The festive season may be well and truly over for another year but in some ways its legacy still remains. As well as the extra inches you may have gained around your waistline during the celebrations, you are also likely to have amassed a number of new possessions.
After all, December 25th has become a gift giving frenzy and you might have received anything from books and CDs to new televisions, exercise machines and kitchen equipment.
Whatever you got, you will need somewhere appropriate to house it. After all, having items strewn around your home is not desirable and can look messy.
As well as being an eyesore when guests arrive, this is also bound to diminish your enjoyment of your property because you are likely to feel a sense of stress. Indeed, you might begin to struggle when finding your possessions if they are not placed in an ordered fashion.
If you are in this position, you should consider investing in additional storage. Whether you go for racking or any other form of storage, this could make your life considerably easier.
And when you choose your racking or whatever else you want, such as storage trunks, you should perhaps get items that are big enough to keep future gifts in too.
This means that when the next festive season arrives, or indeed when you are handed items for your birthday, you are more likely to have somewhere to place them.
These days there are a whole range of storage racking solutions available to help you keep your home tidy and your belongings ordered.
If you are considering revamping your home, you are by no means alone. Many consumers are keen to do this. Not only does it mean you can get more pleasure out of the residence, but it can also increase its value if and when you come to sell it.
There are a number of factors you should take into account when you are making changes to your home. Obviously you should choose decor that suits your tastes and, if you are thinking of putting the abode on the market, you should go for neutral colours and styles.
However, there are also more practical considerations to bear in mind. For example, you should ensure there is plenty of storage available. Whether this is in the form of shelving or anything else, it can really add to your property.
Having the necessary level of storage means you can keep the place looking tidy and it also means you are less likely to lose items, which can save you considerable time and hassle in the long run.
Meanwhile, because your residence is more appealing to the eye when it is free from clutter, you will get more enjoyment from it.
And not only this but when you come to sell the house, you should be able to get more money for it. One of the criteria many home seekers look for is the amount of shelving and other shelf storage spaces.
After all, they have their own possessions they need to keep and they need somewhere to do this.
It may be an idea to pay close attention to your home shelving, and ensure it looks high quality.
Shelving can be a very effective way of creating additional storage within a home. Before unleashing the power drill, however, it is worth taking some time to consider exactly where they should go and what they will be expected to hold. This will influence how strong they need to be and therefore determine the most suitable material to use, as well as the type of support. Thankfully, there are a few different options:
Fixed
This is the standard option, familiar to DIY enthusiasts everywhere. Brackets are fixed to a wall and a shelf is then placed across them. Brackets are available in all shapes and sizes to ensure any type of shelf is well supported. Style options range from simple to elaborate, with colours and finishes to complement all decors.
Built-in
This is a good option when dealing with alcoves as it benefits from added support and also utilises space which would otherwise be wasted. This is also a versatile option as the shelves can be installed at different heights, which means that the lowest shelf can also be arranged to leave space for any furniture underneath.
Adjustable
These manufactured systems provide strong shelving which is tidy and easy to adjust. To put them up, just fix the vertical rails to a wall and then slot in the brackets which support the shelves. The rails and brackets come in various sizes and are generally made of aluminium or steel. Although more expensive, this is the strongest and most versatile of the three options. Storage trunks can also be a good idea, being both convenient and practical.
Many peoples’ garages can soon become the Aladdin’s Cave area of their home, as more and more items get stored there just because there is nowhere else to put them. Inevitably, this can soon turn a once designated utility/work space into nothing more than a large outdoor cupboard. However, garages often have higher ceilings than indoor rooms, and the biggest mistake that people make is not using that extra space to their advantage.
One way to improve how items are stored in a high ceilinged garage is to install shelves, as they can be put up high and keep items off the floor. The type of shelving needed will depend largely on how often the garage is used and what it is normally used for. If garages are used for workshop duties on a daily basis, then open shelves are a good option as they make it easy to find items which are frequently needed. Closed shelving or cabinets are tidier in appearance, but can be more constrictive.
These are better suited to garages which are used more as utility rooms, as it may sometimes be necessary to search around before finding the desired item (although sticking a label on the door listing the contents inside can help). When it comes to storing larger objects, metal shelving is often the most suitable solution. Items such as power tools, car parts, and gardening equipment can be heavy, so a metal shelf will provide the strength necessary to guarantee everything remains safe.
Advances in communications and the availability of the Internet means that more and more people are working from home these days. Although most people may consider working from home a treat, there are some drawbacks to having a workspace in a residence. One of the biggest challenges is being able to keep work and home separate. Many home workers find it hard to avoid the distractions in their home, and so are not as productive as they could be. It is also easy to let work spill over into domestic life, thus turning the family home into an office boardroom. Organisation is the key to maintaining a barrier between work and home, and the best way to maintain organisation is by using effective storage solutions.
The most common items which nearly all home businesses will need to store are files, so a methodical way of storing documents is paramount. Shelves are an obvious and practical solution, as they are affordable and can be installed to accommodate files of all sizes.
Hardwearing metal shelves can also be a good long-term solution, as they can cope with the extra weight created by accumulated files. Even the smallest spaces can be put to good use with the wealth of affordable storage products now available on the Internet. Getting organised with efficient storage will help keep work and home life separate. This in turn will hopefully see productivity remain constant, and also stop a happy home from turning into one big domestic office.
