Sometimes it feels like no matter what you do, you’re always running out of space.

Pallets get stacked high, aisle ways get crowded, inventory gets out of control—you’re probably getting anxious just reading this post. All is not lost, however, and you don’t have to think about moving into a bigger facility every time you start getting pressed for available warehouse space.

Instead, there’s a few simple things you can do to make sure your warehouse is using all of its space as effectively as possible, and how to get there without breaking the bank. Next time you feel a little claustrophobic in your warehouse, ask yourself the following questions:

Is this warehouse using vertical space effectively?

One of the easiest ways to reduce clutter and use your space in the most useful way possible is simply to look up. Most fire regulations allow items to be stacked up to 18 inches below the smoke detectors and sprinklers, which should give you a lot of extra room in most warehouses, even ones with a shorter overhead. Invest in some taller pallet racks or cantilever racks to help you stack products more vertically, and make sure your employees learn to use this space with new, incoming shipment.

Are we using cubic space correctly?

There’s going to be a little math involved with this one, but cubic space can be easily calculated and used as a metric to determine space usage and remaining space. This can be done by adding up the volume of all products in your warehouse currently and then dividing that total by the warehouse’s overall storage capacity. This will provide a percentage number that tells you how much of your space is being used and can provide guidance as to what steps to take next and how to use the rest of your space as effectively as possible.

Can we increase floor space?

A lot of places simply can’t stack vertically due to the sort of product they stock or how it needs to be stored. Installing a mezzanine is a good way to provide more work space without renovating the entire warehouse, and can also provide additional storage over other work areas.

Do you have a dedicated space planner?

For warehouses that tend to run into frequent fluctuations in inventory level, hiring a dedicated space planner to deal with inventory changes as they happen and make sure everything is in its place. It might be kind of a headache to move everything around that often, but trust us, it’ll be a much smaller headache than trying to relocate to an entirely new warehouse every time you’re a little pressed for space.