One of the things that most of us are guilty of when it comes to storing items is getting it packed away quickly and put up in a closet, in the basement or out in our storage shed so we no longer have to deal with it. The problem with that is we sometimes don’t take the time we should to pack things away carefully and protect it. This causes massive issues ranging from breakage to warping that we just did not anticipate before we packed it away.

To alleviate that problem we should carefully consider what we have and where it is going before we ever do anything. Placing old vinyl records in a hot storage room on the bottom of a pile of heavy books is not the ideal way to store these items. That goes for any multimedia that can melt away in heat. Out brains know this but for some reason we do it anyway and then think later that we should have known better. Same thing goes for storing paper items, books, letters, etc on the bottom of a basement floor or storage facility at or away from home. It takes minimal amounts of water to get soaked up in these paper products and totally ruin them.

A little forethought goes a long way when determining the best way to protect those items that you want to store.

I recently sat in on a home owner’s insurance seminar and learned a couple of things that I didn’t know. Most insurance companies don’t re-rate policies due to weather related claims but they DO RE-RATE for preventable claims. The number one preventable claim is water damage from two sources; your washing machine hoses and frozen pipes and both are very preventable for the amount of money far under most people’s deductible.

There are several different types of leak detectors that can be used for your washer that range from simple alarm sensors to let you know there is a leak to those that have an automatic shut off. If you tend to leave the house with the washer on, you really will need to get an automatic sensor that will shut off the water source. As far as frozen pipes go, the number one thing you can do to prevent this mess is to keep the heat on in the winter whether you are at the house or not. Just doing these two things will save you a ton of headaches and money that you need for other things right now. You are talking about the difference of preventative action that might cost a couple hundred dollars at the most compared to $7,500, which is the average water claim these days.

It’s the time of year to kick back for part of your weekend and enjoy your favorite college or NFL teams.  If you’re having an issue with sharing your space with a spouse, roommate or kids, it might be a great idea to start making plans to build your own space for next season.  (Face it, if you build it now, you will miss the games!)

Where in your house, inside and out, can you squeeze out some space that you can call your own?  It may be in a garage, on a patio, a spare room, basement or covered porch.  It doesn’t really matter where it is; just that there is some place you can call your own.

Start with that space in mind and visualize how you would want to transform the area into your very own TV and entertainment zone.  Start saving a little money every week or month to put toward the renovation for next spring or summer.  Make a few small purchases to keep you motivated and focused on the project and when its right take action and do it! 

Several years ago my wife and I decided we lived in a house that was just too big for two people.  It was a 2400 square ft home with a half basement where I stored all my tools and lawn equipment.  We decided to sell the home and rent a house and see if we could live smaller.

So we found a house that was 1800 square ft and rented it for 1 year.  What we found out was it too was just to large for us.  We never went into one of the bedrooms, the dining room or another small living area.  However, this house did have 1 car garage where I stored my lawn equipment and tools.

At the end of that year we decided to go ahead and look for a smaller home and buy again, which we did.  What we realized after we bought our present house is it is a great size for us.  We utilize all the space but we had one major problem.  Since there was neither a garage nor a basement, there was no place to store the lawn equipment or tools.  The answer was a storage unit and we have never looked back.

You’ve heard the stories about successful business owners that started their companies in their basement, extra room, garage or shed out back.  From Walt Disney to Steve Jobs of Apple and many in-between, where there was space there was a way.

I have heard of people converting half baths, laundry rooms and closets into home offices.  However, one of my favorites is the storage shed conversion.  Yes, it takes some additional planning as far as electric and insulation goes but it solves some very common problems.

• You only have the shed to keep clean when clients visit
• It’s out of the house and you know the old saying, “out of sight, out of mind”
• It’s quite when you’re on the phone (I have never figured out why my kids scream every time I’m on the phone and the dogs bark… )
• You can still go to the office when you have company (your office is not the spare guest room)
• You have a separate entrance with a door you can lock
• It’s your space to organize and do with what you please

If you have room in your house and you don’t have any of the problems above, that’s great; forge ahead and remake that spare space into an organized, home office machine.  If, on the other hand, you don’t have the needed space in your home or you need the quite and privacy to be successful in your home office, think about a shed conversion.  It just may be what the boss has in mind.