Clear out

Get rid of all the junk that’s not needed, so storage space isn’t being wasted. Keep only what is useful; anything that’s not wanted should be given away, and throw away what’s broken and taking up precious space.

Make a plan

Treat a garage like any other room in the house. Take measurements and draw a floor plan to help visualize what will fit and where it can be placed, just as a kitchen or a dining room.

Categorise

Make the decision what items will be used most often, like bin bags and cleaning supplies. Keep these things next to the door. Map out space for seasonal equipment: lawn mowers, weed-trimmers, leaf blowers, etc. Avoid putting large items, such as lawn mowers, in a corner where they’ll take up a lot of space. Try to park them under shelving units. Be sure to clip ladders, shovels, rakes, and other garden tools into a wall rack off the floor. Other items like bikes or sledges should be relegated to walls or hung from the ceiling.

Containers

Keeping things in storage containers not only lets you get them off the floor but keeps them clean. Transparent stackable bins conserve space and also allow you to see their contents. Always label containers so the contents are easily identifiable.

Safety

Designate a safe area for hazardous materials like fertilisers, pesticides, and paint, so children can’t get to them. Sharp gardening tools should also be hung up out of reach, and chain saws and other sharp tools stored in locked storage boxes.

MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) – MDF is stronger than chipboard but care needs to be taken when working with MDF as it is manufactured using urea-formaldehyde resin, which can be harmful. Before working with MDF, adequate precautions must be taken to provide ventilation and a face mask should be worn to avoid breathing in the dust when machining it are essential.

Formaldehyde can also be released over time in low concentrations; not everyone is affected, but some people can be adversely affected by just having a piece of MDF in a room (this is very rare.)

MDF can be finished using paint to suit the surrounding décor or it can just be sealed with an appropriate varnish. Use 18mm MDF as a minimum and support shelves at no greater than 500mm centres for all but the lightest of loads. Or 25mm MDF with supports no greater than 700mm apart.

Glass shelves

Glass can be attractive shelving for use with light loads and many DIY stores stock pre-cut glass shelving either on its own or as part of a complete shelving kit (complete with brackets, plugs and screws) – special brackets are available for glass shelving, they have clips and lips to hold the glass in place. The glass is specially toughened so cannot be cut to size, if ‘non-standard’ sizes are required, go to a glazing merchant where it can be cut to size and then toughened. Never use ordinary window glass.

Material selection is an important step in deciding about your specific shelving solution.

Chipboard

Plain chipboard – non laminated chipboard is the cheapest and weakest material for sturdy shelving and is generally considered unsuitable for shelving as the finish is poor.

Laminated chipboard is cheaper than solid timber and comes in a number of different types of veneer. It is not as strong as solid timber and will tend to sag except under a very light load. It is best to use 12mm chipboard as a minimum and support the shelf at no greater than 300mm centres for all but the lightest of loads. An alternative is to use 18mm chipboard with supports no greater than 700mm apart.

Block-board

This type of material is stronger than chipboard and is less likely to sag. It is easy to work with and can be finished using paint; the edges will probably need to be covered with a trim to hide the different strips. Use 18mm thickness as a minimum and support the shelf at no greater than 700mm centres for all but the lightest of loads.

Plywood

Plywood is stronger than laminated chipboard and this makes it less likely to sag. It is easy to work with and can be given finishing touches using paint; the edges will probably need to be covered with a trim to hide the different layers that make up the plywood. It is a good idea to use 18mm thickness as a minimum and support the shelf at no greater than 700mm centres for all but the lightest of loads.

Choosing the right material for your specific requirements is essential in getting your shelving act off the ground.

There are many different kinds of materials available on the market to choose from when constructing shelves. It is difficult to recommend a type of shelf material and be specific about the thickness and the spacing between supports as this depends so much on the weight being placed upon them and the grade of the material used. For instance, a light load is considered to be small plants, vases, trinkets and so on. A medium load is considered to be paperback books. A heavy load is considers to be large hardback books, large plants etc.

Solid timber is strong and available in a variety of planed widths to suit most shelving needs – if the required width cannot be attained, tongued and grooved board can be used to avoid the separate planks from warping open. – alternatively, the separate planks could be joined using dowels or other means.

Timber is easy to work with and can be finished using polishes, varnish or paint

The thickness required to avoid sagging will depend upon the weight being placed on the shelves and also the distance between the supports. Use 18mm thick timber as a minimum and support the shelf at no greater than 700mm centres or 25mm timber with supports no greater than 900mm.

Slatted timber – an alternative for wide shelves is to make a slatted shelf using a number of strips of timber fixed to battens underneath – the under battens then being secured to the support brackets.

To construct wooden shelf storage, use a simple dado cut for adjustable wood shelves. Dado cuts can be inserted at any desired spacing to provide as many adjustments as you need.

You can also use dado cuts for permanent non-adjustable shelving. For adjustable shelving, the dado cuts must be relatively deep. For permanent shelving, the cuts can be shallow. The dado cut will be visible from the front of the shelf. If this isn’t convenient then make a concealed dado cut for a neater, less conspicuous shelf joint. An adjustable shelf requires a deeper concealed dado cut. The shelf is notched in the front if the dado cut is to be concealed. A pinned joint provides structural strength for long lengths of shelving and the supporting piece can be inserted or removed as required.

Another type is made by making cuts at 90-degree and 45-degree angles. The shelf can then be cut to the same 45-degree angle and fitted into the sawed slots. This type of shelving is not designed to carry extremely heavy loads. The 45-degree cut in the end of the shelf slightly weakens the supporting strength of the shelf.

