By Mike Williams
Christmas is a wonderful time of year. It’s a time for family celebration, delicious food, excited kids, and the joyful sound of wrapping paper being torn apart.
It’s also the time of year when you need to pull the Christmas decorations out from the spare room, the garage, or wherever else you have them stashed. It may even feel more like an Easter activity, as you hunt through the house sorting through piles of stuff trying to remember where you put everything. This can be quite a mission, tiring you out before you’ve even hung the first piece of tinsel.
It doesn’t have to be this way though. Some people have gotten their household belongings so well organised that they know exactly where their Christmas things are stored and can retrieve them in an instant. So what’s the secret behind this highly efficient form of domestic organisation? Well more often than not, it comes down to effective use of storage space. So in the spirit of having a stress free Christmas I’ve decided to cover two of the more high potential storage solutions available.
1. Garage Mezzanine — Some garages are horizontally challenged, but full of vertical possibility. This may be the case if the garage only just enough room for the vehicles, or if the wall space is already crammed full of shelving, cupboards, hooks, and tool holders. If this is your reality, then it may be worth considering the addition of mezzanine storage. A garage mezzanine can be something as simple as a sturdy platform that protrudes over your car hood. This can be especially practical for apartments or villas that have basement parking; it’s even possible to buy lockable mezzanine boxes when security is required. Or alternatively, it can be as thorough as the construction of a full mezzanine floor in your garage space which can be accessed via a pull down attic ladder. Either way, if you’ve got a garage or carport, then chances are you can squeeze some more room out of it by adding extra floor space.
2. Attic Storage — This is where we start looking at the possibility of creating a seriously large amount of storage space. In some houses the roof cavity holds up to 30 percent of the available space within the building structure. The thing is that most homes don’t put this space to good use, and leave it locked away behind the ceiling, gathering dust and resident insects. If your house has a roof and a ceiling (most do!), then it may be worth taking a peek through the manhole to see what’s up there. If you’re greeted by an empty area, then you may have just found your perfect storage solution. An attic storage space can be constructed relatively easily. All it takes is a ladder for access, and some flooring to put things on, and you’re done. Or if you want to go a little more pro, then you can get insulating dust proof walls installed to keep everything protected, roof ventilation and lighting for a fresh environment, and structural flooring for those really heavy items.
Of course, it’s not always necessary to go the home renovation path to create storage space. Personally I’m also a fan of the plastic box-on-wheels thingies, because they stack really well, keep things dust free, and can be move around relatively easily. My back garden shed is now full of them, and they really help me keep things much neater. No matter what your budget, the secret is to recognise that there’s a storage solution available to make your life easier.
Author Information
Mike Williams is a storage aficionado who has a particular penchant for attic conversions and other ‘up there’ solutions.
Photo Credit: Antonio Jiménez Alonso
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