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Nearly everyone could use a bit more storage space in their life, especially if they work from home. If your home office needs are cramping your lifestyle, you might have an opportunity right above your head. That is, your attic may be the key to giving you more storage space.
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Here are a few tips you can use to make your existing attic the perfect storage option for you. While you won’t store your business materials up there, you can make more space for them and reduce the stress you feel from too much clutter.
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1. Check Your Attic for Roof Leaks
One thing that can quickly ruin your things is water damage. This is something that is easy to check. After a good rain, take a look in your attic to see if you notice any puddles of water or water stains.
You will also want to check any metal in your attic (pipes, ducts, and so on) for condensation. This condensation may not seem like a serious issue, but the moisture can harm your belongings. Make sure you don’t have any vents from your bathroom or kitchen that end in your attic, either. If you do it is fairly easy to reroute them.
2. Ensure Proper Ventilation
This step is essential to making sure your items can withstand seasonal temperature changes. It also prevents any kind of build-up in humidity in the attic space. Ventilation can be as simple as making sure there are vents near the eaves of your attic. These vents will allow for air to move through the attic and remove the warmer, more humid air. If your attic gets too hot or too cold, you may want to consider a storage unit.
3. Evaluate the Flooring
Generally speaking, the flooring of your attic is also going to be the ceiling for the room below. This makes checking the floor before your start storing items very important. You will want to make sure the ceiling joists are all intact and not rotten or decayed. Also, the smaller the joists are, the less you will want to store in your attic. The ceiling joists are fine to step on but if you step in the space between the joists you could be in trouble. If this is a concern to you, build yourself a cat-walk with some plywood. This will allow you to walk freely.
4. Verify There’s Adequate Insulation
While on the topic of ceiling joists, you will want to make sure your attic has insulation between the joists. This will help prevent any heat transfer with the room below the attic. If you plan on keeping your items in your attic for a long period of time, you will want to make sure your insulation is rated properly for the climate that you live in. There can also be additional products such as vapor barriers or air space that may be recommended where you live.
5. Look into Organization Methods
Lastly you will want to make sure you utilize your attic space to the maximum extent. This could mean that you will want to get a custom cabinet or wardrobe for storing your items. You can also build yourself shelves to hold boxes or smaller items.
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Take Advantage of the Storage Space in Your Attic
Good luck with your attic storage mission. A new attic storage area will be extremely convenient and, in the long term, help you keep a decluttered and organized home, especially if you are working from home.