Tips From an Organization Expert

Year-Round Storage

MHI: What should go in the attic? The basement?

JW: Keep as little as possible in your attic or basement. Bear in mind that the more storage space you have, the more stuff you will keep. That said, attics and basements can be great places to keep holiday decorations and seasonal items, memorabilia, or photos. However, these spaces aren’t always climate controlled, so be sure to use proper storage containers and only store items there that won’t perish or suffer due to changes in temperature.

Also, avoid keeping large piles of paper in attics as they could become a fire hazard. Regularly purge these areas so you aren’t keeping things you no longer want. And keep an inventory of what you store there and refer to it when you want to retrieve an item. This will help you avoid pulling out boxes and going through them just to find that what you were looking for isn’t there. Attic Trac is a great storage system to help you easily access your stored items in the attic, basement, or other awkward crawl spaces.