The British climate isn’t such a bad one really. We have beautiful crisp spring mornings when the grass is new and green and the daffodils are in full bloom everywhere you look and cool misty autumn evenings when the leaves are piled high in a thousand different shades of yellow, brown and red. In between we’ve got warm (but not too warm) sunny summer days perfect for getting outside and enjoying ourselves. Even our winters aren’t too cold, with just enough snow to add a touch of excitement.
However, there is one downside to the British climate – the damp. It rains, it rains, it rains and just for good measure it rains some more. In most places humidity stays high throughout the winter and we’re served a steady diet of showers, drizzle, downpours, sleet, hail, and fog. More or less any way water can come out of the sky, we get it.
This constant dampness can cause problems when you’re putting things into long term storage or even just confining your summer clothes to the garage or basement shelving unit for a few months over the chilly season. Because nothing really dries out without being heated or properly aired, once something has gotten damp it stays damp.
You can avoid problems with damp and associated issues like mold and warping by arranging your storage containers carefully. First, don’t keep vulnerable items like papers and books in cardboard boxes. Use plastic, which keeps the damp out, and make sure everything going into the boxes is perfectly dry. If most of your storage is in cardboard boxes, put them up off the floor on a shelving unit- keeping boxes off the ground will go a long way towards stopping the contents from getting damp.
Our parents and grandparents always used to keep clothes and bedding (and almost anything else that went into long term storage) put away in boxes and on shelves all folded up with special chemical mothballs to keep pesky insects at bay. The expression ‘mothballed’ comes from this practice of carefully racking something away and not expecting to want it again for a long time. The mothballs did keep the moths away, but there was a downside. They made everything smell quite sharply and the balls themselves were toxic. That’s one reason you don’t see them around much any more.
Most moths are completely blameless and have no interest in eating fabrics at all. It’s only a couple of species out of hundreds that you need to watch out for, so there’s no need to worry if you see moths flitting around your outdoor lighting or even if they get into the garage that holds your storage units. The bothersome ones are usually very small, less than half an inch in length and about as slim as a pencil lead. Even then, there are many harmless species that fit the description.
Sometimes moths can be a problem but there is no usually need to resort to chemical means to keep these critters out of your belongings. Simply racking your goods in plastic boxes or wrapped in plastic bags will keep them safe from moths. Storage in plastic boxes or bags also keeps things clean and a little more tidy.
If you’ve got a lot of stuff stashed away in storage racking and shelving units you’re already halfway to being able to find everything you need quickly and easily. Piles of cardboard boxes are a nightmare to search through if you’re not sure which box the item you’re after is in. Anyone who has spent a long day moving house and then gone to the new kitchen for a well-earned cup of tea only to realise that the mugs could be at the bottom of any one of a dozen boxes will agree with that wholeheartedly.
Having an organisational system for your shelving space goes one step further than simply making things much tidier and more accessible. It can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be. If you’ve got a lot of things in storage, you might want to keep fairly detailed records of what was put where. If not, just having an idea where you put the DIY tools and where you put the recipe books could be enough.
Either way, it’s good practice to label boxes and shelving units. It won’t take very long if you do it when you store the items in the first place and it could save you a lot of time and frustration in the long run. For most of us, just labelling boxes or individual storage space spaces ‘Fishing Gear’ or ‘Paints and Paint Brushes’ is a very good idea. It’ll help you find things and also make it easier for other people to put stuff back in the right places.
Having a tidy home requires a significant amount of organisation. If you find that your home has fallen into disorder, you may find it difficult to cope. For example, it might be impossible to find those bank statements you are desperately seeking, those receipts you know you have kept somewhere or your insurance documents.
Meanwhile, larger items such as books, CDs and DVDs may always be escaping your grasp. However, it needn’t be like this. You can seize control of the situation by investing in suitable storage solutions. While buying products like this requires a little initial investment in terms of time and money, it is likely to save you both of these commodities in the future.
By getting shelves or other types of storage, you can dramatically cut the number of minutes or hours you spend rummaging for items in your home. And by being able to locate important paperwork, you may end up saving cash. For example, if an accident occurs, you will have the receipts and documents to hand to make a successful insurance claim. It is important that you buy shelves, shelving units or other such products that suit your needs and fit conveniently into your property.
If they are in a good position, it is more likely that you will use them effectively. And the sooner you get your new means of storing things, the sooner you can relax and stop stressing about the clutter in your home. So what are you waiting for? Get ordering.
It may seem odd to suggest that storage could help your firm remain legal. However, on closer inspection, the proposition is not so outlandish. After all, these days running a company requires you to stay on top of a large amount of paperwork. You have to ensure certain health and safety documents are available and the appropriate protocol is being adhered to. Also, there are a number of insurance policies you are required to have.
In addition, if you employ other workers, you need to make sure all their contracts are legitimate and up-to-date. Similarly, your tax documents should be checked regularly, as should any licenses you require. Meanwhile, if you run one or more company vehicle, you need to make sure you keep track of its servicing and MOT record.
Staying abreast of all of these issues can be a nightmare and the likelihood that you will succeed is diminished if your office or factory is a mess. Without proper storage such as shelving units, you may struggle to ensure your operation remains fully legal all of the time. So, don’t wait until you accidentally contravene the law, get shelving or other similar products now so that you can keep a closer eye on your paperwork.
If you fail to act on this and simply leave things as they are, you may find yourself facing costly and damaging legal action. As a business owner, this is surely something you wish to avoid at all costs – and doing so may be easier than you think. Having the correct filing storage could be highly beneficial.