Very trivial questions

Both our lofts have loft ladders and a light. Whenever we have bought a house we have fitted a loft ladder and installed lighting if either is not already there.

I cannot understand why anybody wouldn't. Loft ladders are not expensive nor is installing lighting- and we do not even keep stuff in the loft other than Christmas decorations and suit cases.

I am also very strict about the footwear I or anyone else wears when climbing ladders. Most home aaccidents occur because people ignore simple health and safety requirements.

In my present flat I have no loft, in my last house I turned the loft into a spare bedroom for the grandchildren.
Prior to that had a loft in large family Edwardian house, loft entry over stairs (stupid place), had to poke it open and then place large steps in ladder form to reach up there.
Last time I used it - when I was in my fifties and pretty fit and agile, I slipped on the way down (stupidly wearing slippers), thought I was going to crash back of my head on radiator, managed to twist in air and landed heavily, breaking clavicle!!! Never went up there again.

If you do have a storage type loft, then best to install those covers that when opened, by pulling down, drops down a proper stair type ladder with rail and ensure light in loft.

At 77, I would be able to go up to the loft, with a proper ladder, but wouldn’t if I was on my own. However, my loft is empty. My house is a new build bungalow, with a great deal of insulation, so when I moved in, I didn’t put anything up there. You should see my garage though!!

Fairly new to the board, so Hi to everyone

We get a skip ever Easter weekend (we don't travel anywhere due to airport strikes, road chaos etc which always happen at this time of the year), and we empty the loft and the garage. We throw away what we don't want to keep (which will have changed over the previous 12 months). You would not believe the amount we squirrel away during a 12 month period thinking we will use the (table, box, case insert what you want) again. I have to say I am ruthless when cleaning out what we don't want, and hate clutter - my husband not so much - he could very well be a hoarder if he lived on his own, so I try to keep on top of this by doing this task every year. Its very cathartic for me (perhaps not so much for my husband
Not for everyone, but it works for us and keeps the clutter we all keep to a minimum.

I’m still fairly young at 67 and go in and out of our loft fairly frequently. We have a good ladder and a reasonable light.
I’ve got a huge amount of junk up there and some sentimental stuff including lots of boxes of mums stuff (she died in 2007) I couldn’t sort through them for years, I got too emotional. Now I allow myself to sort and dispose of one box a month. Only one box, no more. It doesn’t sound much but it’s very manageable and I feel I could do more at the end of the process. Unfortunately if I do try more I end up faffing around, wasting time and putting things back that really should go out. If I stick to one box it feels like a treat and everything goes out. Three years on and that’s 36 boxes gone.

I’ve never wanted to go in any loft, and can count the times I have been in one on the fingers of one hand, as none of our lofts were boarded out and my balance was never that special

I am 81 and can get in and out of our loft without a problem. I did it last month to put the Christmas decorations away.

All we have in our loft is suitcases and Christmas decorations. I work on the basis that saying'put it in the loft' means you will never use the item again so it can go out instead.

I’m 75 & last entered the loft about 15 months ago when I had a proper ladder fixed. It terrifies me when it comes rattling down, so nowadays only DS1 goes up. It only contains Christmas decorations, suitcases and some of his things from when he was moving. So that’s the loft, but since then I’ve had several rooms redecorated and don’t know what to do with ornaments my mother had loved, pictures XDH bought, & the like. Hence 2 large plastic storage boxes in the little bedroom. Grrrrr!

My husband at 90 can still use the drop-down loft ladder but I, a mere 80, usually prefer to go up there as I know just what is where. I used to enjoy spending time up there reminuscing , looking thru cases of memorabilia, but now mainly just Xmas decos, suitcases, spare carpet, and boxes.

2. I'm 72 and as long as I can still get up there I will. I even did it this year with a damaged shin. It's not as easy I must admit and I have to put the Christmas decs etc. up there in smaller sections and not the bigger heavy stuff. Also there's loads of stuff up there that I should be sorting but can't bring myself to do it. I will do it this Summer and dispose of as much as I can. I'd hate for my family to have to do this if anything happens to me. Either I have to move or something worse.

1. Finding places for stuff: It depends on what the stuff is and whether you really want to keep it or are blinded by nostalgic sentiment (or sentimental nostalgia, take your pick). You could put it in the loft "temporarily" but I suspect you know it'll just sit up there nagging at the back of your mind for ever. Take each thing, look hard at it and make your decision (only you can do this): donate it to charity, sell it or throw it in the bin. As soon as you've decided, do it - she who hesitates is lost!
2. The dreaded junk hole that is the loft: I sympathise as I too am trying to dredge up enough focus to go up there one last time, throw everything out (discard, donate or sell) and leave it empty (as it was when we moved in). I'll now be thinking of you as I do it!

The loft in out three storey Victorian house was chokker. I get vertigo on a thick pile carpet, so never went up there. We moved last year and what to keep and what to get rid of was conveniently solved by a combo of woodworm and moths!!

