Do you build a basement/attic for Storage?

Stormkeep · February 2022

I was moving some seasonal things into my current Sim household's basement and it occurred to me, none of the houses I download from the gallery ever have a storage area. I know we have the "household inventory" for storing things, but I tend to make a large room either in the basement or an attic where I put "stuff" that's not currently being used. Like the Christmas tree when it isn't Winterfest, the high chair when there's no toddles in the household, etc.

I don't like Household inventory to get cluttered, so I prefer to keep it empty, or at least mostly empty, so I can find 'new' things more quickly when I get them as rewards/gifts or send my sims shopping.

I'm curious if there are any other Simmers who do that, or if everyone else just uses the Household Inventory and/or sells/rebuys things.

crocobaura · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

I don't build a room just for storage, but all my houses have a roof and if there's something I don't currently use I will put it in the attic space under the roof. That attic space is not usually reachable by the sims, so it's just a way to put stuff out of the way.

Stormkeep · February 2022

Yes, I usually or always have a Storage room in houses that I build.

crocobaura wrote: »

I don't build a room just for storage, but all my houses have a roof and if there's something I don't currently use I will put it in the attic space under the roof. That attic space is not usually reachable by the sims, so it's just a way to put stuff out of the way.

Yah, i do that sometimes too. I think of that as "attic space". Even when I make a room for it, like a basement, I always lock the door anyway, so no matter where I put the stuff it isn't accessible.

phantasmkiss · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

I keep things I'm not using in household inventory. Except:

I will create garages sometimes for suburban-type homes. Since our Sims don't have cars, these are usually decorated as storage/laundry, with a space in the center as if the car's just not home.
I've made a couple basement fall-out shelters and at least one basement apartment for a Sim who lives with his grandparents.
Where there's enough roof space for an attic, or when the house plans call for a small attic room, I'll make one.
If I'm collecting something I want to see, I'll put them either under the roof or on a balcony, but not in inventory. I like to have a grid for my frogs so I can see at a glance which ones are missing. Through persistence and breeding, I have in fact caught 'em all.

Personal inventory is for things my Sims might need while out, like a stack of strawberries, treasure map, a book they haven't finished.
Household inventory is for everything else.

EmmaVane · February 2022

No, I just sell stuff I'm not using and will rebuy it when I need it again.

I sell stuff I'm not using because keeping it on the lot or in the inventory adds to your Lot Taxes and makes bills more expensive.

Attic and basement spaces tend to be used as additional rooms.

VeeDub · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

I do various things depending on my stories' needs and my own convenience. I only ever do storage spaces in a place if there's an important enough story reason to do it. Otherwise I either put unused stuff in storage until later or sell it and rebuy if I need it (I do the latter thing often with bassinets and the like because most of my sims have very few or no babies, lol).

Stormkeep · February 2022

Yes, I usually or always have a Storage room in houses that I build.

@phantasmkiss, I don't know if you use CC or not, but if you do and are interested in some storage options designed specifically for collectables, "Somecreative CC" has some great designs to make displaying them and seeing what you are missing super easy.

I particularly like the one for frogs, because it has labels so you know exactly what goes where and what is missing. Here's a picture of it:

Simmingal · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

Idk it really depends but collectibles i either display or they're in those separate inventory chest thingies like DU and EL ones that are in rooms or sim/household inventory

with attics and closets I sometimes have them if i have odd space in the house that would magically fit that and like i may store things that are moveable in live mode like guitar or whatnot

also i have like dressing rooms and such that are kinda like closet but fancy with decor

but like usually i try to keep them kinda neat like they're similar to other rooms in house its not really shove random items here zone that much

and then i also don't really like keeping temporary objects im not using for a while like winterfest decor in any inventory i usually just sell it and pretend it never existed get new ones if i need em later

Kimmer · February 2022

No, I just sell stuff I'm not using and will rebuy it when I need it again.

I usually sell them always. I may not even want to use the same decorations the next year so it's easier to just get rid of them.
I only keep children's seasonal drawings, they're more "personal". I keep them either in their personal inventory or household inventory.

musteni · February 2022

No, I just keep things I'm not using in Household Inventory.

I like the idea, but I have never done it. Collectibles often go to a chest.

DoloresGrey · February 2022

I change it up and do a combination of the above things.

I really do like to have basement and/or attic as storage rooms. It is common in where I live to store preserved and pickled food in basement and other stuff (old clothes, seasonal decor, baby strollers) in attic. I like to have my game realistic so that's why I do this. Sometimes there is no space for stairs or ladder so I just keep stuff in household inventory or I sell it. It depends

CAPTAIN_NXR7 · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

I build basements for other things. 😈

EmmaVane · February 2022

No, I just sell stuff I'm not using and will rebuy it when I need it again.

