Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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!

No comments:

Post a Comment