Tips on Keeping Your Attic Organized

Located at the top of a house, an attic has lots of potential uses. You might also hear it called a loft or a garret (in the UK).

Many people use the attic in their home as a place to store things like clothes, furniture, and other things they don’t use. In lots of cases, that build-up of things can easily pave the way for disorganization. From there, it will only get more overwhelming. That’s why keeping your attic organized is so important.

There are some simple ways to do this. You’ll be glad you did, too, because, for one thing, good organization makes it easier to find what you need. Plus, it also means you’ll be taking full advantage of the space. Those are two pretty good reasons to keep an attic organized, right? If you’re interested, keep reading to see our techniques on how to do it!

Keeping your attic organized

1. Clean

It might seem hard to believe, but just seeing your attic empty can help you get a better sense of the space and its storage capacities. So, temporarily move out anything you’re storing in there and do a deep clean. Then you can separate the various things you’re storing into three groups:

• Useful things.
• Souvenirs or other objects with sentimental value.
• Trash or useless things you should get rid of. This could either be because they don’t work, are beyond repair, because you just don’t use them, or for any other reason. 

2. Put in shelves

Putting in individual shelves, bookshelves, or other storage furniture can be a big help in keeping your attic organized. You could also go for another super simple option – organizers. You can put these up and take them down easily, and they can easily adjust to best store whatever objects you have to put in or on them.

But remember that organizers vary a lot in size and the number of compartments they have. You should also keep in mind that they may be made of wood, fabric, plastic, or lots of other materials. Choose whatever is most practical for you.

Souvenirs and objects with sentimental value (like childhood toys) are perfect for putting in drawers. This will help protect them over time.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are one of the best ways to take full advantage of the space along the walls. 

3. Object distribution

You could distribute things based on how often use you use them, or by sections. For example, if you use your attic to store food, gardening tools, sentimental objects, and other odds and ends, you should keep them all within their groups. Having them like that will help you put things where they belong and keep your attic organized.

Other useful tips

• Put labels or signs on drawers.
• Avoid cardboard boxes, because they’re vulnerable to moisture. 
• Instead of using large, bulky boxes or containers, find some that are on the smaller end. That makes them much easier to move around and handle.
• When you’re distributing your furniture and the things you’re storing, always try to keep the entryway clear. Easy access is a key part of a functional attic.
• If you have lots of things to store, make sure to avoid cluttering the space. You’ll just end up back where you started. Instead, try to sort through things and hold onto only the things you really need.
• Your furniture and storage distribution should be functional, both in terms of storage and making it easy for you to clean.
• All heavy boxes and objects should be towards the floor, or on the lowest shelf. The lighter things, though, should be in the middle shelves, because they could fall easily if they’re on the top.
• You should wrap fragile things in a protective material (newspaper, bubble wrap, and things like that).

Apply all these tips and suggestions on keeping your attic organized, and make sure to do a periodic reassessment. This will help you keep track of the things you really need and want to keep and prevent you from building up lots of unnecessary things.