Stairway Storage

Kari & Kijsa wrote a post asking their readers to share what they do with that "potentially fabulous" space under the stairway.

All to often that space under the stairs is wasted or at least half of it ends up as a coat closet like ours. Our home builder also thought it was the perfect place for a thermostat and a huge air vent. In our next home I am hoping we will have a space under the stairs that we can actually use. I personally think it is prime real estate. There are so many options and here are a few I have been collecting.

Built in shelving under the stairs with a pull down work table.

Shelving with baskets to hold table linens, magazines, and toys. Or what about using this area as a recycling center and line the baskets with plastic so they do not get ruined. The large baskets on the bottom shelf would be perfect for newspapers.

Pull out shelves used in a basement for storage. However, I would love having a pull out drawer like this near the entryway for shoes.

A built in office space with drawers next to it for supplies. Maybe even build in a file cabinet. Wouldn't that be lovely?

And let's not forget about Benita's lovely closet space under the stairs.

What other ideas can you come up with? Great topic Kari & Kijsa!

[photos from top to bottom: 1) Better Homes & Gardens 2) Better Homes & Grdens magazine January 2008 3) Storage Projects You Can Build, 1977 4,5) Taunton Home's New Built-Ins Idea Book]

Spring Forward + Quick Tip

Don't forget to set your clocks an hour ahead tonight. I don't look forward to losing the hour but I love having more daylight in the evenings.

Spring is just around the corner. As the weather starts warming up now is a good time to set up a donation box in each closet. As you are putting away your winter clothes take out the ones you didn't wear, or your children outgrew this year and put them in the donate box. Once the box is full take it to your local Goodwill or pass the clothes on to a family member who can use them.

Keep that donate box in the closet all year round to keep your closets manageable and uncluttered.


photo: NeXtime Klara Wall Clock

Flickr Group: Pretty Organized Part II

While I was working on my previous post about the Flickr group Pretty Organized I realized I really had pictures that could fit into two categories. Inspirational and Unique. Yesterday I showed you some inspirational spaces and today I thought it would be fun to show some of the unique storage ideas I came across.

I just had to start with this photo because I think it is such a lovely idea. Glitter in salt and pepper shakers. Cerri has a blog called Little Pink Studio and an Etsy shop where you can buy your very own glitter in a shaker.

These shakers remind me of a post that Aby did at Creative Organizing about using bowls for organizing small scrapbooking supplies. So, now we have bowls and shakers, maybe a kitchen theme for a craft room?

If you have a pedestal sink or just not enough storage space in the bathroom for those toothbrushes this oilcloth dental caddy may be the answer you have been looking for. Visit the Little Glimpses blog for more crafty ideas and a little Etsy shop coming soon.

When I first saw this wrapping paper storage idea I thought it was wrapping paper standing on end off to one side of the closet. Great idea for using dead space, however when I looked at the rest of Frank's pictures I realized.....

these rolls of wrapping paper are being stored at ceiling height. Now that is what I call maximizing space! Frank used 4 screws, anchors and galvanized wire to rig this up. Thanks Frank, I am positive I will use this one in the future.

The few ideas I posted here were like needles in a haystack in all of those pictures. I am so glad I was able to share them with you. I would love to hear your unique organizing and storage ideas as well. If you would like to share your unique idea (and a picture would be great) leave a comment or email me and I will feature some of your ideas in an upcomig post.

Over the past few days I have looked at nearly 3000 photos. I think I need to take a break before my eyes start to cross. You can only look at so many little thumbnail size pictures before they all start blending together. :) I will be back on Friday with another Flickr group.

Related Posts:

Flickr Groups: Inspiring You To Keep Clutter Away
Flickr Group: Pretty Organized

Flickr Group: Pretty Organized

I could get lost in these pictures forever. Today is our second installment of Flickr Group photos. I hope the photos I have shared with you so far are inspiring you to tackle the clutter. I know I am getting some great ideas myself.

