Expert Advice for your Lawn & Garden TV Host of Today's Homeowner^® and home expert for The Weather Channel

Attics are all about storage, but rarely is the storage organized. Here’s a simple solution to take advantage of the open framing found in most attics. Create shelves for attic storage by building an “L” shaped support from 1×4s. One end of the “L” runs vertically attaching to the side of the roof rafter. The other end, running horizontally, attaches to the same rafter further down.

To meet the needs of a growing family, we convert an existing underused carport into a 13′x15′ playroom for the family’s three children. Plus, there’s enough room for two storage rooms and a grilling station for Mom and Dad. Although time consuming to create, a custom tapered roof with modified rafters and rolled roofing material provided the needed slope to solve drainage problems.

Every kitchen has a junk drawer and we can’t change that, but we may be able to help you organize your junk. Drawer organizers can be purchased from most home centers or discount stores but rarely do they allow you to truly customize the drawer space. The solution: create custom dividers using lattice strips (sizes vary but most are about 1/8′ thick and 1 ¼’ to 1 ¾’ wide). Layout the pattern you want and create interlocking joints by cutting notches in the lattice half the depth of the lattice and the full thickness. Hook them together and set them in place.

We all need more storage space and here’s a quick tip for formalizing that space you used as a child. The space under your bed doesn’t have to be just for hiding stuff you don’t want to put away. By adding casters to the underside of an old drawer you can recycle it to serve as under-bed storage. Before choosing casters be sure they won’t raise the drawer too high keeping it from easily rolling under the bed.

Here’s a simple solution to organizing the dirty laundry in your laundry room. Construct a custom shelf unit sized to hold three to five laundry hampers so clothes can be sorted upon arrival in the laundry room.

Almost every homeowner can use a little more storage space. When you run out of room in the house and garage you have only two options: rent the space or create it. We’re going to create it by constructing a storage shed. Joe Truini, who co-hosts our Simple Solutions segment, has recently written a book (Building a Shed by Joseph Truini, The Taunton Press 2003) and he shares plenty of insights into the subject.