The third is a modified version of the 90-degree and 45-degree angle cuts for adjustable shelving. Cut the notches continuously to provide a shelf adjustment about every inch. If the shelving notches are carefully cut, they create quite a pleasing effect.

Adjustable shelf storage is a great way of creating a look that can be altered to suit the changing items to be stored.

Shelving in the home is all too often filled to capacity, but additional shelf storage can be fitted quickly and easily and it need not be expensive. Non-adjustable shelving is normally used in closets, attics, basements and work areas; where appearance and adjustability are not very important. These shelves can be nailed together with support pieces to provide the structural strength required.

Basic, non-adjustable shelf storage can be made from solid boards of almost any size or width. Such shelving is easy to make and provides adequate support for normal storage and shelving needs. One disadvantage of non-adjustable shelving is that some objects needing to be stored may be too tall or short, thus wasting space on the shelving. This problem can be overcome by making shelves for tall objects and separate shelves for short objects, just give a little thought into the materials that are going to be stored before commencing on the construction, thereby minimising waste in space and materials.

Non-adjustable shelves can be nailed together with support pieces to provide the structural strength required and can be made as wide or as long as necessary. Use a T-square or a level to make sure the shelves are in the proper position and are evenly spaced at all points.

The way in which you drive the nails will increase or decrease the ability of the shelves to carry heavy loads, for example, nails driven at an upward angle are likely to pull out when a heavy load is placed on them.

Anyone who has children will know what an awful mess some of them can make around the house. They may leave toys in the lounge, the kitchen and the bathroom. Some children leave anything and everything literally lying around behind them. The messiest place of all is usually the bedroom. That is their den, their retreat, their own little space. It is theirs and they tend to leave a very messy mark on it. Mums and dads are quite often there to pick up after the little ones, so no real attempt to clean up is made by the children.

There is another option to having a house like a tip. There is a large variety of shelf storage and shelving units available specifically for a child’s room. They quite often come in bright, attractive colours and quite often come in unusual shapes too to appeal to the child; there are shelves and bookcases with children’s names down the sides or in the shape of an aeroplane. Imagination is the only restriction as far as the appearance of shelf storage is concerned.  A lot of the shelving units available for children’s rooms are designed to hold more than just books. Usually sturdy in build, they come in various colours and finishes to withstand bumps from toys and other accidents children bestow upon the storage in their room.

Several contemporary retailers can provide a wide range of storage and shelving units to suit all purposes, but not all of them do so at a price that will suit everyone’s pocket.

Bits and bobs accumulate over the years. Trinkets from family members, ornaments from loved ones or friends and yes, of course, books. There are people who buy dozens of books each month. It can be a task trying to organise the paraphernalia into some sort of order. They can’t just sit around on the floor or lie in a cupboard under the sink or away in some hall cupboard out of sight and out of mind. It would seem that the ideal solution would be shelving units. It’s such a simple solution and yet there are people who would rather have their belongings hidden away, under the dust of time. Shelving units are practical and are useful in many environments such as: libraries, universities, charity shops and commercial shops. Shelf storage can obviously be used both domestically as well as commercially.

As already discussed, shelf storage is a must in the domestic setting by preventing clutter and bringing a certain harmony to the household. The vast amount of books that libraries and universities have at their disposal makes it a necessity to have bookshelves. The bookshelves themselves, that can be placed on the floor in a study or a library, have to be sturdy and hard wearing to last the many years that accompany the life of the book.

Many modern manufacturers have the capacity to provide a wide variety of shelves and shelving units, including shelves, bookcases, and bookshelves. However, they should use the highest quality materials to deliver shelving solutions that are innovative, useful and optimal.

There are a range of shelf storage options that are available on the market today and they help to store your belongings, while making sure that you take up as little space as possible. They also make sure that you make the most of the space that you have.

If you have limited floor space then you want to try and make sure that you use as little floor space as possible, and this is where shelf storage comes in. These units are attached to the wall so that you do not use any of your valuable floor.  The shelves can be attached to the wall at places that suit you and they can be set at the heights that you require, and can be above any of your existing furniture, such as above your television or table.

When you have floor space to spare there are great units that have a number of shelves in one unit, so that you can store a large number of items in one central location. The shelves on the storage unit can be adjusted to heights that suit your needs and if you require additional shelves, these can be purchased at a small additional cost.

There are a range of shelf storage units that we have available and they come in a range of sizes so that you can find a unit that will fit exactly where you want it to be. There are a range of useful accessories that are also available to purchase for optimising some of the storage units.

The great thing about shelf storage is that you not only get the opportunity to store your items when you need space but you also get to display then as well. Shelf storage can be found in a variety of different materials, form metal, to plastic and wood. When your intention is to however display items, it may be best to stick to a good quality metal or wood.

Wood is always a great option as it goes with everything and you can paint it to match the surrounding area. The same goes for a solid and stylish metal. It can be erected anywhere and gives a room a more modern look.

Don’t worry about breaking your budget with shelf storage. This form of storage is very affordable and also very accessible. You can purchase them online or walk into a hardware or shelving outlet and find them.

Great display tips

Appropriate items that can be stored and displayed on shelf storage units include books, vases, small objects, etc. Leave the bigger things for you cupboards and do not place anything on display if it is not pretty to look at.

The first thing you should do is organise your items. You may want to group together things that are the same colours or things that have the same theme. Do not line up everything exactly the same. Be creative. Allow some books to be placed vertically on these shelves while others horizontally and add some of your ornaments between these books to make it look a bit more interesting.
Importantly, do not clutter.