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Storage – A Many Splendored Thing

By on February 5, 2016

9 ways to handle your storage problems

For about $6,000 per year you can instantly solve all of your home storage problems by renting space at your local self storage facility. There are commercial storage facilities that can be used for different purposes. Or, if you’re on a budget, you can rethink your home organization plan, which can solve your storage problems quickly and easily.

Here are several important things to mull over – have you ever considered doing any of them?

  1. Get rid of junk. If you haven’t used it for years; sell it, donate it or discard it. When was the last time you went through the hall closet or the toy box?
  2. Repack important items into smaller or more carefully packed containers. Hermetically seal containers for storage in the attic, crawl space or an out-building. Rodents and roaches love living in piles of old photographs and memorabilia. By the way, a good quality portable out building can be purchased for less than the cost of 2 months’ rent at a storage center.
  3. Closet organization systems are better and cheaper than ever. Look into what’s available and make full use of precious closet space. Consider splitting your wardrobe into summer and winter. Creating an “off-season” closet somewhere in your home can make your everyday wear easier to access.
  4. Discard out dated medications (they all have a shelf life). Check with your local disposal company on how to properly accomplish this.
  5. Roll-outs and pull-outs in the kitchen make lots of sense, but there are other ways to make good use of available space.
    • Use a flat sheet of plastic between 2 tiers of short glasses (or other dishware), to take full advantage of the shelf-height in a kitchen cabinet.
    • The cabinet over the wall oven or the one over the refrigerator are usually used to store stuff that is rarely used. This is because it is impossible to see what these cabinets contain without getting up on a stool or step ladder. Install vertical dividers in these puppies and you instantly create easy-to-access storage for trays, sheet pans, cutting boards, drying racks, broiler pans and more. When the door is opened you see what the cabinet contains front to back.
    • Nest pots and lids separately from each other. Lids can be kept in a shallow drawer and nested pots take up almost no shelf space.
  6. How about the area above the car in the garage? Did you know that there are several ceiling mount shelf systems available on the market? Some even have their own built-in lift systems so that they can be easily accessed from ground level. Pull the car out of the garage and viola – easy access storage like never before.
  7. Don’t store garden tools and equipment in the garage if you can possibly avoid it. Use an out building instead. Gardening items do well in such storage. Why muddy up the garage. Free it up for clean storage.
  8. Sell your wooden ladder to someone who has the available weather proof storage and purchase an aluminum one that can be kept outside. Aluminum Ladders do really well mounted on an exterior wall with hooks made for the task.
  9. Summer swim things (goggles, fins, inflatables – and other things made of rubber and plastic) are best stored in a cool area like a crawl space or basement. Never store anything that is heat sensitive in an attic.

It really is important to design flexibility into storage features. For example: as your wardrobe changes so do your closet storage needs. There are very inexpensive storage systems that convert from multiple-shelving to hanging-storage in moments. This kind of versatility can prove to be invaluable even during seasonal changes. If you need additional storage space, you may rent a unit at a self storage unit facility.

For more home improvement tips and information search our website or call our listener line any time at 1-800-737-2474! All you need to do is leave your name, telephone number and your question.

 

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