Uses for Junk Mail; Luau Celebrations

Posted on January 22, 2014 by admin

Continuing with our week of informative and imaginative ways to use all that unwanted junk mail, we can now start getting crafty with the junk mail. These uses are great for kids and birthday parties, so give them a go.

Paper Macher

This can be a little messy so make sure to lay a cloth or a bin bag down. For the best paper macher results, mix glue with a bit of water and use that as the adhesive to stick the layers of junk mail together. The possibilities are endless with paper macher. You can make a helmet, a plant pot, a pen holder and even little animal figurines. Let your imagination run wild.

Hula Skirts and Flowers

paper-flowers Every child needs to have at least one tropically themed birthday party. With a barbeque, cheese and pineapple sticks and giant inflatable palm trees floating in the pool, your kids will look great with these homemade hula skirts. And they can be as colourful as you like!

For the flowers, simply cut a few leaf and petal shapes from the leaflets, then stick them all to a second piece of junk mail that has been slightly crumpled. Thread some string through them for a flower necklace.

Choose RAND Logistics when you want to send a parcel to a friend or relative living in Hawaii. Our shipping rates are the most competitive around.

Uses for Junk Mail; Confetti

Posted on January 21, 2014 by admin

Junk mail is an issue that most people have to deal with nowadays. Even if you subscribe to a removal service, there is still the odd occasion where a leaflet or two about TV licensing for example, can slip through. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was a use for all this junk mail? Well with a bit of imagination, we here at RAND have thought of a whole week’s worth of different uses for junk mail. Starting with:

Paper Bedding

If you have any kind of small animal, shredding up some of the paper leaflets can make a great alternative to buying paper bedding. Just be sure that you don’t use anything too colourful, as some younger or smaller animals tend to eat the paper, and the ink may be harmful.

As Confetti

confetti-rand
Budget confetti may seem like a half hearted attempt at celebrating, but nobody can fault your ingenuity, and your recycling prowess. Plus so many advertisers nowadays use brightly coloured designs and shiny paper, so shredding some leaflets and junk mail together could create some really colourful confetti. Try it!

For first rate services in record times, use RAND Logistics when sending your friend or relative a gift to celebrate a special occasion in India. Try our Quick Quote form to see what you can save!

Did You Know? Postal Facts Day 4

Posted on January 9, 2014 by admin

There are over 7500 different courier companies listed in the yellow pages for the UK alone. The US Postal service is thought to be the largest in the world, and every day it sorts through and attempts to deliver over 700 million packages of varying size and shape. In comparison to that, the Australian postal service delivers up to 94 million items a week, which is an intense difference. However it comes as no surprise as the entire population of Australia could fit within the densely populated city of Tokyo.

When sending parcels to America, although the direct delivery of mail to people’s homes was present from 1863, the actual mailbox or mail slot was not used until 1923 when it became commonplace. Plus, although the red pillar post box has become an iconic representation of Britain, it was not the first country to store letters in pillar boxes. In the early 50’s of the 19^th century, Anthony Trollope saw such pillar boxes in France and Belgium and proposed them to the UK Postal Service in 1852.

Make sure your package gets to where it needs to go by using RAND Logistics. Our rates are second to none for international shipping.

Did You Know? Postal Facts Day 3

Posted on January 8, 2014 by admin

Just fewer than 6000 postmen were bitten by dogs in the USA alone in 2012, the highest rates city being Los Angeles, which suffered 69 separate incidents of letter carriers being attacked. Surprisingly, this was a decrease from 83 attacks in the previous year, which is a little bit of good news, albeit still making it the worst city in the continent.

In 2001, the Postal Service in Germany decided to take decisive action and taught courses on dog psychology to couriers to decrease the number of attacks, as there were around 3000 letter carriers a year attacked in Germany, leading up to around £8 million worth of medical bills.

Some dog bites have been so severe that they can lead to fatalities, or if the courier is an elderly citizen, can lead to heart attacks, although this is rarely the case. On the 15^th July 2013 the Royal Mail launched its first Dog Awareness Week, as dog attacks have resulted in the loss of over 4500 working says since April 2011.

Take care when sending a parcel to Los Angeles for your friend or relative, as dog attacks tend to increase during school holidays. To find out our excellent rates for international shipping, use RAND Logistics quick quote form.

Did You Know? Postal Facts Day 2

Posted on January 7, 2014 by admin

On the 10^th September 2003, 25 year old Charles McKinley managed to ship himself from New York to his parents’ home in Texas as air cargo. He was trying to save on plane fares by both mailing himself and by sending the shipping fees to his employer, as he was previously a Shipping Clerk. He’d gotten the idea from a friend, who suggested that simply mailing himself as a parcel to Texas,would be cheaper than purchasing train tickets.

As there was no history of it happening previously, the Transportation Security Administration interviewed McKinley to better understand how he had bypassed security, in order to ensure it never happened again. Considering these events happened only a few years after the disastrous 9/11, it was surprising that a man managed to post himself by air mail at all. It turned out to be more expensive in the end regardless, as he could have flown first class for the price he paid to post himself.

