Do you ever wish that you had bought a three-bedroom house instead of a two-bedroom? What about your garage – how often do you look at it and shudder at the thought of getting something out of the back? There are many storage options available to you, but some part of you wants to make sure that your home still feels like, well, a home. By utilizing the right storage functionality, you can make your home more organized and creating more room without feeling like you are in a warehouse.

When you go to a home improvement store and look in the home organization section, you are likely to see containers. Lots and lots of containers. While there is nothing wrong with these containers, not all of them will be right for your situation. Before you buy twenty of the latest rubberised stackable container design, make a plan for where you are going to store your things.

One of the most obvious places is the garage. Depending on how many vehicles or recreational items you want to store in your garage, you have a number of different options for storage options. Durable containers and other brands work well in the garage because they often come in see-through deigns, and can be easily stacked along the walls. Make sure that you secure these to the wall in case an earthquake or accidental bump threatens to make the wall fall over. If you don’t like the look of the Rubbermaid containers lining your garage, you can put tool pegboards or bulletin boards along the front. This will not only improve the aesthetics of the garage, but it will also make the space multi-functional.

When it comes to the inside of your home, you can still use durable containers, but you might consider different ideas in order to maintain the style of your home. If you have a country theme, get some wicker baskets to store your things in. Though they can be costly, storage ottomans and storage benches are great solutions for making your living room more, well, livable.

No matter what style of organization you choose, the extra space that you come up with can be used for a lot of different things. If you really get the hang of organizing your space, you can become a “landlord” and make some extra money by renting out your extra space to people who are trying to get more space in their own home.

Is your home overflowing with “stuff”? You know, “stuff” is the things that you don’t use often that primarily just takes up space. Skis, old books or magazines, keepsakes, pretty much anything could be occupying valuable real estate in your home. And let’s face it, there’s not a lot of space in New York. In fact, if everyone who lives and works in New York City was outside at the same time, there wouldn’t be enough space for them all.

If you are looking for a bit more elbow room in your home, self-storage might be a great solution for you. There are over sixty self-storage locations on the island of Manhattan. With this many options, figuring out which one is the best fit for you can be a challenge. Thankfully, we have compiled a few tips to help, from those who have been there before you.

One of the first considerations is accessibility. Sure, you want your things out of your home, but that doesn’t mean you are going to disregard them entirely. With so many self-storage sites in Manhattan, there is likely one near you; however, the prospect of moving all of your things even a few blocks across the city can be daunting.

Another option is to find an extensive database of storage “landlords”: people who have some extra space in their home or business that they rent out to people like you. The landlord-tenant solution provides some extra benefits to traditional self-storage. Not only might there be locations closer to your home (maybe even in the same building), but because these spaces are generally part of someone’s home or office space, there are people who have a vested interest in keeping the space safe and secure. Just in the course of living their lives and doing business, they have an eye on your things.

The cost of self-storage varies depending on what your storage needs are. For a small space (around 4’ x 3’ x 3’), you can expect to pay from thirty to seventy dollars per month. Larger spaces (10’ x 20’) are in the range of $150 to $700 per month. In a true self-storage marketplace, you can negotiate your price with your landlord, so there is a lot of room for improvement on these prices.

No matter which route you choose, keep in mind the three things that most people look for in storage: security, accessibility, and pricing. When you find the best mix of these three, you’ll know that you have found your storage solution.

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