# No Room At The Inn



## Brad Green (Jul 29, 2004)

So I just finished packing away the last of Christmas, and as I admired my masterful Jenga skills I realized, I'm out of room! I have a 10 X 20 shed that's 1/4 Christmas and the rest Halloween. There's props in the closets, props in the spare bedroom, props in the office where I'm typing this, and room for no more. So, what too do? Yard sale? Giveaway to needy haunter's? I HATE to part with any of these, but I'm also keenly aware of the fact that I will build or buy some new and improved something along the way towards next Halloween. Being certain that I am not alone in this dilemma, I thought I'd ask how others here deal with this problem, oh, and please, no "send-them-to-me's" unless, of course, you're willing to rent a truck and take a little trip to Apopka,FL, then we'll talk.


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Maybe you could try the straightforward approach always recommended for deciding what clothing to cull from an overcrowded closet - if you haven't used a prop for more than a year, it's time to get rid of it. Easier said than done, of course, and probably more so for those who build many of their props. You can't help but get emotionally attached to something you've created, but space is a real issue that eventually forces you to get hard-nosed about what is worth keeping.

Spooky1 and I are not yet at the point where storage is an issue, but we definitely are finding that some of the things we bought a while ago no longer seem to fit with the direction we're taking with our yard display. That's another criterion for culling.

I think a yard sale (particularly in early fall) is an excellent idea once you've decided what to send along to new homes. You can always recycle the cash into those new projects you have in mind.


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## slightlymad (May 25, 2006)

Have truck and trailer and am always willing to travel for free props. However, we are in much the same situation last year we added a 10x20 shed ourselves and it was quickly filled up. The solution I am very nice to my mother everything that is "overstock" or over sized is stored in her attic. This works out nicely as it guarantees her that we are available to bring down and put away her holiday items. We used to rent storage but that felt like throwing money out the window. We are out of room here as the monster in law lives with us and her living area was once our storage area. Final solution we are planing to build a larger shed more appropriately a barn with an upper storage level probably in the area of 40x40 or 40x60.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

Sounds like you need a bigger house.  Wasn't it George Carlin who did the routine about people and their stuff.


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

Don't know if you've tried this, but I was sure I'd be really short on space after Halloween this, no _last_ year, but I took everything out and repacked it and magically, everything fit! I got not only the old props that had always been in that cabinet, but old props that had been in the attic, and a host of new props all by reorganizing.


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## MotelSixx (Sep 27, 2008)

After the Jenga comment, it sounds like Brad already tried the reorganizing that we all face. I too have a 10x20 shed filled to capacity, with every nook and cranny stuffed with something. The unfortunate part of it being like that is you have to pull everything out to get to one or two things, and its a bitch to get to my tools which are only 3 feet in. I know damn well going into this spring I will have nowhere to stuff any of the props that i NEED to build (like an additional 80' of fence and 11 more pillars). Let alone the multitude of stuff i plan to buy to add to the haunt. Time to build another shed!


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## Lilly (Jun 13, 2006)

buy another shed


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## turtle2778 (Jul 9, 2006)

I agree with Roxy about going through your items. Yes its hard to part with things, which is why my 2 car garage that used to hold all my halloween items AND my hearse is now a total mess with my hearse sitting outside in the rain.  Organization is key for me and I too am having to part with some of my things. I used to rent a storage area for my things, but it seems like a waste now. I just hate giving up storage space for workspace, but i need both. I do a village and am selling about half of my village. Its just becoming too much work and not enough pleasure and if you don't have a party then no one sees it. Of course i could just put it in my garage then everyone could see it...hmmm something to think about LOL. I also need to build more fence and pillars. I know you can disassemble the fence sections and stand them errect, but then I have to put them all back together again YUCK. As for selling the items, I'd go with the fellow haunters route first because 1. They will appreciate it more than the staights and 2. will understand the amount of work that goes into some of the things and therefore pay more. And if all else fails you can send them to me


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## Dark Angel 27 (Sep 11, 2008)

i agree with all of you...after last halloween i was forced to get rid off all the tomb stones i had made...but that is not really an issue since i plan to build this years out of different materials.

i am so glad for the new shed that just went up in my back yard!


