We’re going to wager by this point in the year you’ve probably ventured into your attic to retrieve your holiday decorations. And, if you’re like most of us, you might have thought about how your attic could be a little better organized to avoid having to move so much around the next time you need to go upstairs to get the lights or anything. Luckily, The Shelving Store is here to help!
Pick What Stays And What Goes
The first step with the attic, as it should be for any big organizing project, would be to decide how and what to declutter. Some things can stay, obviously – family heirlooms, holiday stuff for next year, winter coats, etc. But that bag of toys your kids have outgrown, or that ancient massive tube TV? Figure out what you don’t need and go from there.
Figure Out Where Everything Can Go
The trick with attics is that you frequently don’t have a ton of room to work with, and a lot of the space might not be usable due to the shape of your roof or the construction of your floor. Once you’ve settled on what absolutely has to stay in the attic, take some time to work out specific areas for everything based upon shape, container size, or anything else you have to keep in mind to maximize your available room.
Bring In Some Extra Storage
Tying in with the last tip, if you have the space, you might consider bringing in some extra storage solutions to help make the most out of what room you have available. Wire shelving is a good choice for many attics, as the lightweight construction is safe to use on many attic floor surfaces and the variety of heights you can buy will be able to fit in most attics. You could also install hooks along the upper rafters for things like garment bags, or keep some plastic storage bins around for smaller items that need a home.
Keep Everything Categorized
After you’ve got your usable space planned out and your storage solutions brought in, now comes the hard part: putting everything where it goes! Even if you don’t go so far as to keep everything labeled, define clear spaces for everything you need to put away and make sure they stay there. A good categorization system will go a long way up here in the attic, where you don’t have a ton of space and, let’s face it, you’re probably not going back up here until at least after the holidays, right?
Follow our tips and your attic (should) be much cleaner and easier to get into – which you’ll be pretty grateful for when the holidays are over and it’s time to put everything away!