Organizing My Hidden Storage Closet

I think our home is reasonably organized. Sure, in an ideal world I’d have a butler called Adrian Monk, but all things considered we are neat people. We don’t have any spots that we’d keep hidden from the public out of shame.

At least not since Sunday.

We have a storage area hidden under the stairs. It’s quite a nifty solution, if you don’t know what to look for you could easily miss the door. This allows us to take advantage of what would otherwise be an useless space without making it too conspicuous. Unfortunately we hadn’t had the time or energy to organize the hot mess it was.

On our last trip to Ikea nearly a month ago we bought some shelves to organize this space, and they sat in the living room while I mustered the courage to tackle this Herculean task. Finally, a post by Jo, who has a similar space, afflicted by the same problem, shamed me into action. Thanks Jo.

In the end I could only fit one of the shelving units, luckily that’s all I needed, and the other one was put to use elsewhere.

I made space for Bo’s golf equipment, paint and tools are stored on the shelves, the box contains bits and ends that I’ve yet to find a better way to organize. The rack on the door keeps some cleaning supplies at hand. Near the door I installed a base for the iron, and a hook to keep our re-usable shopping bags in an easy-to-grab spot.

I got rid of a few things, mainly empty boxes, but the rest just needed some sorting and organization. The wheeled bins contain assorted home repair tools and gadgets. On one side of the wall, hanging from hooks, I placed the ladder, vacuum cleaner, bike helmets and drop-cloth.

On the floor, and because it doesn’t fit anywhere else I keep the rarely-ever-used boom-arm tripod. On the left I installed a LED lamp because there is no wiring under the stairs.

I also installed another light at the highest part  of the “ceiling”. You can see the things that I threw out, except the baby seat, because that is my nephew’s. I put that in the trunk of our car, which is rarely used for anything these days.

Sure there’s nothing pretty about this, but organization is a vital part of a home’s functionality and aesthetics. It’s nice to open a door without expecting to be buried under an avalanche of crap. And no more shameful spaces, hurrah!

Do you have a shameful spot in your home? What are your plans for it?

Aunt Clara