We at RAND Logistics would not recommend that you post yourself, and instead send your friend abroad or relative a thoughtful present, at extremely competitive rates. Use our quick quote service to find out how much you can save with RAND Logistics.

Parcel Tips: Day 5

Posted on October 25, 2013 by admin

We have reached the end of our parcel delivery tips week, and we’re rounding off with tips to ensure your parcel actually makes it to its destination. Following all our previous tips should put you in a good position when it comes to helping your parcel get to its destination in one piece, but there are a couple more things you should do to help it on its way.

Firstly, make sure you opt for a courier you can trust. RAND only works with the best couriers so that you know your parcels will always arrive on time. If you are using a signed for service, let the recipient know in advance so that they can make sure they are in or have enough time to make alternative arrangements with their local post office.

Another feature you should use is a tracking service. RAND offers parcel tracking for all parcels sent through our system, and it can help you follow the journey of your items around the world for your own reassurance and so that you can let the recipients know where they have got to.

Next time you decide to send a parcel overseas, make sure you do it with RAND for competitive rates and a service you can trust.

Parcel Tips: Day 4

Posted on October 24, 2013 by admin

We are now on the penultimate day of our parcel packaging guide, and today the focus is on packing materials. Whenever you send a parcel internationally, whether it’s fragile or not, you should get into the habit of filling the rest of the box with quality packing materials to stop the item from sliding around and getting damaged or broken.

The key is to choose lightweight materials to avoid bumping up the weight, and therefore the price, of sending a parcel abroad. Bubble wrap is a favourite, especially if you’re using it to wrap fragile items individually, or less fragile items could be packed with scrunched up newspaper to act as a buffer against the sides of the box.

Small plastic airbags are ideal for very fragile items which need to be kept well away from the sides of the box, or even small empty boxes can be used to reinforce the structure. Polystyrene beads or shapes can be used to fit into unusual spaces, and could be placed inside fragile items such as vases.

It might seem a little odd, but plain popcorn can also work really well! It is light and filled with air, meaning it acts as great protection for your items. Just make sure you mention that it won’t be edible after that long journey!

Parcel Tips: Day 3

Posted on October 23, 2013 by admin

We’ve now reached the middle of our week about parcel packaging, and today we’re going to be looking at the addressing and labelling process to ensure the postal service in each country knows where the parcel is going when you post internationally. It’s all very well having a beautifully packaged parcel, but it’s no good if it never makes it to its destination.

Unless you have beautifully clear handwriting, you might want to steer clear of writing the address by hand. If one letter or number is read wrong, it could end up in the wrong place. Instead, it is better to print the address in a large font and clear typeface (such as Arial). You may even want to do this in English and in the local language to make it easier for the local postal service.

If you are sending something fragile or need the box to remain a certain way up whenever possible, write this clearly on each side of the box in English and the language of the destination country so that the instructions are carried throughout the journey.

If you are going to write the address, use a waterproof, smudge-proof pen (such as a biro) rather than something like a felt tip which can run when it gets wet, making it impossible to read. In any case, using sticky back plastic or something similar can help keep the address intact even if it travels in wet conditions to protect your parcel on its international journey.

Parcel Tips: Day 2

Posted on October 22, 2013 by admin

This week, we’re looking at tips to help you with your worldwide parcel delivery. When items are travelling a long way, there is a bigger risk that they will be damaged or lost, which is why you need to be so careful and do everything you can on your end to help your items arrive at their destination in one piece. Today we will be looking at securing a package.

Yesterday we wrote about the benefits of using cardboard boxes for sending your parcels overseas, and today we’re going to be looking at the best ways to keep everything securely inside. The first rule is to avoid using normal household Sellotape. This will not be robust enough against the jostling journey, so use parcel tape created especially for sealing parcels.

Some boxes may also benefit from being stapled with special cardboard staples to keep them sealed, especially if the contents are heavy or especially valuable. These staples can be placed against any of the edges with openings. Alternatively, a strong glue (make sure it won’t eat through the box) can be used to reinforce edges and flaps.

If you are concerned that your box may not hold up in wet weather, you could get it wrapped in plastic by a special plastic wrapping machine to ensure the contents stay completely safe.

Parcel Tips: Day 1

Posted on October 21, 2013 by admin

As we hurtle towards the busiest time of year for postal services around the world, we thought we’d help you out with some handy hints to help you make the parcel sending process an absolute doddle. Whether you’re selling your old clothes on eBay to make way for the new season’s hottest pieces or you’re simply sending out Christmas presents, we’ve got a few tips up our sleeve to help you ensure your items get there in one piece.

Today’s tip is all about packaging. When you send a parcel domestically, you might be used to getting away with a padded envelope or even just brown parcel paper. However, when you’re sending abroad, you should always opt for a sturdy corrugated cardboard box for extra safety and to keep your items in one piece. Items travelling overseas will go through a lot on their lengthy journeys, and this is the best way to protect them from damage.

Furthermore, anything too flimsy could split along the way, meaning your items could be lost forever. They will be handled by multiple people in what could be several countries or cities, so it needs to be kept safe in something sturdy.

For a reliable international parcel delivery service, RAND will always strive to give you the best possible customer service.

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