The attic is one of the most difficult rooms in the house to organize. Many people find it difficult to get down and upstairs from the attic, especially if you have pull-down stairs. Additionally, many attics have an A-frame roof, which makes shelving difficult. Here are some tips to help you overcome the challenge of organizing your attic.
First, throw out anything that you do not need or that does not have tremendous value to your family. Many people store family keep sakes in the attic because attics are generally dry, unlike basements that can be damp and destructive to precious items like photo albums. When cleaning out your attic, making sure that you hang onto those items that are important to the family. You may even want to contact other family members before throwing items out, just to ensure that no one else will want them.
Next, because most attics have a slanted roof, you will have to develop some alternative shelving. If you are handy with tools, you can build shelves into either end of the attic where the roofs meet. These shelves will have to be triangle shaped, but you will be surprised how helpful they are when it comes to storing items.
You can also build shelves along the slant of the roof. The bottom shelf will be the widest and the top shelf will be the smallest. When building shelves on the slanted portion of the roof, keep in mind that the storage boxes you use will help to ensure that you make suitable use of your space. For example, the bottom most shelf will be the perfect size and depth for a long and slender under the bed box. The top shelf will be a good size for smaller photo boxes. In the middle, you can purchase an assortment of sizes to use as the salves change in size. These assorted boxes are available at any home improvement store.
Next, many people keep winter coats and other old items in their attics. Install a simple closet bar from on side of the roof to the other. You can hang these items on the bar. If your attic is wide enough, you can even hang several rows of closet bars across your attic to hang things like shoes and hanging storage shelves.
Many people do not store large pieces of furniture in their attics because they are simply too heavy to carry up the often awkward staircases. However, many people have old trunks. Set these trunks off to the side of the attic for out of the way storage. You can even purchase newer footlockers and place old items into the new footlockers. These new systems have the benefit of being stackable (which many old footlockers are not).
Finally, because you most likely keep so many older items in your attic, it is advised that you invest in a ventilation system so that old air can be circulated to protect your pieces. You may also want to purchase cedar chests and moth balls for truly special items of clothing or blankets.