The Forgotten Storage Solution: Your Loft
It’s nearly that time of year again – the annual Spring Clean. It can be a daunting prospect, but a thorough spring clean is a perfect time to create order, gain space in our homes and restore your peace of mind. There are some areas in our houses, however, which generally manage to escape yearly deep cleaning. This year, it is time to tackle that final frontier which we are all guilty of avoiding… the loft.
As one of the largest rooms in our house, it is the most effective space for storage when used properly. Sadly, in many cases, its potential of housing all of our spare furniture and decorations neatly is forgotten about. Instead, boxes of old toys and decorations are thrown in without a second glance to add to the cobwebs and chaos of your attic. It’s time for a change! Trust me, you will thank yourself later when you can begin to enjoy using your newly organised loft as a proper extension to your home.
Prepare the space
Firstly, you need to make sure that your loft is up to scratch for its new role of a safe, clean and effective storage solution. Before even venturing up there, install a sturdy loft ladder so you are no longer daunted by the prospect of climbing into the loft. Especially when there are children in the house, it is important to make sure the access to the loft is safe and secure in case they ever take it upon themselves to go and retrieve an old toy.
Make sure you have good working lights up there, too, so you don’t have to rely on a torch or flickering bulb. By installing good lighting and boarding the floors in your loft you will make life far easier for when you need to go into your attic, and also transform the loft from a forgotten storage compartment to a functioning new room in your home. Lastly, as part of the rooms preparations ensure that your loft is properly insulated. Not only will this save you money from energy wastage, but it will generally reduce the need for heating as it will keep the entire house warmer.
Be decisive
It’s now that you have to start sorting through the boxes and make those hard decisions between throw and keep. If you are struggling with deciding whether you should keep items from your loft, try asking yourself these questions to help you come to a judgement: Do I use it? Would I buy it now? It can be hard to throw away items that we have grown attached to for sentimental reasons, but it’s time to be brutal and reduce the clutter if you want it to become organised. Although it can be hard to decide you no longer need things like old toys or furniture from another house, there is a silver lining as you may be able to make some money from cutting ties with unneeded items.
On average a loft contains around £2,000 worth of goods which you can sell in a car boot sale or from the comfort of your home on eBay!
Maximise your storage potential
Once you have decided which things you will be keeping, you should invest in some durable plastic containers to store them in. Another great option if you are handy with DIY projects, is to fit shelves to the shape of the loft’s walls. This is best done by tailored making the shelves to your lofts measurements rather than buying standard size shelves, as beams and rafters can mean the walls of the loft are slanted or differing sizes. Not only will this free up space of the main floor of your loft, but it will also allow you to quickly spot what you are looking for if you need to take something back down to the main house.
Are you thinking about tidying up your loft or having a clear out? If so I hope that this post has helped you.
Claire x