Your family is growing, your parents need 24-hour home care, or maybe your hobbies and craft business are increasing, but either way, the home you are in is getting tight for space. Adding on a spare room means weeks of demolition grime and construction noise as you wait for completion. For me, moving is a terrible prospect. I like where I live and have spent significant time turning my house and land into a home and personal peace oasis.
Moving is much less than no fun at all. The new home market is frightening, with no end in sight to the rapidly increasing prices. Can you believe the construction hole we are in? The rate of family growth outpaces that of new home buildings by a large margin.
There are several factors in this equation. We lack depth of skills in the trades and sufficient numbers of those willing to get their hands dirty for a good living. A good living understates what tradespeople earn; they make excellent wages, and rightly so.
There are significant cost increases on base materials needed for new home construction every year. The problem is so vital our government has stepped in. Now their schemes to promote home building backed by our tax dollars have failed to reach targets. Lots of talk with little results. Nothing new there.
I cannot provide a solution for that mess, but I can give an option or two to consider for space saving in your home. I live a simple, near-minimalist lifestyle and do not feel any pressure to keep things I do not use. Every spring I throw open the windows for fresh air and go through the house like a maelstrom, cleaning everything.
During this flurry of cleaning, when I notice something I have not used in over a year, it is recycled, donated, or set out with the rubbish. Not everyone can detach from things so easily, and I understand. However, all that stuff takes space. Where can you keep it in a house too small for your growth?
More and more frequently, people are opening their minds to erecting an outdoor shed to solve multiple space needy issues. Shed, barn, or out-building construction has come a long way from the days of tiny, tin, rust-covered shacks of our youth. You can have one thrown up in a matter of days in the back corner of your property for a multitude of uses. Such as
- A storage shed for all your long-term keepsakes, seasonal clothing items, documents, and more. Tidy up your property with all your landscaping tools. Seal your things in a tote, label them, and they will be awaiting your needs next year.
- Some of us are closing our carpark to turn it into a more weather-friendly storage area, but where do you keep your car, van, or ute? They are expensive as a house, and maintaining them out of extreme weather is also important for a long life. A shed could be the garage you need.
- If you have a custom car, you know the value in keeping it out of the sun’s rays and probably need an open bay for your workshop, tools, and equipment to maintain that beautiful Holden. Again, likely as valuable as your home and a legacy for your children’s future.
- Need a quiet space for content creation? You could move your office or studio into a custom-built shed with everything you need in one location. Walk in, sit down, and take some tasks off the endless list in peace while remaining present for family needs.
- Many of us are supplementing our income with craft creation or another type of at-home business operation. Can you guess what I am going to suggest? A purpose-built shed to house and contain all your inventory, supplies, and tools in one space, undisturbed by wandering hands. Accomplish editing in a peaceful, controlled place.
- We have several acres of farmland, and our home sits in one corner of it. Our American-style barn is of endless use to our agricultural needs, repairs on tractors and trailers, and storage of tooling, feed, or seed. One section is used for our welder and provides an efficient, safe area to contain the dangers, materials, and gas cylinders.
- The high peak sheds can house your recreational vehicle, boat, bikes, kayaks, motorcycle, and any other seasonal toys you do not need lying around your yard when not in use. Lock them up, out of sight.
- There are more uses I could think of, but one I have always dreamt of is to create my own sport cave. A place to take the noise and mess of a great footy event and BBQ. A she-shed or man-cave for the girls’ or boys’ night could become a regular spot to enjoy life to the fullest and save the expense of all those retail coldies.
- I could not think of a better place to create a home for your pet. We have cats, and they will do whatever they please, but our dog deserves a home of his own as protector and security guard.
In what ways could you envision using a shed? A thin-walled shed will need some upgrades to be livable according to the building code. As they come, they are considered a class 10c non-habitable structure, but once raised, you can fit them out and meet the code, providing a safe, comfortable area for your noisy teenager.
Shed some of those boxes and totes you have stacked up. Clear out your cupboards and closets. Add up a general idea of the volume you need to store and get a quote for a simple structure. Make space where you need it most and keep those things you just can’t let go in a nearby shelter, which adds to your curb appeal and in-home feel.
