Attic Attack: How To Finally Clear Out Your Attic

If you’ve got a cluttered attic, chances are you’ve been putting off clearing it out for years. It’s a monumental task that could potentially involve having to brave spiders and part with precious sentimental items. But think about everything you could achieve if you finally cleared it out! You could make some money selling some of your stuff and you’ll have an extra space in your home to turn into a bedroom or office or study. To help you finally get stuck in, here are a few tips to motivate you.

Schedule a full day

Instead of telling yourself you’ll do it soon, set a date in the diary. Ideally, you want a full free day or even a full free weekend. This allows you to get it all over and done with at once – if you have to abandon the clear out half-way, you might never continue it. To further motivate you, consider setting a reward for completion such as a takeaway or a spa day. 

Create sorting stations

Designate another room in your home as the sorting room and set up the following sorting stations: ‘keep’, ‘sell’, ‘donate’ and ‘throw away’. The stuff you keep will go back in your attic or will be stored somewhere else in your home. The stuff you donate should be taken to charity thrift shops. The stuff you want to sell could be listed online there and then (check out this CNBC guide to places to sell items online). Items you plan to throw away should be bagged and removed as soon as possible.

Take photos of sentimental items

Parting with sentimental items can be hard, but you can reduce the pain by taking photos. This gives you a memory to keep onto. Old photographs themselves can often be digitized, allowing you to still look back at them while saving physical space. Create a secure digital folder to keep these memories in. 

Hire help with junk removal

If you’ve got a lot of clutter and you haven’t got a large vehicle for taking it all to the dump, consider looking into junk removal companies like The Junkluggers. Such professionals can supply you with a dumpster and even help you remove items from your home. Professional help is recommended for large attic hoards – especially if you’re clearing out someone else’s attic. 

Use the chance to deep clean

Before you start putting items back in your attic, take the opportunity to deep clean it. Remove all cobwebs and clear the floor of any dust or debris. You can do this yourself or hire a professional cleaner. 

Set a yard sale date

Don’t let those items you plan to sell gather dust. Set a yard sale date to encourage you to actually sell them. Valuable items can be sold separately to help maximize profit – use a yard sale to try to shift all those other small low value items. Just make sure to look into local laws regarding yard sales. Flea markets could be another way to sell lots of items at once. Plan to donate whatever you can’t sell.