I do tend to keep a good amount of produce/collectibles in the fridge/chests.

For food produce I'll top up the fridge to 5 of each (highest quality, I have) every time I harvest/collect stuff. The rest gets sold, or stored if it's used in some other kind of crafting that household does.

For collections, I'll either display them randomly around the house (casual collectors) or in a display (empty shelves, or cubes stacked together) if the sim is more of a serious collector. Any extras get sold or gifted.

Benjamilian · February 2022

No, I just sell stuff I'm not using and will rebuy it when I need it again.

There should be an option for 'no, but now you've given me the idea I probably will'

Dianesims · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

I like to add basements and attics in some cases but not in every build. I play on a MacBook, so the more clutter I have the more laggy the game becomes. So I’ll add them when I think it fits the story mostly.
Not to mention attics are sadly not a thing in TS4, all we can do is fake one. I wish we could use the space under a roof like in TS3.

I like to adds garages as well, even though we don’t have cars or garage doors.

Elliandre · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

If there is room in the house I may build an attic or basement for storage, sometimes I put something in the office though, or outside in a little tool shed. I like store things in the game.

halloweenchild · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

Sometimes, though it depends if I want to use the basement for a secret-not so secret vampire lair or not. Most of the time though, I do keep things in a spare room, like an unused walk-in closet or something.

GrumpyGlowfish · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

It depends on the family, really. If they're poor and need money, I sell everything they don't need. If they're into fabrication, it gets recycled into bits and pieces. If they have a very big house with a lot of space, I usually find some place for everything. Seasonal things like Christmas trees go into the household inventory.

But for some reason I don't understand, in all those years, it has never occurred to me to just make a storage room (even though my houses do usually have either a basement or an attic, if not both). That's actually a pretty good idea.

sam123 · February 2022

That's a good idea!

maggiemae8135 · February 2022

Yes, I usually or always have a Storage room in houses that I build.

I typically build either an attic, basement or both in my homes. The smaller homes I don't due to lack of enough space, though some of my witch cottages have ladders as basement is a great place for brewing potions! I live in an area where most houses have attics and basements, so for me they are a normal part of a home. I build walls first for an attic then place half gable roof on either side and a gable roof on top so it is playable. It does make the roof taller than I like but I want my playable attic. My gallery id is MaggieMae7276 if anyone is interested in checking my builds with basements and attics.

LynnPlayz1 · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

I have a garage with functional storage bins, but it was more for the aesthetic than for storage itself.

blueybluesky · February 2022

No, I just sell stuff I'm not using and will rebuy it when I need it again.

I've never actually thought of putting the seasonal decorations in the basement for storage, I tend to just rebuy it all. Think I'm going to give the basement idea a go now.

elanorbreton · February 2022

No, I just sell stuff I'm not using and will rebuy it when I need it again.

This. But only because I never really thought of adding a basement or attic. But, then, most of my sims are fairly poor and live in tiny houses.

DaWaterRat · February 2022

No, I just keep things I'm not using in Household Inventory.

The problem I've run into with an attic/basement for storage is two fold - first off, if you have certain items in your house, Sims will try to use them, which can mess up routing and action queues. Second, without using T.O.O.L, they're not believably space efficient.

Now, I have done basement display rooms for collections. I'll do that a lot with certain Legacies I've played. But for raw storage of "old stuff I don't need at the moment" I'll use the household inventory and just pretend that the house has a storage unit somewhere.

CK213 · February 2022

Other (please explain in comments)

I use inventory for storage.
I mainly use basements and attics for hobby/work-at-home activities.

JustMeAlb · February 2022

Yes, I usually or always have a Storage room in houses that I build.

I frequently dig basements under my sims' homes, mostly as additional skill building areas. Usually I finish them with full bathrooms and areas for specific activities but sometimes they just end up being a single large room for dumping stuff and the drywall painted over so the sims don't tweak over it being "poorly decorated". Use to really fret over getting a staircase into the house that didn't too mess up the floor plan but have recently managed to settle on stairs to the basement from the outside, or even a ladder.

Don't know why I've never thought of just creating an outside shed, been essentially doing that with greenhouses, and it'd be much easier if there's enough room on the lot.

Occasionally I manage to make an attic but the roofs are usually not big enough for one.

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Do you build a basement/attic for Storage?

Do you build a basement/attic for Storage? 131 votes

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