When it comes to fast fashion, there are few benefits for you or our planet. Although these clothes may be affordable and on-trend with high-end fashion retailers, they are cheaply made and eventually contribute to a significant amount of waste in landfills around the globe.

While we all want to dress in a way to express our personalities, there is a global price to pay when you choose to shop at fast-fashion retailers—and that price is contributing to more carbon emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste.

At Safeguard Self Storage in Brooklyn, NY, we all want to do our best for the planet while expressing our individuality, which is why we wanted to take a closer look at how you can get the most out of a fashionable wardrobe without impacting the environment.

Why Is Fast Fashion Bad?

It's hard to resist the latest trends when you can buy three affordable versions at a fast-fashion retailer. And, while it can be fun to invest in easily accessible, trendy clothes for a diverse wardrobe, that joy wears off quickly due to changing trends or items falling apart from poor craftsmanship. Speaking of changing trends: as styles change with the times, fast fashion houses are forced into manufacturing new articles of clothing to keep up, which contributes to significant global carbon emissions.

Cheap materials quickly wear out. Once those new jeans fade or lose their shape, you move on. Think about the expense of stuffing your closets with fast fashion. Replacement costs add up, and replaced items end up in a landfill if they are not disposed of properly or donated. Remember, quality lasts, and that's better for your long-term budget and the health of our planet.

Stop Before You Toss

It may seem easy to throw out inexpensive items, but make sure to stop before you toss. Remember that fabric decomposing in landfills emits toxic greenhouse gases, and clothes are always better off being donated. If an item is torn or damaged, sew it up yourself or support a local business that offers mending services.

Choose Quality Over Quantity

Invest in your wardrobe and our planet by making quality clothing purchases, even if they have a higher up-front cost. These items will be wearable and durable for years to come and can be easily mended if damage occurs.

Additionally, try to source ethical, trustworthy clothing companies that work hard to reduce carbon emissions and treat their employees fairly. And always follow the recommended care instructions to ensure your washing machine doesn’t harm them.

How Clothing Storage Can Help

Rather than tossing out or donating the clothes you already own, you can make room in your closet for high-quality items by adding additional storage space with Safeguard. With our wide selection of climate controlled self storage units, you can keep the items you’ve already purchased out of landfills, save space at home, and come back to them whenever you desire.

When you organize clothes for self storage, you can also clear up cluttered home storage spaces and donate things you don't want to keep. In addition, you can monetize extra items by selling them to a used clothing dealer near you. The idea is to give old clothes a new life instead of throwing them away, allowing you to transition from fast fashion to a wardrobe that lasts—and that's good for you and the planet.

Store Extra Clothes at a Safeguard Facility Near You

Safeguard Self Storage can help you protect our environment by giving you affordable storage solutions that always fit. We offer climate-controlled clothing storage in Brooklyn in a variety of sizes (including units the size of a standard closet), and our leasing options are flexible, too. You want the best clothing storage available, and Safeguard is here to help. Call us today to rent a unit or reserve a space online!

The environment you work in can have a big impact on your job performance and productivity, and the same goes for homeschooling and your child’s ability to learn. A messy homeschool space in NYC can lead to a distracted educational experience. From Brooklyn, NY, to the other New York City boroughs, your kid’s homeschool classroom can be organized and distraction-free, no matter what size of space you have to work with. Follow these five tips to keep your homeschooler’s classroom organized!

1. Look to Pinterest for Homeschool Classroom Organization Ideas

If your homeschool classroom needs a complete makeover, look no further than Pinterest for inspiration. You’ll find a plethora of ideas for organizing and decorating your at-home classrooms so they’re clutter free while being a fun environment to learn in. Begin your design journey by building your own Pinterest board of ideas. Once you have a solid start, take notice of any overarching themes in your pins—maybe a certain color scheme, storage system, or desk type. Make a list of all those similarities and use that list as a jumping-off point for reorganizing and redecorating the space where your kids spend most of their learning days.

2. Move to Digital Homeschool Programs

The fastest way to clean the homeschool clutter is to move to digital homeschool programs in lieu of traditional textbooks and curriculum. From i-Ready to Kahoot!, a quick online search will pull up a plethora of results to research and compare. These digital curriculums are powerful learning tools, and some are even used by teachers in traditional classrooms. Most programs are easily accessible from a tablet or desktop computer, which means you can pass along those space-eating textbooks to another homeschooling family or donate them to your local library. Freeing up that bookshelf space can leave room for a storage system for tools, crafts, and other supplies.

3. Reuse Organizational Tools You Already Have

If you find too many learning tools and craft supplies are left scattered throughout your homeschooling room without a place to call home, look around your home or apartment for baskets, mason jars, and buckets. Baskets are a great way to corral flashcards, DVDs, and CDs. Mason jars are perfect for keeping colorful craft supplies and learning tools like beads, marbles, and dice, while buckets make the perfect place to store scissors, stencils, pencils, and other creative materials.

