If you've owned Toronto homes before, or any home in a big city, you know that you pay dearly for every square foot of space, so it behooves you to make sure you're not wasting any of it. Here in Lubbock, we're got more room to spread out, but you should still make the best use of your space that you can if you want to get the most for your money. Whether you live in Lubbock or elsewhere, here are some tips on making use of one of a typically underused space: the attic.

Unless you've bought a new home in Ontario, chances are your attic is unfinished. With the roof rafters exposed no floor to keep you from falling through the ceiling below if you step off the beams, there's not much you can do with your attic, which is why your first step needs to be to finish it off. Attics should always be insulated and ventilated. If they're not, you can get them done quite cheaply. Then comes some boards to make a floor (why not use reclaimed lumber?) and some gyproc to cover the rafters, and voila! A finished attic.

Even if you don't have enough money for the gyproc, if you can get some sort of flooring in, your attic will be useful as a storage space. Modern Halton Hills real estate is often sadly lacking in storage space. The easier it is to get into your attic, the more you will use it. If you have to climb a ladder through a hatch, for example, you are less likely to drag heavy objects up there than if there's a stairway. If you've got the money, you should make a proper stairway.

If your attic is large enough, you can even finish it nicely and add its square footage to the living space in your Acton real estate. Finished attics can make great guest bedrooms or bedrooms for teenage children. You can also turn it into a playroom, a workout room, an art studio, or a hobby room - whatever you need! To get it up to spec, you may need to put in a few windows (if there aren't any already) and wire it for plugs and overhead lights.

Some attics are large enough to turn into a whole apartment. If you could use a little extra income to help you pay off your Richmond VA real estate, you can put in a bathroom and kitchen up there and rent it out as a bachelor or one bedroom if you can contrive to make a separate entrance (exterior stairwells are usually the easiest option).