Rent a roll-off container before a disaster strikes to make clean-up easier.
Back in November, heavy rains brought major flooding to the Atlanta area. Roads and businesses were shut down. People were evacuated from their homes. When the water finally receded, many people experienced significant flooding and property damage. Leaking attics and flooded basements were among the areas hit the hardest and unfortunately where most boxes, wanted and unwanted items are stored.
The moral of the story? Don’t put off cleaning out the attic or basement.
Sorting through damaged and wet items is a difficult task in itself without having to sort through years of clutter and mountains of junk. So, before you are in an overwhelming situation, do yourself and your family a favor by getting rid of some of the unwanted clutter.
Let’s get organized!
Take inventory of what you have. My motto – if I haven’t used it in 6 months out it goes. For the items you are holding on to you will now have a complete list for insurance purposes.
Now you can easily organize the items you want to keep. Sort them into categories like winter clothes, Christmas decorations, family photos and etc. Not only will it help de-clutter but it will gain you easy access to something you want or need. And in the case of a flood or other disaster, this will quickly allow you to identify those items that will mostly likely be effected.
Take as many precautions as possible with your cherishables. You can place tarps or plastics covers over boxes and items in the attic. Especially, if you have an annoying leaky roof. This will help prevent water damage.
Anything that is stored in a basement or garage can be placed on pallets to keep them a few inches off the floor. We recommend raising appliances such at washing machines and freezers off the ground as well.
These precautions may not be enough to prevent all damage, but they might buy you some time to move items and will definitely limit the cleanup. Don’t wait until disaster strikes.
