The Puyallup Food Bank

We at Apex Moving & Storage are proud to partner with a few charitable organizations around our area.  We count it a privilege to give back to the community that has given us so much.  One of those organizations is the Puyallup Food Bank.  Here is a little of their history and who they are: The Puyallup Food Bank first opened their doors in 1972.  Their mission is to raise awareness of the local need for fresh, quality food for those that are in need in our community.  They are a volunteer based organization that receives food, hygiene products, and monetary donations from individuals, corporations, and other non-profits in the area.  They use these charitable donations to give food directly to those in need in our community. They partner with the Emergency Food Network, Northwest Harvest, and other non-profits to make sure that each dollar given to the Puyallup Food Bank is maximized.  In fact, they have perfected the process so well, that a ten dollar donation wi ... Read the rest of entry »

Three Ways To Stand Out From The Crowd In A Job Search

In this job economy, finding any job, let alone the right job, can be more than a challenge.  With possibly hundreds of people applying for one job, it can be tough to get noticed.  That is why you need a few tips and tricks to help you get noticed and stand out from the crowd. Let's face it, if all you are doing is going online and submitting your resume to prospective employers, you are in for a rude awakening.  Millions of other people are already doing that.  So what you need is a unique approach that helps you to stand out from the crowd. Here are a few things you can do to point a big neon sign right at you so that you will be at the head of the line for the job that you want: The right resume.  The traditional resume is on the way out.  Just listing your employers, the dates you worked there, and your responsibilities are not enough.  The best thing you can do for yourself is to make your resume a brief timeline of the past accomplishments and projects yo ... Read the rest of entry »

How To Get Your House Ready For A Move In Five Easy Steps

Life can be stressful when you are trying to sell your home.  The last thing you want to think about is how your home looks to prospective buyers.  But the truth of the matter is, selling your home is just as much presentation as it is market value.  If a prospective buyer gets a "sense" that this is a good home to buy, most of your work is done. So how do you help someone make a decision to buy a house?  You remove all obstacles.  What I mean is you must remove anything that would stick in the back of their mind as a red flag. Let's walk down a short list of easy things you can do help a prospective buyer feel at home: Give your house the cleaning of a lifetime.  Do not be afraid to get down and get dirty.  The cleaner you house is, the more welcome people will feel.  And the more welcome they feel, the more of a pleasant experience it will be for them. Remove all unnecessary furniture.  The look you are going for is "furniture showroom.”  ... Read the rest of entry »

The Easiest Way To Increase Work Productivity

and it is also the hardest way, by the way Stress, we all deal with it in one form or another.  And to be sure, stress can be a real killer if it is prolonged and sustained.  But there is one kind of stress that is especially debilitating for the mind: financial stress.  Over 21% of American employees reported “high” or “overwhelming” levels of financial stress in a recent poll.  Twenty-one percent. Psychologists say that when that level of stress is reached productivity goes way down.  And when productivity goes down, the loss of a job due to poor performance goes way up.  Thus causing more stress about finances.  And the effects do not stop there.  For many people they turn to other things to medicate their pain.  They will use things like food, cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs to try and drown out the stress.  And this will further lead to productivity loss on the job. So the easiest way to avoid the productivity loss is to decrease your stress of fin ... Read the rest of entry »

How To Survive A Group Interview

In this job market there are hundreds of applicants for one job opening in many cases.  More and more employers are opting to conduct group interviews in order to weed out the lesser qualified candidates.  So chances are you may find yourself in some type of group interview if you are in the fight for a while.  And if you are little shy and don't do well in group settings; this might be a little stressful for you. The good news is that group interviews are relatively easy to get through as long as you remember a few simple rules to follow. Here they are in no particular order: They are looking to see how you react and interact: Since a company's culture is created by the people it hires, they will be looking to see how you interact with the other prospects as well as their questions.  Take some time to mingle with the other prospects.  Get to know their names, make eye contact, and shake hands.  Remember to smile as you speak to them.  You want visible signals that yo ... Read the rest of entry »

