How to Find Extra Storage Space at Your House

If you are at a loss as to what to do with your keepsakes, handed down furniture, year books, children's toys or holiday ornaments, you should look up and consider your attic. Homes used to be made with stairs that went to the attic. Here children would go and spend rainy afternoons playing dress-up and adults never had to fear they would run out of storage. Attics are a way to de-clutter your home, while ensuring that you are still hanging onto grandma's old paint set or your great uncle's book collection.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. The attics in most modern homes are just dead, empty space. This area shouldn't go to waste. You should check out your attic to see what needs to be done to renovate it into a handy, easily accessible storage area.

2. Measure the size of the ceiling joist, and the space between the ceiling joists and the walls that support them. Take these figures to a local home improvement center and they will tell you how much weight this room can successfully hold, and what you can do to reinforce what will soon be your attic floor.

3. You can easily buy plywood to serve as the floor in your attic. Before you do, measure the entrance to your attic. Make sure any plywood sheets you purchase can easily fit through the opening.

4. Once your attic is ready to handle the weight and you have a floor down, you should install a pull down ladder. They are easy to install, and come in wood or aluminum.

5. Bring a light into this area. You want the switch to be near the attic door, so you aren't falling over boxes to get to it. You should check with your local home improvement center on the codes in your area regarding installing an attic light.

6. Once your attic is complete and you have moved all the clutter overhead, you will be surprised at how much space you have freed up in your living area. You will be free of clutter, and you won't have to carry around the guilt you would have felt if you had given away something that a loved one had once held dear.

[digidi]

on 1/31/2009 This might be helpful to me. I just wrote an article on how to get your furniture out of storage.