It's the time of year when homeowners who are lucky enough to have an attic for storage might find themselves scrambling to find (and haul back down) the holiday decorations or infrequently used luggage that's stored up there. That can be quite a chore, since many attics aren't equipped to make good use of the space available—and they often lack easy access to that storage, too. Fortunately, designers have created a range of products that can make things easier.

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The Loft Ledge converts the space between trusses into usable storage space. Each kit includes two brackets, a chipboard shelf and four screws. The plastic brackets, the chipboard and even the cardboard box are manufactured from recycled materials, which will appeal to the environmentally minded.

 Some purchasers wished the shelves were larger, but the smaller size (with a resulting storage area which  is 21 inches square) probably allows it to fit into more attics. Some storage bins will be too large for these shelves, but the top-rated one from The Sweethome will fit just fine.

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AtticMaxx takes a different approach with its shelving, using 22-inch-square shelves with a pre-attached metal bracket and two pre-attached straps. The company explains, "The adjustable straps on the back of the shelf allow homeowners the flexibility to level the shelf based upon the angle of their specific trusses and the pitch of their roof." Each shelf can be installed in under two minutes, which is certainly nice.

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Another way to create storage space is to add flooring rather than just having joists and insulation. That could be done with plywood, but the Attic Dek panels, available in two sizes, provide an interesting alternative. 

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The panels are easy to install, which impressed numerous purchasers; there's no measuring or cutting required. They're also sturdy, holding up to 250 pounds. 

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But in some cases adding flooring right over the joists will mean the insulation gets compressed, which makes it less effective. To avoid that, homeowners could use Loft Legs. They're made from recycled polypropylene.

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Rather than placing the flooring on top of a 100 mm truss or ceiling joist, the homeowner attaches the 175 mm Loft Legs to the top of the joists. This allows flooring to be installed over 270 mm of insulation (the recommendation in the U.K.) without compressing that insulation. 

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Loft Storage Stilts have a similar design—except they have wings which clip to the joists, making installation even easier. (They also raise the flooring a bit higher than other products do, which purchasers liked.) As with the Loft Legs, they attach to the joist with screws, and then the flooring panels attach to the top of the stilts (or legs) with another set of screws.

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The Attic Trac Plus is a platform and wheel-track system which allows the homeowner to reach things from the entrance to the attic, without having to actually climb into the attic. Using a system like this may mean that not all the possible attic storage space gets used, but some homeowners will be glad to make that trade-off to get the easier access.

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For those who do need to climb into the attic, the Versa Rail could be a welcome addition, making it much easier (and safer) to step from the ladder into the attic. There's no point in outfitting an attic with great storage if the end users avoid going up there because it's too scary.

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The Versa Lift makes it easy to get things up and down from the attic, avoiding the need to take heavy or awkwardly sized items up and down a ladder. The Versa Lift comes in two different capacities, with different models depending on the floor-to-floor range. There's also the choice between a corded and a wireless remote. 

Purchasers rave about the quality, with comments like this: "I've purchased and put together many, many things in my 65 years. I have not ever encountered anything so well designed, precisely engineered, and impeccably operated as the Versa-Lift. Even the installation manual was professionally written and very easy to follow."

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Lighting of storage spaces often gets overlooked, so I was delighted to see the Loft Light, a battery-powered LED light equivalent to a 32 watt bulb. It can be screwed into any timber element in the attic, and it has a battery life of up to four years. Purchasers confirm it's easy to install and gives off a good amount of light.

Homeowners wouldn't need a light designed especially for the attic, but this one does seem to have all the characteristics they would want in such a light.