The attic is one of the most useful storage spaces in your home, but it’s also often overlooked every time people go on a cleaning and organizing spree.
Fortunately, it’s not too challenging to organize your attic so that you won’t trip over random items, and you’ll have access to every important thing you need whenever you visit it.
Rearranging your attic may seem discouraging at first, especially if you have boxes you have yet to open since moving in. If you started with an obscure organizational system, your attic might still be filled with numerous unmarked bins and boxes. Set a realistic goal for when and how you want your attic to be cleaned and organized. As you won’t likely spend just one day organizing, you might need to divide your project into different sessions over a specific timeframe.
You can start organizing your attic once you’ve finalized your project schedule, but before that, you still have to look through everything. Keep an inventory of every item stored, and once you’re done, you can start the process of cleaning and organizing.
Keeping your attic organized and clutter-free doesn’t have to be a challenging chore. To help you with the process, we’ve put together various tips to help you manage your attic and make organizing it much easier!
Clear out your entire attic
It’s important to note that this should be the first step to organizing your attic. Clearing out everything in your attic might be messy at first, but it’s an important step. Bins, boxes, buckets, and dressers, among others, need to be put out.
Check for pests and deal with them.
After emptying your attic, the next step is to check if there are any pests around. You can employ an expert to do a careful inspection to ensure that nothing will be destroying your belongings or making a home in them.
Toss or donate old or nonessential items
When you’re done doing an inventory of the items in your attic, it’s time to choose which ones to toss and donate. Items that are no longer useful will just collect dust and take up space, so don’t hesitate to toss your old belongings away and move on.
Create a floor plan for your attic
If you’re finished with separating from your non-essential items, it’s time to put your essentials back in the attic. Try to design a floor plan for each designated storage area in your attic. This will serve as a reminder of where each of your belongings is, making putting them back much faster.
Label your storage
Purchasing a label maker is a great help, especially when you have similar-looking bins and boxes or if you’re not in favor of buying different types of storage. With a label maker on hand, you’ll be able to label every storage container, such as bags, bins, and boxes. This way, you’ll immediately know what’s inside of the containers and where each item should be stored.
Use clear plastic bins to store items
Storing in clear plastic bins instead of opaque boxes makes looking for the item you need much easier. These plastic bins are not only easier to see into, but they’re also sturdier than cardboard boxes and are a great investment for long-term storage.
Fortify the attic floors before storing heavy items
If you have any heavy items to be stored in your attic, it’s better to brace the floor before doing so. Instead of refinishing your attic with new flooring, you can add some attic dek or plywood flooring that can rest on beams with much difficulty and displace the weight equally.
Install suspended shelves
If you have too many items to stack together, you can try installing suspended shelves between your attic trusses. Make sure that the things you’ll be putting on these shelves only weigh medium to light to keep your trusses protected for a long time.
Make use of old hooks
You can efficiently make use of your old picture hooks that are just lying around by making them as storage for hanging wardrobes or decorations for quick access. You can easily screw them into the wooden beams of your attic, serving as a cheap storage solution.
Install small cabinets and drawers
If you’re planning to store several small items in your attic, you could try adding small cabinets and drawers near the attic entrance. This will make grabbing them much easier as they will be closer to a natural light source.
Add a toss or donate area
Another great addition to your attic organizers should be to add a toss or donate area by the entrance of your attic. This will help you eliminate unwanted or nonessential items as time goes by instead of having them get piled up until you start organizing your attic again.