The group I am going to share with you today has over 2000 pictures posted and 1715 members. I am going to split this one up into two days. Today I will share some inspiring spaces. Tomorrow I will show pictures of new creative storage ideas I came across in this group. Welcome to the Flickr group....

Pretty Organized

Here we have Gail's craft shelf. A place for everything and everything in its place. I find the colors very soothing. She has more pictures in the group so go check them out.

This is where Moline keeps her embroidery supplies. I love to see people go beyond boxes and baskets and trying different containers like mini suitcases and hat boxes.

I think I may have to just do a whole post on Chez Larsson. I posted one of her pictures from Organization is for Squares yesterday. I am drawn to her pictures. I love the simplicity of it all. The best way I can describe her home is organization meets art. Every nook in her home is artfully organized.

I am not brave enough to have open shelves in my playroom. I'm not even worried about the older two it is my one year old who would surely scale to the top and pull everything down in her path. I am hoping the doors will deter my little angel for now. Molly, however has done a great job with the toy storage. I'm sure it always stays this beautiful as well. ;)

What a cheery kitchen! I love the open shelving and if you look close you can see the drawers are even labeled!

I have had so much fun with this little project so far. This post really could go on forever and ever. There were so many great pictures it was hard to pick only a few. Remember, I will be back tomorrow with a few creative storage ideas from Pretty Organized.

Meanwhile, if you have any pictures to share of your own organized spaces, please feel free to share.

Related Posts:

Flickr Groups: Inspiring You To Keep Clutter Away

Flickr Groups: Inspiring You To Keep The Clutter Away

Sometimes all it takes is a little inspiration to give an organizing project it's initial kick start. I thumb through magazines and a picture will strike a chord with me and my heart sings out to tackle the next project. A picture is worth a thousand words. When you see a product used a certain way or a bookshelf turned into a visual masterpiece using colors and containers it can cause you to have an Ah Hah! moment. Suddenly it all becomes clear... you have found the solution to your organizing problem.

If you are looking for a little inspiration your in luck. This week I will be featuring a new Flickr group each day that deals with organizing. I will post pictures form each group that I find are the most inspirational. I came across the Flickr groups while visiting Making it Lovely. Today we will start with the group Nicole started......

Organization is for Squares

Spring has sprung at Chez Larsson. I love this home office. You can find many more pictures like this of her "less than 800 square foot home." She has made great use of the space she has and how beautiful it all is.

Lovely pink containers from The Domestic Diva. Check out the Sewing Room Organization Challenge held at her site for tons of useful tips, products and of course inspirational photos. (It almost wants me to take up sewing)

Wow. I'm speechless. If I had this many purses I would certainly have cubbies for them all. Becky even has a Flickr Photo of the Week feature at her blog on Design Public and this week it just so happens that it is an organizing photo.

Last but not least, the photo that started Organization is for Squares. Nicole's squared away studio where she stores all of the lovely products she carries at her online store, Pink Loves Brown.

There are so many other great photos but only so much time. Check them out and maybe add some of your own. I noticed a couple of others in the group that I have actually blogged about before here and here. I just love the ideas and inspiration these photos bring.

I'll be back tomorrow with another group and more beautiful photos.

Shoe Storage Options

In order to win the last bloggy giveaway here I asked readers to "Ask the Organizer" a question. There were quite a few questions asked and I plan on tackling each one. It will take some time to research all the answers but eventually those that left a question will get an email when your answer is posted. If you have any other organizing questions feel free to "Ask the Organizer".

Michelle, Asked the Organizer.....

"My organizing dilemma is when it comes to shoes. We don't have a

shoe rack or anything so all the shoes get piled up in our living room

closet. It's a pain but I don't know what to do with them."