I was 64 the last time I went into the loft. At the time I was clearing the loft in readiness for selling the house after being widowed a few years previously.
Since then, that's eighteen years ago, I've bought two houses, but nothing has ever been put in the loft.
I remember the absolute surprise of a gas service engineer when he needed to check something up there. He couldn't believe his eyes on entering an empty loft.

Oh, I’ve since seen your post which says the items are only small. If that’s the case and you want to keep them, then do as another poster suggests and place them in different places until you feel they are in the “right” spot. As an aside, could any of them be relocated into another bedroom, if you have one?

We’ve never stored anything in our loft. The reason being my DH would store more junk than he already has. Thankfully our house doesn’t have a loft as the upstairs bedrooms are built into the eaves. It was a nightmare when we had to replace the shed as there were things in the shed from our previous house that never saw the light of day again. I’m not one for holding onto something just in case.

With regard to your first question, if you are struggling to find somewhere to place these items in your bedroom, then ask yourself if they are really needed? If they are, then I suggest you deal with them now rather than leave them lying around in the bedroom (or elsewhere). If they are not essential to you, then pass them on to someone who could use them.

As to the loft, I suggest you begin clearing it gradually whilst you are fit and able to do so, otherwise it’s going to be a problem for whoever is tasked with clearing your house once you are gone or living elsewhere. Tackle one box at a time so that you don’t become overwhelmed, and ask yourself the same questions as you would about the things in your bedroom, ie, do you really need them enough to keep them stored.

Although we have a loft, there is nothing in it apart from the water tanks. We made a joint decision not to use it for storage.

When we bought the house there was a child’s bed, an old door and a piece of carpet up there, but we got rid of those almost straight away - a bit tricky trying to manoeuvre them out of the hatch, (which probably reinforced our choice not to store anything of our own there), but managed in the end. I wouldn’t like to be trying to move them now, we were more agile then.

Each year I try and reduce amount of Christmas stuff and now I have managed to fit all the boxes inthe space under the stairs so just the artificial tree to put into attic. I have had to clear it when work done on insulation etc so a fair idea of what is there but now am trying to reduce on each visit when before it was a policy of removing one item if adding a new one. A lot of 'useful' things kept for others setting up homes but not appreciated nowadays with Ikea generation and smaller houses.

Loft - going by this thread, I may have a few years yet of being able to go up there carefully myself.
But I can see that time is ticking, and I need to think accordingly.

I hadnt thought about "what my family can easily deal with when I am gone".

4 items - I will go by the ideas on here and see which works best for me.

Thank you for all the posts.
Very helpful.

‘As an aside I have a photo album labelled ‘why on earth did they have that’ with images and short histories of the bits and pieces from our families we have on display around the place. It should help with decisions one day.’
What a good idea. I must admit that I get stressed at the thought of things that belonged to my mum just being thrown away eg a pretty plate and jug that I think might have even belonged to my grandmother and my dad’s snap tin

Crossed posts famcythat. Sorry.

If the things without a home are small I’d put them in a basket in the corner of the bedroom. It would keep the room and surfaces tidy fancythat while not being so out of sight and mind that you overlook the need to find a home for them. If furniture I’d suggest if it doesn’t fit in your room now it never will.

Loft-wise I’m nearly 77 and have been officer in charge of the loft for many years. I can climb the pull down loft ladder easily and feel totally confident as we are in a bungalow - I’d be less so if the loft hatch was at the top of a flight of stairs as it was in our last home.

Our loft has much less in it than it did when we moved here 12 years ago. The major clear out happened before we moved. It took two years! We don’t have a garage so no overflow there. I weed out something each time I climb aloft and am happy that what is there makes sense and would be easy for our family to deal with. The major clear out of boxes of sentimental stuff happened when we moved here.

As an aside I have a photo album labelled ‘why on earth did they have that’ with images and short histories of the bits and pieces from our families we have on display around the place. It should help with decisions one day.

My loft is small, but my son has a few things in there. I don't even attempt to now.

The 4 items are small.

A bit of a non problem really.
Only it isnt for me if I get back into bad habits.

I am reading all the posts about items and lofts with interest.

I feel very bad . I've never been in my attic. Never needed to. I certainly couldn't get up now though.

I was able to access the loft until fairly recently, since I have had trouble with my knees and balance. DH hasn't been able to get up there for a few years now, so we depend on AC and/ or DGS1 (18) to go up and bring stuff down for sorting- bin, charity shop, etc. It's a slow work in progress. Last week, DS2 filled his boot with stuff of his that has been up there for years. I know there is a teak ottoman ( a wedding present from 1973) containing my wedding dress and fur coat, must get that down soon. Ideally I would like nothing in the loft except suitcases and Christmas decorations. 🤞
Where to place your four items? Unless they are very heavy/ difficult to move, I would try putting them in a different situation every few days, until you 'feel' what suits you best. Good luck. 👍