Storage possibilities

• attic

  Almost every house has an attic. They differ in whether or not they have any usable flooring installed, and how navigable the space is: ducts, vents, and joists can make a space impossible to work in.

  Attics often have extreme temperature swings: hot in the summer, cold in the winter.

• garage

  Garages have temperature swings, but in temperate climates, the swings are not as bad as the attic.

• basement

  Some parts of the country have houses with basements, others don't. Basements are rare in southern California where I currently live.

  Basements are great for storage: they tend to be large, and being insulated by earth have gradual shifts in temperature. Some are damp, though.

• back yard shed

  If you have the space, you can set up a shed somewhere on the property. These range from small prefab units, sold to store garden tools, to things the size of a bedroom. Perhaps the ultimate is a used containerized freight unit - tough steel construction, and large.

  If you use an outbuilding, be aware of security - lock it.

• rented storage room

  We rent a 10x10' storage room. It costs $95 per month, and since only about half the contents are Halloween, I'll say that we are paying $600/year to store props. Every time I think about that storage room, I think about how many wonderful new props that $600 would buy.

  Is it really worth spending $600 to store a PVC fence made from $100 in materials? Then I remember the effort it cost us to design and build those pieces. Those props are worth thousands of dollars worth of sweat! I don't mind a few bucks to store them.

  In addition to the monetary aspect, rented storage rooms are usually not just across the street. They require packing into a vehicle, travel, unpacking, and then packing into the room. Then do it all again when you want the stuff back. Off-site storage is a pain.

• indoors

  By simply stating "indoors", I mean out of the way - in a back room. This is probably the best in terms of both a good environment for storage, and convenience. Indoor space is also at a premium. Do you really want to pay an extra $600/month for an extra bedroom for some props?

• living space

  When I say "living space", I mean in the part of the house where you actually live, as opposed to a back room.

  This brings to mind the folks who use a coffin prop as a coffee table, and store smaller props inside it.

• Items used just for Halloween (access once a year) are good candidates for the rented storage room.

• The best candidates for the storage room are those in rectangular boxes, or are themselves big and rectangular. We're going for stackability, so that the costly rented space can be packed tight - more bang for the buck.

• We'll accept a few odd-sized items for the storage room, but they should be light - we'll put them on top of the stacks.

• The attic doesn't have enough headroom to stack things high, so it gets most of the odd-sized stuff that doesn't stack well.

Our ultimate configuration would probably be a house with large enough property to hold a couple of used containerized freight units for bulk storage. We would also appreciate a staging area that can be fully enclosed or opened wide; either a two-car garage, or recreation room with large sliding doors out to the haunt area. This area could be used for some prop storage off-season; final prep and assembly as the season approaches; and on the big day, just open the doors and move the stuff outside. After the show, open the doors, move the stuff back in, and lock up. Disassemble at your leisure.

Yeah, like that's ever going to happen. :-)

Packing

We like the 12-gallon "Keep Box" totes from Akro-Mils. These are normally $6.99 at Fry's, but often on sale for $4.99. K-Mart carried a Halloween "Kreep Box" in black and orange for around $5. In 2001, they were not included in the first K-Mart after-Halloween sale, but about three days later they went on sale for about $2.50. If you see a deal like that, stock up!

This is a 12 gallon Contico "Tuff Crate". We don't like them as much as the Akro-Mils "Keep Box", but they will serve in a pinch.

[The Akro-Mils have better handles. Early versions of the Contico had nasty plastic hinge-pins that were prone to break.]

Yes, this is one of the boxes full to the brim with strobes. :-)

The standard-size can of spray paint is only in the picture to give a sense of scale.

Putting things in boxes stabilizes them, protects them, and makes them more stackable.

This box holds about a third of our tombstones.

We're not terribly fond of storage in cardboard boxes, but these were cheap and just the right size!

All of our gravestones fit neatly into three boxes, with enough space left inside for other graveyard decorations.

The packed boxes are large, but light.

Preparation of Post-Season Buys For Next Year

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