Preparing to Buy or Sell a Home: Making the Most of Storage - Part 4

Buyers want ample storage areas, while sellers need it both for eliminating clutter from rooms while showing a home, and for containing their own personal items. Learning how to best utilize the storage will increase the functionality and presentation of your home. To ensure success, follow these four steps: Assess, Prepare, Achieve & Maintain, and Refine.

Refine: Love What Works and Don’t Let Trouble Continue

Every so often, a homeowner will look up and find that they have a “trouble spot.” When tools are hard to return to their storage areas, or holiday items linger in boxes by the door, it is usually a sign that the storage area is too difficult to access or the system of storage hinders use. The ability to return items to storage is as important as the ability to get to them easily, so you might need to refine your system to overcome any challenges you find.

Annual inspections might reveal that there are items to purge, spaces to improve, or systems that need upgrading. Most of all, you stay in touch with your home and its real value to you.

While you are at it, don't forget to appreciate what is working well. Storing stuff you love in a way that works makes your home a haven and a place that allows you to function at a high level. It's the best way to get value out of your home, and give you a new perspective on what you really have.

Preparing to Buy or Sell a Home: Making the Most of Storage - Part 3

Buyers want ample storage areas, while sellers need it both for eliminating clutter from rooms while showing a home, and for containing their own personal items. Learning how to best utilize the storage will increase the functionality and presentation of your home. To ensure success, follow these four steps: Assess, Prepare, Achieve & Maintain, and Refine.

Achieve and Maintain: Principles of Storing

Now that you understand what you have in the way of stuff and storage space, and you have prepared the items and the spaces and created a system, placing things is much easier. By this time, you probably understand what you have and whether it will be actively used.

Generally there are levels of storage—long-term, seasonal, and active-use. Understand the nature of what you are storing.

Items being held for future generations, which might not be accessed for years, belong in long-tem storage. If they are well-stored and secure, putting them in a far corner that is not very accessible might be fine. This is the time to consider attic and basement space, but only if the items are well-stored and the space is properly prepared.

Similarly, consider dedicating “seasonal storage” that can be rotated so that the next season's items are in the front, ready to be taken out when needed. Packing seasonal storage too tightly and not rotating it may render it useless, so this is one area where establishing a system can really pay off.

Active storage is important to keep organized and not over-filled. Items should be easy to locate, retrieve and replace, and what you want should be where you want it. Items that are out of place breed clutter and chaos, so well-ordered active storage is a key to a well-functioning home.

If you are storing something that you don't use or love, it is taking up valuable space. Every so often, go into the back of your cabinets and drawers to find items you no longer use or love. This is one of the quickest ways to gain storage space without spending money on shelves or storage systems.

Preparing to Buy or Sell a Home: Making the Most of Storage - Part 2

Buyers want ample storage areas, while sellers need it both for eliminating clutter from rooms while showing a home, and for containing their own personal items. Learning how to best utilize the storage will increase the functionality and presentation of your home. To ensure success, follow these four steps: Assess, Prepare, Achieve & Maintain, and Refine.

Prepare: The Space, the Items, and the System

After you have assessed the storage space, it is time to remedy any issues found. Creating access, resolving moisture or pest infestation, heating or cooling issues, and cleaning an area can ensure that items stored there will retain their value and usefulness.

Storage space that is climate controlled, dry and easily accessible is the most valuable. Renovations that add additional storage of this sort may increase your home's value. Any time you consider removing storage, eliminating closets or shelving, consider the consequences carefully and determine if that storage will be available elsewhere.

Storing items in strong containers helps keep them in good repair. While storage containers might be expensive, storing your valuables poorly can result in loss or damage, which might be equally costly. Cardboard boxes are subject to moisture and are often difficult to move, and can result in content which is difficult to see and access.

Shelving can provide an alternative to stacking boxes on the floor and make them easier to access. Moving one box to get to another is acceptable, but stacking too many boxes on top of each other can make retrieving items from lower boxes a daunting task.

Using boxes or containers that are sized to the contents will ensure that each box does not get too heavy. Fragile items that are stored in large boxes can be broken more easily, and items with many pieces should be stored together. Ensure that shelving and containers work together, and that items of like kinds are stored near each other, in a place that makes sense. Label your boxes, but be sure to update them when the contents change.

Preparing to Buy or Sell a Home: Making the Most of Storage (Part 1)

Buyers want ample storage areas, while sellers need it both for eliminating clutter from rooms while showing a home, and for containing their own personal items. Learning how to best utilize the storage will increase the functionality and presentation of your home. To ensure success, follow these four steps: Assess, Prepare, Achieve & Maintain, and Refine.

Assess: Storage Areas and Items to Store

What you have and where you will store it are both pertinent questions. Simply having a lot of space is only part of the puzzle; being able to access your belongings is equally important.

Inventory the storage areas on your property. Having an attic or basement does not mean that you have more storage if they are difficult to access, wet, unduly hot or cold, or infested with mice or mold, so check these areas and really look at their condition. Similarly, cabinets and closets with particularly high shelving or excessively deep shelving provide wonderful storage for items that are not often in use.

Don't overlook non-traditional storage—alcoves and places where storage furniture or built-in furniture could exist. Your space might have a perfect place to put an armoire, bench seat with storage, or built-in bookshelves. Large porches, sheds and garages often have places where storage is possible. If these areas are exposed to view, containers should be attractive and appropriate to the spot.

If in your assessment of space and items to store you have far more items than space, then further reduction of possessions might be in order. An alternative is to create more storage in the home or on the property possibly by building an addition, garage, or shed. Otherwise, if you have more stuff than fits in storage, you will either live with it in your way day-to-day, or have to rent storage space out of the home, which is expensive and inconvenient for accessing your items. Or perhaps you just need a bigger home!

Preparing to Sell a Home: What Easy, Inexpensive Home Improvement Ideas Can I Do in a Weekend?

Whether you currently own a home or are preparing your home for sale, below are a few simple home improvement ideas that don’t cost much and can be completed over a weekend.

Air It Out. Change your air filters each month, or as recommended, to increase the efficiency of your furnace or air conditioner.

Duct Works. In addition to cleaning your dryer filter after each use, don’t neglect the dryer duct. Check this potential fire hazard, and clean as necessary, at least once per year.

Safety First. Check your fire extinguisher, fire alarm, and carbon monoxide alarm to make sure they are functional.

Energize. Updating light fixtures and bulbs saves money, is good for the environment, and provides an immediate return on investment. Then consider updating your old, energy-hungry appliances like water heaters, dishwashers, and washer/dryers. Local governments often offer incentives for purchasing energy-efficient appliances.

Weatherproof.  Making minor modifications to doors, windows, and insulation can reduce energy costs. Your local electric company may offer a free energy audit inspection to tell you what else you can do.