Each year, we wrap up the Christmas or Midwinter celebration with new festive decorations to our already extensive collection of decorations. They may be dishes, candelabras, stockings, outdoor lighting and much more. Once we’ve cleaned up from the extended family gathering, we realize that we’d like our living space to be less cluttered when we start the New Year.
At this time of year, we’re enjoying the beautiful winter wonderland as well. We’re enjoying having our kids and our own inner kids enjoy the snow of white slopes on snowboards, skis or even toboggans. Maybe, you’ve decided to break out the skates to enjoy the many outdoor ice rinks or surfaces around the city. Winter and the activities of the season get us hauling out all sorts of toys, decorative items as well as sports equipment.
Finding a way to organize the things we need to prepare for winter and all the great activities we enjoy, celebrate or do to adapt to the winter season can be daunting. A made-to-measure overhead garage storage system or garage renovation to create the space needed for these types of items is a great way to start off the New Year!
Why Consider Overhead Storage?
Eventually, our family lifestyles become so dynamic that it’s difficult to find a place to store everything. That’s when we encourage people to consider using the space overhead. A lot of the space overhead in the garage may often remain underutilized. If the height of the garage is 10 feet or higher, it’s a good idea to consider overhead storage systems.
Overhead platform storage may need a little more effort to use. People only want to access overhead storage from time to time since it may take a ladder, a set of stairs or a couple of people to store and organize the overhead space. That’s why overhead platform storage is ideal for seasonal storage where items are moved into the overhead space or out of the overhead space once or twice a year.
Overhead storage is out of the way so when we’re not using items for long periods of time, this type of storage works well. Platforms are also a form of open storage where we can see exactly what’s up there. When we’ve forgotten or we need to remember what we’ve got, an open platform storage system helps us find things easily.
What to Store in Overhead Storage Platforms
Seasonal items may include outdoor patio furniture or outdoor decorations. From lawn ornaments, outdoor patio lighting, BBQ or firepit accessories, there are a lot of warm weather outdoor items that get stored indoors for the winter. It may also include gardening tools and bags of soil, seeds or fertilizer. In the winter, it may be snow removal equipment, salt, sand, cat litter, antifreeze and other handy winter survival items.
When it comes to enjoying the lifestyle of the seasons, it’s sports equipment and toys applicable to specific seasons. Some of these sports may include hockey or snowboarding / skiing in the winter and cycling, wake boarding, kayaking and more in the summer. There are other storage systems ideal for keeping the sports equipment and toys easily accessible during the season but when it’s the off season, overhead can be a good place for keeping them out of the way.
Whether we celebrate Christmas, Winter Solstice or other seasonal festivities, we all seem to need a few decorations to honour the activities and rituals of the festival. These items are also used rarely so it’s handy to store them above where they remain safe from damage for the rest of the year.
Overhead Storage Platform Choices
There are a wide variety of overhead platform storage systems. Most of them are typically shelving units or platforms where we just place the items on top. This means, that our choice of shelf or platform can’t be too deep. After all, if our arms can’t reach far enough back to grab our stored items, it won’t be possible to retrieve items from their location. Some of the platforms have a 4×8 base platform. This means, it was intended to be mounted in the middle of the ceiling where it would be possible to place a ladder on any of the four sides of the platform to reach items from any of the four sides. This means that this type of option requires enough space on all four sides for a ladder and space for the item to leave the storage platform.
There are also shelves that are mounted against the walls of the garage. Typically, shelves are not more than a couple of feet deep so that anyone in the family can reach to the back and still access belongings that they want to retrieve from storage. This also makes it easy to take a visual inventory of where things are stored when standing in the middle of the garage.
All storage platforms are secured either from the top via the ceiling or from the bottom via supporting beams to the garage floor. When storage platforms are secured properly, they can easily hold a few hundred pounds worth of your belongings.
Whether you purchase the pre-manufactured metal platforms, build a wooden one yourself or have one of our garage renovation specialists build a made-to-measure overhead storage platform system as part of an overall garage design. Securing the platform is most important to assure there is no damage to the belongings, family members walking through the garage or the vehicles parked in the areas beside or below the platform storage.
Finished Platforms for a Finished Garage Design Look
Finally, making a choice of platform may depend on how finished a garage design may be desired. A barebones garage may be well suited to a pre-manufactured platform or a DYI platform made of wood beams.
On the other hand, you can get an overhead platform capable of holding several hundred pounds per square foot with a finished made-to-measure storage platform with a drywall finish, an under mount LED lighting system and minimal overhead structure from one of our garage renovation specialists. Contact us for a free in-home consultation to discuss your options.
