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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With the excitement of moving into a new home, it’s often disheartening when the reality of unpacking sets in. Thankfully, with a little bit of thought on the front end of your move, you can not only reduce the stress involved with a big move, but you may also find a new revenue stream to help offset your new mortgage or rent.

One of the first things to remember when you are packing is to keep your overall goal in mind. If you begin reminiscing over every photograph, you may end up with nothing in boxes when moving day comes. But the goal of smart packing isn’t just to put things in boxes, either. Before you pack anything, ask yourself these questions:

Is this something I need? Too many times, when people move they end up frustrated with the same things in their new place that they didn’t want when they were in their prior home. If you find yourself questioning whether or not to keep something, set it aside in a “giveaway” box. Make this the last box that you close up, and the last box that you unpack. If you don’t access the box throughout your entire time unpacking, chances are that you don’t need what is in it. Consider selling or giving away these things, and utilize the extra space in your new home as a tenant for StorPod.

Do I like how this was organized in my current home?

If it bugged you in your first home, it will bug you in your new one. Instead of just throwing things into a box, take an extra couple minutes to redistribute them into boxes that make more sense, or use some organizational tools such as trays, baskets, or folders, to fix the problem now. When it comes time to unpack the box, you’ll be able to spend less time setting up your new home.

How hard will it be to find this once it’s in the box?

If you cringe when you are packing a box, you will most likely not like unpacking the box either. Don’t waste your time and space by digging through your things in order to find what you’re looking for. Instead, organize the items as you put them in the box. While in the packing stage this can be done just using plastic bags, the unpacking stage will give you an opportunity to use your space in a smarter way. If you take advantage of drawers, hooks, bookshelves, creative containers, and storage areas, you’ll find that you have more space available in your new home.

In this, our first blog post of 2010, we offer up a Top Ten list of things to keep in mind when organizing your home or office.

1. Know your goal – Write out the idea situation for your home. This is a no-holds-barred exercise. Don’t filter your thoughts, just write it down.
2. Work with the people around you – Your new system won’t work unless you and the people around you all commit to living within it. If part of it doesn’t work for one person, it won’t work for anyone. Collaborate until you find something that works.
3. Be creative in storage solutions – Don’t discount anything unless it is outside of your parameters. There is always time to change it once it has been implemented, but if you never implement it you will never really know its benefits and drawbacks.
4. Know your options – Just because all you have is one closet doesn’t mean that’s the only option. Using creative containers, multi-functional furniture, or services like StorPod can drastically increase your storage potential.
5. Don’t keep everything – While everything you own has value, it doesn’t mean that you have to keep it forever. If you haven’t looked at that book you bought three years ago, chances are you won’t look at it ever. Sell it on eBay or give it away and go to the library if you change your mind later.
6. Know how much space you need – Just because you have a lot of space doesn’t mean you need it. If you find that you can live in a smaller space, you can make money by becoming a StorPod landlord. If you think you need more space, you can move or become a StorPod tenant.
7. Know your values – Just because that clock is old and broken doesn’t mean it is worthless. If it is valuable to you because it reminds you of a life lesson, then keep it. But if you didn’t take the time realize that life lesson means something to you, you might regret throwing that clock away later.
8. Use what you have – Focusing more time and effort on organization doesn’t have to mean expensive storage solutions or built-ins. Use the resources you have available to you to make things work. If you have empty pots in the backyard from the flowers that died a few weeks ago, clean them out and use them as pencil holders.
9. Ask for help – Just because you’re out of ideas doesn’t mean that your project failed. Ask friends, families, or companies for help in organizing your home.
10. Don’t change it too often – One key principle for any system is that it has to be predictable to work. If you change your organizational strategy every week, you will find that you are never actually organized. Once you choose a strategy, try it out for a few months. Take notes on what you like and what you don’t like, and at the end of the three months make any necessary changes at one time.

While I was in my neighbour’s garage collecting some winter clothing I had stored there, I was thinking about a recent discussion with my friend Amanda Reekie.  Amanda is co-founder of Stratton & Reekie, a London-based PR, marketing and communications consultancy, specialising in the creative industries.

I had just told her about StorPod.com and her initial reply was “renting space out to inert objects instead of troublesome lodgers seems like a good idea”.  As always, Amanda gave me a nugget that triggered a number of other thoughts, this time about relative security implications of letting strangers into your home.

At StorPod we hear many concerns of potential risk around storing someone else’s stuff.  Of course this exists – just like it’s there if you allow someone to park in your garage, or if you lend your favourite power tool to a neighbour.

There’s always risk in dealing with other people.  You never really know what’s in a stranger’s suitcase; indeed, what’s the risk to friendship if you  accidentally spill something on your best buddy’s filing boxes stored in your attic? The question is really about the degree of risk as compared to the amount of benefit received.

There is a range of risks and a range of benefits, of course.  Perhaps you don’t want to risk a friendship, but you don’t mind that a stranger has stored a bottle of soda pop that randomly bursts and spills cola all over your attic.  Equally what could be meant by “benefit”?  Extra money, or simply convenience and space? For the sake of this article, we define “risk” in terms of the exposure of your home / family and “benefit” as financial gain.

Assuming you have extra space you want to do something with (ideally something that brings in money) we have identified a number of possible scenarios:

1/ You use the space for personal reasons.  It’s safe in that you know precisely what you’re with the space and the objects that you have stored there, but you can’t very well charge yourself for it and so that space does not earn you any money.  In fact, if you need to fix it up, it becomes an expense to you.

2/ You store your friend’s items for no fee.  The level of risk slightly increases as while your friend may not wish to intentionally cause you damage, something might break, or you might spill something on his possessions.  Again, no money is earned so there is really no (monetary) benefit to you.

