Monthly Archives: February 2018

Unique Gift Wrapping Ideas

Everyone loves getting gifts. People love giving them. Gifts are an ideal way to express all sorts of emotions including love and appreciation. When giving a gift, many people want to dress it. Fortunately, there are many ways to present a gift. It’s possible to create a gift that looks fabulous. A well wrapped gift doesn’t even have to cost a lot of money. Simple objects that may already be lying around your home such as cheap moving boxes can be used. With a bit of work and lots of imagination, it’s possible to create a gift that delights the recipient even before they begin to open it. This is particularly true if you are giving several gifts at once such as during the holidays.

Start With a Color Theme

A theme can help unify several gifts. Gifts look great when they are wrapped using the same types of colors. For example, red, white and green look fantastic for Christmas. Shades of blue and pink are ideal a child’s birthday party. The colors you use for the wrapping paper should be echoed in the colors you use for any accessories. A bright, big emerald bow works perfectly with a large box wrapped in yellow and green wrapping paper. The same is true of other accessories such as ribbons that you might want to use on the boxes. Stick to a group of the same colors. This will please the eyes and make the entire gift look as if were wrapped by a professional artist.

Solids and Prints

Solids and prints can be used together quite effectively. Choose a solid shade of wrapping paper to serve as the base. Add in a printed ribbon for effective contrast. Different prints can also be used together. When mixing different prints, think about the size and shape of the prints. Pair similar prints together for a harmonious look. Look for prints that have similar colors and a similar scale. A small series of polka dots can be used with a pattern that has small lines. Once you’ve chosen your solids and prints, you can layer them. Cut them out in different lengths. Wrap the first print along most of the box. Then top it with another layer of a separate print in a contrasting color. The net result is a sophisticated look that charms the eye and add a a sense of delight.

Using Other Materials

When it comes to wrapping a box, it pays to think out of the box. Take a cue from natural materials to create something interesting. Linen and burlap have pleasing textures. For an old fashioned touch, use linen or burlap ribbons to tie up your gift box. Twine is another item that can be used on any box. The texture invites people to touch it. Think long term when buying supplies. Items often go on sale after the holidays. This is the time to stock up for use later in the year. Look for a mixture of various shapes and sizes that you can use on your boxes. A large burlap ribbon, for example, catches the eye and immediately makes the recipient want to open the box and see what’s inside. Use a combination of bright colors and neutrals for a well wrapped gift that will stand out.

Don’t Forget these when you Move

Congratulations on your new home! You signed the contracts and are ready to move in. Here comes the next step. You must get your possessions to your new home. There are many things involved in moving. You should consider the following to ensure a less stressful move.

Prepare

You would do well to prepare everything before you begin packing. Have enough shipping boxes in various sizes to fulfill your varied needs. Books, cast-iron pans, or glassware are heavy. Use smaller boxes to not overexert movers. For lightweight items like children’s stuffed animals and blankets, use larger boxes to consolidate.

Avoid waiting until the last minute. Plan to eat takeout the last day in your old home and pack away all the dishes, pots, and utensils. Have a suitcase with one set of clothes per person and soap, shampoo, and towels. Don’t forget a plastic sack to put wet towels in!

Label Every Box

Labels are important. When your boxes are empty, you just want them packed, taped, and stacked for the move. When you get to your new home, help movers know where boxes should go. Label each shipping box with the room it will go into. Put the destination and partial contents on two sides and the top to ensure visibility and quick response.

Label bedrooms and bathrooms in your new home, too. Tack a paper labelling bedrooms, or Bath 1 and Bath 2, will guide the mover to put your boxes just where they need to go. Give movers a tour to speed things up. Don’t forget your delicate items. The word fragile tells movers to not put that box under one labelled ‘books’.

Furniture

You have furniture to move. Remember that it has been in one place for a long time. Sofas and chairs are moved easier, but tables and dressers are not as forgiving. Table legs may loosen through time and you don’t realize it until the mover picks up the table and a leg wiggles off. Dressers are just as unforgiving. If you thought dresser drawers are a good place to pack fragile items, think again. The drawers are not designed for things heavier than clothes and may bottom-out when moved. The dresser, itself, may have feet or legs, like the table, that have loosened with time and fall off.

Parking

Moving trucks are big. Ensure that you secure a parking spot at the origin and the destination. The parking spot should have clear access and the straightest route that you can accomplish. Many locations will allow you to reserve a parking spot. You are responsible for providing the moving truck with a place to park. In addition, be sure the truck is in a legal parking area. If the movers get a ticket, the fine is the customer’s responsibility.

Transporting Items

If your new or current home is on a second or higher floor, work with building management to secure access to a freight elevator, or reserve the necessary time to have free access to an elevator. Movers are on strict timelines and waiting for an elevator may put them behind schedule. You will be responsible for any additional charges they may require.

Moving is a time-consuming process that can be easy or overwhelming. Knowing small things you can do to improve the process will help all involved in the move and give everyone a chance to work smart, not hard.

Learn Some Basic tips to Protect Your Valuables From Damage

Moving is a task that from the surface appears daunting and overwhelming but with just a few simple tips you can preserve your valuables and keep them in good shape throughout the moving process.