4. Keep the Clutter at Bay Daily

Use each day as a learning opportunity to show your homeschoolers the importance of keeping their learning spaces clean and free of clutter. If you’ve already spent time and worked hard to pare down what’s in the room, encourage your homeschoolers to help keep the room clean by putting everything back in its place before they leave the room for the day. Getting them into this habit not only instills the importance of organization in them for the rest of their lives, but it also saves you from having to clean up at the end of a long learning day.

5. Create a Storage System for Extra Homeschool Supplies

If you can’t go fully digital or need to stash textbooks until your youngest child reaches a different grade level, the easiest solution to creating a more organized space is to rent a storage unit near you in New York City. Being able to store those out-of-season supplies can keep your child’s learning atmosphere clean and free of distractions. Our guide to keeping your storage unit organized is the perfect starting point for creating a functional storage system for those extra homeschool books, décor, and supplies.

Follow These Five Tips for an Organized Homeschooling Space

To provide your homeschoolers the best learning environment, the space in which you homeschool should be organized and functional. By searching Pinterest for organizational inspiration, moving learning to digital programs, reusing organizational items you already have, cleaning your homeschool space at the end of each day, and creating a practical storage system, you can have your homeschoolers’ classroom space in tip-top shape in no time.

Need additional space in Brooklyn, NY, to make room for a homeschool classroom makeover? Find the nearest storage unit near you and reserve online to take advantage of our internet specials!

Are you thinking about moving to a smaller home here in East Williamsburg? Downsizing can be an exciting lifestyle transition. How can you be sure it's a good fit for you? Take stock, plan ahead, and let Brooklyn, NY storage units help move you into the future. 

Why Do You Want to Downsize? 

Most people who downsize feel like they're living in more house than they really need. You may be tired of dealing with routine upkeep and annual expenses. A smaller place might appeal to your eco-friendly nature. 

Whether you want to be closer to family or further away from urban life, think through your motivations. It's easier to plan for a big change when you're confident about why you're making the decision. 

Will It Really Save Money? 

Hit the calculator, and add up the numbers. Start with smaller mortgage payments. Factor in lower utilities and maintenance costs. Figure in the profit from selling your current home. The totals usually work in favor of downsizing. 

Apply those savings to moving costs. Invest in downsized furniture and self storage to help with the transition. You can even use your new cash flow to start a retirement account or turn a hobby into a home-based startup. 

How Do You Declutter?

Turn decluttering into an incentive for staging the house like a pro. Try to see each room through the eyes of a buyer, then use that vision to create a clean home that leads to a quicker sale. 

Storage units help take the worry out of decluttering. Stash furniture destined for the new place in your unit. Use the extra space to store things you plan on selling or donating after you move. 

Self Storage Makes It Easier

As you work out downsizing plans, give yourself room and time to work out the details and make the transition easier. 

• Lease a unit now for storing things during the relocation.
• Simplify new floor plans by measuring and comparing old and new spaces.
• One room at a time, decide on what moves with you and what goes into storage.
• Plan on keeping your unit so that the new home remains organized and clutter-free.

We're Always Here to Help

Living in a smaller place comes with many advantages – getting there shouldn't ever slow you down. Let Safeguard Self Storage make your move easier with storage units in East Williamsburg and all across Brooklyn, NY. Wherever you're headed, we're always here to help.

In your role as a teacher, there's nothing more satisfying and joyful than knowing that you're really connecting with the kids. Take a cue from the Brooklyn Center of Performing Arts, and put the power of music to work in your classroom. Add a collection of tunes to your teaching supplies at a Safeguard Self Storage facility here in Brooklyn, NY, and join the chorus of educators expanding young minds with a little music.

Local Resources for Teachers

Children and music have always been natural partners. Educators recognize that bringing songs into the classroom plays on that wonderful relationship. This isn't a new concept, but it's quickly moving from performing arts classes to campuses all across the city. Local teachers embrace tips from diverse programs like the Brooklyn Center's Target Family Fun program and SchoolTime series. The school's downloadable Performance Study Guides are excellent resources for connecting music to classroom time.

Why Tunes Work

From controlling a room of noisy kids to building a sense of community, music can be one of your best teaching aids. Children and adults respond to a good song with the same sense of enjoyment that opens up minds to creativity and critical thinking. It simply puts everyone in a good mood, and that fires up neurons that turn on the learning process. Used correctly, tunes in the classroom raise energy levels, increase attention and improve memory.

Music as Your Teaching Tool

Today's digital world makes it easy to introduce your students to sounds from around the globe. If you want a half hour of classical to quiet things down, selections are at your fingertips. Music for kids in the classroom today has become a compact, inexpensive and very effective teaching tool. Instead of storing vinyl and bulky record players in self storage, you can fill your unit with textbooks, notebooks and binders. Whether you use songs to teach vocabulary, explore poetry or set the mood for creative writing, a good tune makes the classroom experience more enjoyable.

The sound of happy kids learning and having fun creates a beautiful melody that never grows old. Our Flatlands storage facility is just down the street from the Brooklyn Center of Performing Arts and supports local educators with affordable, convenient options. You do a great job every day, and our teams here at Safeguard Self Storage applaud your dedication to inspiring young minds all across the city.