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Storage - wld you be put off buying house without...

12 replies

ReshapeWhileDamp · 29/04/2010 19:10

... either a garage or loft space?

We're hoping to put our 3 bed semi on the market soon and are looking for a 4 bed house. Ideally, we'd love to stay in this village, as it has everything we need, friends, roots, etc. There's a townhouse here that's been on the market at least a year, at a very good price - except they've made the garage into a family room beside the kitchen, which we'd want to keep (other living room is on the first floor) and owing to the townhouse construction, there is no loft space at all!

Would you consider buying a house with neither loft or garage storage space? Surely everyone has boxes of this and that which need stashing away out of sight? (We've got considerably more than just boxes, but I accept that a major amount of decluttering will have to go on!) There's not an awful lot of cupboard storage space either.

OP posts:
ageing5yearseachyear · 29/04/2010 19:27

has it got a decent garden? could you put a metal shed thing in that for storage?

i couldnt live without somewhere to put all the tat tbh.

boogeek · 29/04/2010 19:30

If it isn't stuff you need to get to very often but just like to have, maybe you could put it into one of those big out of town storage places? I don't think that costs too much.

bran · 29/04/2010 19:41

How big are the rooms? We have virtually no storage in our 3 bed flat and before DD arrived we had cabinets put into our sitting/dining room. It holds a mini-office with desk space for DH and I, printers and paperwork, a huge cupboard for large items like suitcases, a toy cupboard and a book case. It honestly doesn't make the room look any smaller (although it is a large room to start with) as it's floor to ceiling doors finished in white gloss so it reflects lots of light back into the room.

If you're a bit of a hoarder than not having abundant storage space is a good thing IMO as your more likely to think carefully about whether or not you really need something.

lalalonglegs · 29/04/2010 21:42

We don't have loft or garage (loft converted so only a tiny bit under eaves). You just have to be more careful about what you keep. If the garden is large enough you could buy a shed but, really, try to see it as liberating - apart from the Christmas decorations and a couple of suitcases, what do you need to hang onto hidden away for months on end?

ReshapeWhileDamp · 30/04/2010 09:29

It's got quite an odd garden - 40 foot long, but at the moment has two ponds, a 'canal' connecting them (this sounds nicer than it is and besides, not great for small children) and is covered with slate chips, etc. Has a small shed that I presume she uses to store garden stuff.

Boo - we could use a storage place, but last time I looked, they cost something like £100 a month! I know because we'll have to use one for a little while when we declutter to sell this place!

The rooms are reasonably generous and there is some built-in storage but not enough to compensate for no loft. I agree that having less space will really make me think hard about what to keep, but it also makes me feel sad and panicky!

OP posts:
BooKangerooWonders · 01/05/2010 07:19

We live in a town house with a converted garage. It only leaves enough former-garage room for bikes but it's enough. No loft means no long-term forgotten items. Suitcases go under beds, Christmas decs go over the bikes.
OTHH we do have a utility room for all the medium-term things like picnic stuff, outgrown clothes and tools.

I love our town house!

castille · 01/05/2010 07:40

Can you add more storage in the house? Build a few more cupboards?

It gets annoying after a while not having anywhere to put things you aren't using right at that moment. Not keeping anything makes for a more expensive life - you end up buying new things instead of recycling old stuff for new purposes.

noddyholder · 01/05/2010 09:38

yes i would get a good local carpenter to build in storage with doors in every nook and cranny and have a wall of storage in the garage and confine all magazines and everyday stuff to there.Agree a decent shed can be a god send too

brennannbooth · 01/05/2010 09:43

You can also consider using a storage company for some things, in London these are everywhere now and cheaper than buying a different house!

toja555 · 03/05/2010 19:55

We have 2 bed Victorian house, and there is a loft - ask if I use it? Practically not! The hole to the loft is so small and I can't bother everytime to carry heavy ladders to the landing. We keep all staff in our shed house, which is small and stuffed to ceiling. I also have become a regular ebay seller
We used to live in a rented 1 bedroom flat without any storage, god knows how we managed (2 adults and a child).

nappyaddict · 05/05/2010 16:28

What do you need to store? In our garage we have Christmas decorations, holiday and camping stuff, garden stuff, tools, paint, ladders, wellies, umnrellas and outdoor toys.

I suppose if you want to hand stuff down (I only have DS) then you need somewhere to store outgrown stuff too.

dexter73 · 05/05/2010 21:57

Blimey toja555 - I feel sorry for your staff!

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