Credit crunch clear outs

Relief to your credit crunch financial woes may lie just 10ft from your living room, according to research from comparethemarket.com.

Many of us are hoarders and new research reveals, two-thirds (62%) of people in the UK use their garages to store household items as well as tools and gardening equipment, as opposed to its intended purpose for storing cars. Householders revealed that the value of items stored in their garage was worth between a massive £2.5 - £5.1 billion, equivalent to the average Brit storing goods valued between £501 and £1000 in their garage. A further 13% revealed that items in the garage were worth between £2001-£5000. With a recession looming, and the UK facing a grim financial picture, many UK consumers could turn to garage/car boot sales for a quick and easy way to supplement their income.

But if a garage sale doesn't appeal, there are plenty of other options:

Convert the garage into another room to increase the value of your property: the average conversion will cost between £6,000 and £10,000, but can add up to 6% to the total value of the home

Sell the garage independently from the main home

With parking space limited especially in the cities, try renting out the garage - spots in central London go for as much as £250 per month

"Naturally, many householders take advantage of the extra storage space a garage provides, but it's easy to not recognise the high cumulative value of goods being stored outside the home," said Jeremy Moll, head of insurance, comparethemarket.com. "Whatever consumers decide to do with their garage - to keep their car in it, store other valuables or convert it into an extra room - they must always ensure their garage is covered under their home insurance policy for the purpose it is used for. Using a site such as comparethemarket.com will ensure that people get the right deal for their needs at the best possible price."

However garages are utilised, security is crucial. More than half (54%) of the respondents revealed that their garages were stand-alone and not connected to the main house. Reassuringly, the majority secured their garage with lock and key (77%) however only 17% said the garage has a burglar alarm (either connected to the house system or a separate burglar alarm).

Householders can become savvy with their money by adopting the following easy measures:

Where possible secure your garage with lock and key and connect to the main burglar alarm. If you have items of high value in your garage you may even opt for investing in a separate alarm system just for your garage

Try to avoid keeping items of too much value in your garage - as well as theft, items are more likely to get damaged through something like flood. Maybe consider your loft as an alternative storage place