Thanks for all the helpful replies to my query. I absolutely had no idea
that using the attic to store things could pose a problem! But based on
what you people have told me here -plus the the regrettable realization from
my own observations that my house was built as cheaply and shoddily as its
builders could legally get away with- I now realize my attic CANNOT be used
for storage in any case.

Rant: For a home that sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars, you'd think
the builder could've been a little more liberal budgetwise and built the
house to higher spec.

Ken