3/ You could charge your friend to store his stuff.  This brings the whole question of money into friendships which isn’t very easy, but it does move this aspect of the relationship to more business-like terms and whilst you’re helping someone out, they’re giving you some financial recognition for it.  This is quite a safe option, but you probably won’t get anywhere near the true market value of your space.

4/ You could rent out a slice of your space – say your couch to a visitor.  This is actually quite a good idea, helps you meet new people – potentially from another part of the world – and gives you a bit extra money.  But, now we’re dealing with issues around people – lodgers, effectively – being in your home.  They have access to your possessions, they may snore, insist you be at their beck and call and drink your milk directly from the bottle.

5/ Rent to a fellow StorPodder. Ideally, you’ve met someone on the StorPod web site.  They need some help with extra space for their items, your home might be conveniently close.  They bring their items around and you politely ask to view the contents; you reject anything that’s not properly wrapped or is too heavy for the carpet in your spare room.  Satisfied with what you’ve seen, you help them seal everything up again (so they know that their possessions are secure) and they pay you the negotiated storage cost.

How will you use your space?

6/ We think that a similar risk / reward (as storage) is renting out your parking space.  You might have some extra challenges around granting access to the parking spot through a key card or similar manner.  Also you really don’t want a beat-up clunker as an eyesore in your driveway, leaking oil over the garage floor, or a door bashing into the neighbour’s parked car.  However, if all those are dealt with, you could have a very good relationship with your “tenant”.

7/ Rent out your spare bedroom to a professional or permanent lodger.  Here you’re dealing with more space, the need to pay electrical, water and other bills for another human being so you could probably earn more than you might if you rented out your space for storage of inert objects.  However, as with the couch surfer, no number of interviews can help determine what a potential lodger will really be like.  Will s/he start making googly eyes at your spouse?  Will the Monday to Friday professional be working really late hours and come back late after “liquid” business meetings?  Will the 7-day-a-week lodger run off one day with your laptop?

Clearly there are quite a number of ways to earn revenue from your unused space.  Your own tolerance level for risk and dynamics of your life need to govern whether having inert objects or humans under your roof is acceptable to you.

However,  within a reasonable risk / benefit range we support the notion of hiring out your space for storage purposes over simply giving it away, or having lodgers in your space.

Every so often, I go and visit my things in storage in a neighbour’s attic and just have a rummage around for an old document I suddenly need, or to transfer non-seasonal clothing to a protected environment.

Usually it’s a fight – inevitably I wind up taking out of the locker half of my stuff and methodically opening every suitcase or filing box to find exactly what I need.  Half the time it’s not there, or I don’t plan enough time for the visit and I bump up against the time that my neighbour needs to close up his home and leave.

I thought I had gotten smart – one day I arrived with a stack of pre-printed A4 (approx letter-sized) papers with large 48-point bold Arial writing on them as makeshift labels.  I used heavy duct tape to plaster signs like “Christmas deco’s” or “Air Mattress” or “Tax Records – 2005/06″ on the suitcase, box, or garbage bag I was using to store the item in question.

After a time, I had to bring additional papers to update my records (tax year 05/06 invetitably turned into 06/07, then to 07/08 and so on).  Also old papers get dog-eared, or I use the suitcases and need to replace the labels anyhow.

I finally decided to invest in some better storage boxes, after having woken up in the middle of one night exclaiming “Modular!”  In this way I could solve a number of problems:

• organise my things in decreet groups and categories
• with handles, the plastic boxes are easier to manage than bulky garbage bags or cardboard boxes that can rip
• the boxes are stackable evenly – no more dangerous leaning towers of papers
• the boxes I chose are air-tight and keep ambient smells or damp out
• as the boxes can be stacked, they allow air flow under, over and between them – again minimising any risk of damp

Best of all, they’re transparent – I can see at a glance whether the contents are my winter parka (which may weigh the same as my air mattress), or my tax files ready for the accountant instead of a thousand of my old holiday snaps!

Ordering was easy.  I live in the UK so I went through my British Airways Executive Club membership through to their online shopping service, clicked through to Ebay (doing it this way gets you double BA airmiles!) and selected 7 * 64 Litre boxes and 3 * 80 Litre boxes.   The next business day they arrived. Over the weekend, I did the repacking / distribution.

I can now sleep more soundly at night, knowing that future visits to my beloved storage home will be easier, faster and far more hassle free than ever!

Does the above sound like a cryptic message?  It might if you’re a landlord and have been looking for signs of recovery in the real estate market.  A recent survey by Rightmove (and reported in this morning’s City AM) suggests that asking prices are still dropping, despite a lack of stock in the market.  It’s estimated that the number of new sellers this year is down 23% on last year – largely because of a lack of mortgage finance preventing new buyers.

Even the quickest scan of today’s CNN Real Estate microsite shows some dismal news in the USA.  The Fed is pushing down mortgage rates to 5.55% (lowest in 30 years); foreclosures continue with no end in sight; emergency lending extended for another year and more…    News reports from Australia’s business press don’t give any sign of hope there either, with announcements of losses of $51 billion (A$) in property values over the last year.

There is some hope for home and commercial property owners alike: create “temp space” – temporary rental space – for those seeking storage solutions.  As home owners move, businesses down-size and students go back to college with non-seasonal equipment, it’s an ideal way to realise some extra revenue.

Student storage and budget storage opportunities abound.  With no economic improvement in sight, more and more people are returning to school and will require corresponding storage space, particularly if they want to take prized possessions with them to an out-of-town site.

Alternatively, those moving to smaller homes will need budget storage – which you can offer – thus solving your revenue requirements and their need for space.  We’re not advocating a permanent change – just temporary to fill the gap between your usual tenants.

If you’ve got a property already available, why not snap a few photos and list it today in www.StorPod.com?