Also, consider stacking the items from top to bottom according to how often you use the items. This will save you time and effort in future should you need to use the items.

3. Declutter your room

In need of extra space to grow your personal collection, work comfortably and for your kids to play? Start your decluttering your home by first removing items which are hardly used. Once you’ve cleared these items either by throwing or donating them, you’ll be able to enjoy more space at home. With these newfound space, you’ll also be able to move furniture around to create a new vibe for your home. However, if after clearing up those unwanted items, you’re still in need of extra space for business or personal reasons, you can explore the idea of storing the bigger bulky items, seasonal items and even business items in a self-storage facility.

By storing in a self-storage facility such as Extra Space Asia Self- Storage, you’ll still be able to retrieve these items any time, any day as your storage unit is accessible 24/7. You can also contact the self-storage provider today at 6771 3100 to find out more about their various storage solutions for personal and business use or even wine storage.

As we approach the holiday season, many of us would be busy preparing our home for the festivities. Despite the ongoing safe distancing measures, we can still find ways to bask in the joy of the holidays. If you’re planning to host your family and friends at home, here are 3 steps to guide you through your prep.

1. Declutter and clean up your home

Your first step is to clean up and declutter your living space. By going through the decluttering process, you might also be able to create extra space for your gathering sessions to sit and chill. You can start this process with your living room, dining area and kitchen as these will be the main gathering areas. Take this opportunity to go through your closets and cupboards and throw or donate items that you no longer need.

If you’re in need of more space at home, you can also explore the option of storing your personal collection, family items or even home furnishing and festive items that you hardly use in a storage unit. Storage providers such as Extra Space Asia Self-Storage provides flexible storage terms where you can store as short as 14 days to as long as you need. They also have a wide range of storage sizes to choose from, so you’ll only be paying for the storage space you need.

2. Clear before stocking up your fridge

Before you stock up your fridge with party essentials, clear all the expired and soon-to-expire items to make more space. For the leftover items, place them in different clear containers so that they will look more organised in your fridge. You’ll also have a clearer idea of what you have at a glance. Use baking soda and water to clean and remove any stains in your fridge. Simply sprinkle some baking soda onto a damp sponge to wipe your entire fridge. To further improve your fridge efficiency, you can also try to organise and reduce the amount of items on the top shelf and try to cool the hot food items before placing them in your fridge.

Once these are done, your fridge will start to look more presentable for your guests. You’ll also have more space to stock up on seasonal goodies.

3. Spruce up the main guest area with decorations

The festive season is the time for you to flaunt all your decorations at home. Once you’re done with the decluttering process, you’ll be able to find pockets of space for your festive decorations and Christmas tree. Remember to prepare supplies such as table cloths, food wares, dining sets and wine glasses to set the mood for your Christmas feast.

Here’s a bonus home tip: before your guests arrive, light up some scented candles and put out small plants to purify the air. Home plants will also help to add some colours to your home.

We understand that festive celebration this year might be different due to all the safe distancing measures. However, festive and holiday seasons are also made for heartwarming get-togethers with our family and loved ones. Therefore, it’s always nice to find ways to celebrate Christmas and the festive season with them.