The Moving Journal - Your Life Saver

Moving ranks as one of the more stressful things you will do in your life.  Between deciding on a new house, packing up everything you own, learning new patterns, and getting your new home situated - there is a lot to do.  And if you are anything like me, when I get stressed out my brain shuts down. That is why we need something outside our brain to keep us organized.  We need a place where we can store all the information we need to complete our move from A to Z.  Enter, the Move Journal.  A move journal is a place where you can keep all the phone numbers, estimates, and to do lists you will need as you move.  It is a great way to keep organized.    Follow along and learn how to create your own move journal. Store everything in there A system is only as good as how you use it.  That is why it is important to store all needed information in it.  The journal you choose should have a folder for loose papers such as estimates.  It should be small en ... Read the rest of entry »

How To Make Your Small Kitchen Feel Bigger

We all like the feeling of having space.  No one likes to walk into a room and feel cramped.  But when it comes to square footage, you cannot bend the math.  If you have a small kitchen, unless you are ready to do a remodel, you are not going to come up with an extra one hundred square feet by clearing off the countertops.  But there are simple tricks in creating the feeling of a more spacious kitchen. So follow along with these three easy steps to make you kitchen feel like you have twice the space. Let in the light Nothing beats natural lighting.  It makes a room feel more inviting and open.  You may not have skylights and large windows, but that does not mean you are stuck.  Look at the window dressings you have.  Are they light weight and do they allow light to filter through?  If not, invest in sheer material. It will let light in but still give you privacy when you want it. Get furniture that fits Having furniture that fits in a room is paramount.& ... Read the rest of entry »

How to Go After That Promotion in Three Steps

You are apart of a stable company and you want to move up.  You have a promotion in sight but getting noticed is a challenge.  How will they know you are the right pick?  This is the challenge of millions of Americans.  We all want to succeed, but many of us don't know how.  So below are three tried and true methods of getting noticed and getting that promotion.  Follow along and pretty soon you could be in an interview as one of the top picks. Show up to the Company Picnic Sounds kind of silly, I know.  But your bosses hold these things for a reason.  They want to see who is invested with the company.  And nothing says "commitment to the company" like putting in face time at company events. Of course, it does not have to be the annual picnic.  Any time the company has a social or corporate event, be there.  Make sure to interact with your co-workers.  And above all, interact with your superiors.  Just make sure that it is natural.  ... Read the rest of entry »

Three Tough Interview Questions and How To Ace Them

There is nothing worse than being faced with the generic boiler plate interview questions. They are so simple, and yet the make the strongest person break out in a sweat.  Why?  Because so much is riding on how we answer them.  After all, if we can fake a smile and keep our voice from cracking, we may just have a shot at being gainfully employed. The best way to ace these questions is to know them and practice your answer.  Any professional athlete will tell you that the reason why they can do anything effortlessly is because they practiced hard when no one was looking. So below are three of the most popular questions interviewers ask and how you can, with practice, give a polished answer. "Tell me a little about yourself?" I always wanted to start my answer with, "Well, I was born at a very early age…"  But the truth of the matter is that the person conducting the interview does not want to hear your complete life story. They are mainly concerned with a brief recap of your wor ... Read the rest of entry »

Packing the Bedroom

OK, packing the bedroom can be a daunting task.  Wading through all the clothes, knick knacks, books, kid's toys, and accumulated "stuff" can make the most sturdy heart faint.  Since we have some experience moving people in Seattle and beyond, we have developed a precision plan to tackle the mountain and make a manageable project.  Follow these easy steps and getting your bedrooms ready will be a breeze: Create three piles: Create space for three pile: Keep, Throw, and Donate.  Belongings, like our waistline, tend to grow with time.  It takes discipline to keep both in line.  So making the hard decision up front is tough, but it will save hours during the move.  Decide what needs to get tossed, donated to Good Will, and what is important enough to make it to your new place.  Use the one year rule - "If you haven't used it in a year, toss it." Pack a First Night Suitcase: The first night in  your home will be chaotic.  Take time to pack what you will ne ... Read the rest of entry »