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

MotelSixx said:


> After the Jenga comment, it sounds like Brad already tried the reorganizing that we all face.


Oops. missed that one, sorry Brad


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## ScareShack (May 26, 2006)

OK! Dont sell ot get rid of your props. Storage is always an issue.
I sold a good deal of my display last year due to storage.
Now my 2.5 car garage is empty! Well, not really, but everything I sold That I Did NOT Want to Store is gone.
Looking at it all now, Yes there is always, room to store our bevolved items.

All that fence, wrap it in plastic and set tight and neat to ur house or under the deck(it will be fine for a few months).
If u have a garage use over head space. You have a 20x30 garage/shed, whats up top?
15' of air? Dead Space?
This opens up a lot of new building ground as well as storage.

Kick the 1 child out of there room, new prop storage is there, give them a couch to sleep on. 
More prop storage.

This is a never ending battle.

You build for display and props, you now build storage.

Gotta love bein a home haunter..

Isnt life great?


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## Brad Green (Jul 29, 2004)

Well, at least I know I'm not alone in this area. Thanks for all the great suggestions. It looks like I'll have to try a combination to get out of this one. Building new storage isn't possible in my current location, but I can try a little better reorganization (attic,spare bedroom,etc.) Sadly, some items will just have to be eliminated. As RoxyBlue rightly stated, some things just don't fit my theme and were mostly bought on impulse (you all know the feeling, "Oh Crap, 75 percent off???? I want that...and that..and..) Gonna clean up the junk in the spare bedroom and store all the latex items in there anyway (the heat here during the summer fries these things in the shed) so that will help some. Oh well, time to regroup!


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## IshWitch (May 31, 2006)

Brad Green said:


> Well, at least I know I'm not alone in this area. Thanks for all the great suggestions. It looks like I'll have to try a combination to get out of this one. Building new storage isn't possible in my current location, but I can try a little better reorganization (attic,spare bedroom,etc.) Sadly, some items will just have to be eliminated. As RoxyBlue rightly stated, some things just don't fit my theme and were mostly bought on impulse (you all know the feeling, "Oh Crap, 75 percent off???? I want that...and that..and..) Gonna clean up the junk in the spare bedroom and store all the latex items in there anyway (the heat here during the summer fries these things in the shed) so that will help some. Oh well, time to regroup!


I ended up getting a storage unit for all the Christmas and Halloween decorations that we have. Halloween storage is so much trickier since the stuff is bigger and all the latex being used. You are so right about the heat here in Florida! I now store my masks in a large plastic bin in a bedroom closet. But I've lost several before I started doing that. I do have a couple that are showing cracks and stuff and I want to fix them and save/preserve them.
And you are so right about the impulse buys! I have a lot of stuff that I don't use, doesn't fit my decorating, but I just keep opening them and then putting them back away. I seriously need to sort thru' them and give them away to other haunters (not just out for a yard sale). That is one of my plans for this year, anyway!
:jol:


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## Haunted Bayou (Feb 16, 2007)

LOL, Brad!
I try not to impulse buy at the sales. I just started thinking...is there a specific purpose? If not, then I don't get it. I have way too many things I bought just cuz and storage is becoming an issue. With the heat here in Texas, attic storage is not an option except for things like wooden crosses.

Next year put anything you haven't been using on the side...maybe you can swap it for something else here on the forum.


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## HalloweenZombie (Jul 22, 2007)

Get your neighbors involved in haunting. Then send your old props to them. I give Pyro the stuff I can't store anymore.


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## Spooky1 (Aug 25, 2008)

I guess it comes down to what you want to do with your haunt. If you are still trying to make it bigger or fill in unused space (and willing to cover additional costs) then you'll need to pay for or build new storage. If you have limited space for your haunt or limited cash to pay for storage, then Roxy is right and you'll need cull the items your not using or don't fit with the current theme of your haunt. For me it's tough to get rid of old props or decorations largely due to the memories I have tied to them. But it's easier to store pictures than unused props, and maybe give your old props a second life with another haunter.


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