Well, Michelle at least your shoes make it into the closet so that is a great start. Now to make them more accessible and a little a little less jumbled. Although it is great that the shoes are in the closet the first thing I am going to recommend doing is taking them all out. Match them all up and see if they still fit. Now, toss or donate the ones no longer worn. After sorting and purging you will have a better idea of what size storage you may need.

Very rarely will the shoes end up in a nice pretty row when left on the floor so it is a good idea to go vertical. At our house we opted for a 3-Tier Shelf that we put in our laundry room. The laundry room is near the garage so the kids take their shoes off and put them on the shelves when they come in. (most of the time)

The shoe cabinet would be great for keeping the shoes out of sight and its slim design is a real space saver. A horizontal shelf could be tucked away in a closet and you could stack two on top of each other if you need more storage space.

If you have hanging space in the closet you can try the 10 pocket shoe organizer. Better yet, why not use the over door shoe oragnizer for actual shoes.

Home Decorators Collection offers a variety of storage furniture for the shoes. In my next house I am requesting a seperate mud room for the kids. I would love something like this but perhaps built in.

The possibilities really are endless. These options can work when you are trying to keep shoes in or near a living area other than a bedroom closet. When storing shoes that you wear on a daily basis the goal is to make them easily accessible and more importantly easy to put back in their home when you take them off.

More Than Just Shoe Storage

I thought I would share a handy little product with you. When organizing we are always looking for more space right? Well you might not have an abundance of space but most of you do have doors. An over door shoe organizer is a great product to help you get a quick organizing fix. Get creative in the uses you can find for them.

Obviously the transparent would be the best choice if you need to see the contents but these shoe organizers do come in different colors and in canvas or cotton. You can get artistic with labels if you can't see what is in the pockets.

With little ones at home I am always finding new uses for the shoe organizers. I have never actually used them for shoes. Here we have one hanging in our coat closet for hats and gloves. For our family of five this works great. The kids can easily find their gloves and PUT THEM BACK. No lost gloves or hats.


My daughter is now old enough to get into any drawer in the house. I learned with my son that this is not a good combination in the bathroom. (I once found him sucking on a tube of toothpaste. Don't worry I asked the doctor how much is too much and he didn't have enough to do harm.) Now, I keep most of the toiletries in a shoe organizer on the linen closet door. I keep my things in the top pockets and I leave a few pockets open on the bottom for her toys. She stays busy putting things in and taking them out while Mommy gets ready. Another sanity saver!


Design Mom posted about inexpensive ways to organize your wrapping paper, an article that was featured in Organize Magazine. Another great use for a shoe organizer.

The possibilities are endless. You can use them for storing small toys in the playroom, spices in the kitchen or even office supplies in a small office. Get creative with the organizing products you already may have at home. Try new things and make sure you come back and tell me what works for you.

Storage Idea for Your Purses

Recently someone asked me about storage ideas for purses. I remembered seeing this Handy Hold All in a magazine and was trying to describe it. Before I even had a chance to look it up I came across it at Jeri Dansky's Blog. I love Jeri's blog, it is an amazing resource for all things organizing.

A City of Storage

They are so beautiful! But, you may be wondering what they are. Cabinet, Closet, Bookshelf, Toy Box? The answer is, YES. All of the above. I would line a whole wall in the playroom with them. Never mind, I would put them in my office. How great would it be to see these everyday?

Now for the bad news, the Kast van een Huis is produced in the Netherlands. It doesn't look like they are shipped to the United States but it may be worth an email. Please let me know if you see anything like this here.

Customizable Toy Boxes

I would love to organize a playroom using these lovely boxes. You choose your color, or shape. Need doors? No problem they have it all. They even have a closet configuration for the little ones.

I first read about the Via Toy Boxes at Design Mom blog. So far this is one of my favorite blogs to visit and she has great guest bloggers that add to the experience.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads out there. I know I am truly blessed that my kids have such a wonderful Daddy. If Dad is the tie wearing type then here is a tie storage option for him.