First off, compile all your heavy items and make separate boxes for them. Put heavy items such as books and files in one box. Put in light and soft items in small boxes. Place blankets, comforters and pillows in bigger boxes. Make sure you don’t use large boxes for packing heavy items because this is a common complaint of professional moving companies. This increases the chances of heavy items breaking by swishing around in the box.

When you’re loading the truck place heavier boxes towards the front of the truck. This ensures balance. Place all the light boxes on top of the heavy boxes. Make sure no heavy box is placed upon a light box because while the truck is in transit, the box will slip off and break.

For loosely packed boxes, use towels or clothing to fill in the gaps. Many times, despite getting perfect sized cheap moving boxes, you are left with some spaces to fill up. You can easily manage this by using any soft, foldable fabric. This also adds protection to the item. Movers do not move boxes that feel unbalanced and loosely packed.

For each room, try making separate boxes. This will help you save time and keep you organized. In your new home you can simply deliver the boxes to their destination room and unpack and organize things there. This will make everything a lot easier.

To keep track of your inventory, label each box in a number sequence. Also, add to the labels the room it is supposed to reach in the new house. Add a description of contents. Labeling boxes is a very useful tip because not only does it allow you to ensure you have all the boxes, it also lets you know what contents are inside them. This also makes it easier for the movers to move boxes around.

Make sure you tape your boxes properly, especially along the top and bottom seams. You can also use wraps around the boxes if there are carrying fragile items. This will also remind the mover to move with care.

In order to move expensive and delicate art items, you’ll need special crating. You can inquire your movers about this. There are also custom built cardboards that fit right to the size with frame protecting features as well. This ensures the corners of your painting or mirror’s frame are well covered and protected from offloading impact. Also, never wrap oil paintings in regular paper, use bubble wrap instead. For glass frames, draw an X using masking tape. This will hold it together in case it shatters.

Use packing paper around each dish as you pack it up, follow this with wrap bundles. You can repeat the steps as many times as you like to ensure your dishes are thoroughly packed and protected from unforeseen damage. When you place dishes in the box, pack them on their sides instead of laying them flat. Before this use a lot bubble sheets, soft foam etc as padding at the bottom and top of the dishes. Pack cups and bowls inside each other with paper and bubble wrap in between each of them. Pack them in dish barrel boxes.

Movers ship TVs like they handle any other piece of furniture. You must ensure plasma TVs are packed with special wooden crates. They can be ruined if you lay them flat. If you’re packing using normal frame protected or cheap moving boxes, double pack your boxes and use heavy padding and packing paper.

Shipping Boxes With Shippo Made Easy

Are You Struggling With Your E-commerce Shipping?

Are you operating an e-commerce store and would like it to be more efficient? Managing your e-commerce store can become quite exhaustive and draining if you do not have the right tools. A professional looking organized website is important to your e-commerce business. Improvements can always be made to get your website user-friendly for your customers. Sending well-worded emails to your customers is important in getting them to take action in purchasing your products. Another important aspect of making or breaking your e-commerce business is shipping boxes to your customers.

Shipping The Old Fashioned Way

Going to the post office or other shipping places is time-consuming. You have to suffer in sometimes long line, just to ship your items to your customers. Remember having to print labels for the packages, the mundane task of doing everything manually on a typewriter, is over. In this age of technology, things are a lot easier, but it can still be rough if not done the right way. A customer purchases items from your store, it has to be shipped to the customer in a timely manner. This could make or break your business if not handled properly.

Let Shippo Help You

At Shippo, we are experienced and ready to help you and provide you with useful tips to ship your boxes to your customers. We will help you with your e-commerce store because we have an excellent partnership with GoDaddy Online Store. We will provide you with effortless tools for shipping your boxes to your customers. You will be delighted with our super great rates to help you in shipping boxes.

Helpful Shipping Tips To Save You Time

Free shipping supplies will take away the worries of getting your package to your customers. Order free supplies in advance directly from your carriers. Chose from items such as boxes, padded envelopes, envelopes, Tyvek packaging, padded pouches and other packaging items. Here is a partial list of popular packaging suppliers used by our customers.

UPS (United Parcel Service)
USPS (United States Postal Service)
DHL (Dalsey, Hillblom, and Lynn)
FedEx (Federal Express)

Use styrofoam packaging instead of bubble wrap to ship fragile products. Make sure the return policy is clear and easy to understand. Customers return items they bought for many different reasons including buyers remorse. This means the customer bought the item and decided they do not want the item, for whatever the reason may be. Always make it easy for the customer to return an item. It builds confidence in your e-commerce business and your customers will recommend you to their friends and family.

Dealing With Incomplete Addresses And Label Printing

Customer address is sometimes incomplete. Use USPS ZIP Code look-up tool for domestic addresses and USPS resource for military and diplomatic addresses. Sticker labels are easy to use, they stick to the package without having to cut them to fit. To print these labels you will need a thermal label printer. Be honest about the cost of shipping, this will let the customer know in advance the cost of the shipping.

Take Action Today

Allow Shippo from GoDaddy Online Stores to help you with your e-commerce business. Create a free test today, create a free label and see how beneficial it is to use Shippo from GoDaddy Online Stores today.