Good morning on a cold and windy day, winter is almost done and spring is on its way.
Now that we can settle down and get back to work after all these strikes and other unpleasant happenings around the world. It’s time to start preparing for the wonderful spring to come. It is my hope and dream that we have a very good summer and have time to share with our families and friends we have somehow ignored the whole of the winter. Times renew old friendships and clean out our homes.
We all know that August is windy time in SA so I would just like to take this opportunity to remind all the people who store goods to remember to get them closed or covered up. We usually experience a lot of dust and pollen over this period all around us; you may even want to cover that 52″ inch 3D screen in your lounge during the day when you are at work. Or for that matter any electrical item which is prone to collecting dust inside which will result in a shorter working life.
Dust is one of our bugbears in self-storage so it must also be true in homes. Every day we advise all our clients to cover, seal and protect all valuables, soft furnishings they have in storage and that includes the summer pillows we keep in our garage for the garden furniture. No body like sitting on dusty, dirty seats especially when we are all hot and sweaty from standing with an ice cold beer at the braai.
I digress, when we store any item we must accept that it can and will get dirty if not stored correctly. This is also a good time to look at your wooden items kept in storage as well as you will be checking it all to repack and get ready to store all your winter goods like heaters and double thick blankets and bedding. For these items I usually recommend vacuum bags that extract all the air out and moisture. Please also take special care not to store any item which is damp or dirty. This will lead to mould forming on it and you will then have to replace it. All wooden furniture should be taken out cleaned and oiled once a year. This is the best time of the year as there is little to no moisture in the air. This means that your wood is at its most vulnerable to pests and cracking. Applying a good product like Woodoc 30 or similar wood oil which leaves no residue on the wood means it is less likely to accumulate dust in the oil whilst in storage. Now that you have cleaned and oiled all your wood repacked the unit ready for the change over all you have to do is focus on your garden. If you are lucky enough to have one?
A handy tip for all us lucky people who actually own solid wood furniture in our homes, this is a good time to give them a good clean with sugar soap and oil them down for all those late night visits we plan to have with our families, they come with kids and mess. No need to stress about your beautiful wood. If it is well cared for and oiled they cannot damage it with their cold drinks or coffee.
Now you can relax and watch your garden green as the spring draws near. Don’t forget to mulch those flower beds either, don’t waste water.
Looking forward to a lovely spring 2014.