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[151949]

We have very tall ceilings - even in the garage so DH has added a lot of storage space by going up. In every closet in the house he added extra shelves above the one the builder put in.In the garage he put shelves above the water heater and a very large shelf over where the car goes - so the hood of the car is actually under the shelf.He put chains up to the ceiling on that shelf to be certain it won't ever fall down. Our kitchen pantry came with 2 shelves - now it has 6.His walk in closet had a shelf and hanging rod down each side for the length of the closet. He only needed one side so on the other side he put floor to ceiling shelves for storage. 

[Mominohio]

I was out shopping with my mom who needs an extra chest of drawers (and that find will be another post), and I saw the most amazing bed. 

I am one that while I do store some things under one bed right now (used to be all three), I absolutely hate things under the bed. The containers get so dusty, it's hard for me to get things out, and it's leftover from my childhood where nothing was ever allowed under the beds. Makes cleaning so much easier, and even though I have bed skirts and no one can ever see the stuff under there, it drives me crazy knowing it is there. 

Well, anyway, we were in furniture stores looking for chest of drawers, so seeing a lot of beds. I've always known about those that have the drawers in the base, and those are great! 

But I saw, for the first time, a queen or king size bed that lifts up. Think of standing at the front of your car, and putting the hood up to get to the engine. That is how this bed opened. Just like the hood of a car. And it opened way up. 

The base was completely an enclosed "box" that you could then use for storage. It was huge. For me, it wouldn't feel like traditional under bed storage, as everything would be enclosed and one would never need to clean under the bed (sat square on the floor). 

There was no box spring, just this kind of box on hinges (beautiful wood finish on the outside) with a lipped platform on top to place the mattress. 

I guess these aren't rare, but I had never seen one like this. 

[house_cat]

I've almost always lived in small apartments and houses, and since I hate clutter, I've gotten very creative about storage.  The only one I can photo quickly is this one - it's where I hide my L&L stash.

If I have time this weekend I'll share a few more.  

Great thread - I can never have too many of these ideas!

[house_cat]

We never have more than one set of CalKing sheets for our bed. We wash them and put them back on - when they look shabby we buy a new set and donate the old ones.  It saves storage and sanity, since I've never been able to master the art of folding fitted sheets.

[summerwind]

@Mominohio, once saw a picture of a similar bed used as a gun safe. If I recall, it opened from the side.  Wonder why we don't see more of these, seems like a nice idea.

When I gave up my waterbed, I kept the drawer platform for extra storage. When I moved, I was amazed at how much dust had managed to accumulate under it, even tho it appeared flush to the floor. It had been there over 30 years, tho.

[151949]

@Mominohio Almost every camper in the market has a bed like this. Fabulous storage!

[wagirl]

I have a good sized pantry in my kitchen--- but it is under the stairs that lead upstairs in my house, so the ceiling slants towards the back of it. I have shelves all around it but needed more room--so I got a 4 shelf adjustable, rolling shelving unit and bought baskets to store in . I need to roll it out each time to use it but also it is hidden inside when the doors are closed.  I have 3  deep baskets per shelf too. Have bags of rice/ pasta in one, some tall lock-n-locks in another, in  baking flours in one---and that is just one shelf. Very handy!! 

[Fressa]

I use wicker trunks of various sizes to store kitchen appliances that are used only for holidays, etc. (roasters, smaller size crock pots, waffle irons, etc.) I try to find ones that will stack on top of each other so it's easier to acces what I need. I keep mine stored in the den which is off the kitchen. 

I also use lined wicker baskets on a storage shelf in the bathroom to hold all the small stuff for makeup, hair, etc. It keeps ti all in one spot but it doesn't look as messy or cluttered.

[Mominohio]

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@house_cat wrote:

We never have more than one set of CalKing sheets for our bed. We wash them and put them back on - when they look shabby we buy a new set and donate the old ones.  It saves storage and sanity, since I've never been able to master the art of folding fitted sheets.

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@house_cat

I so envy people with the resolve to do this! It does make life so much simpler and frees up so much storage space.

[Katcat1]

@Mominohio   I live in apt. so I don't have that much storage.  The kitchen was poorly designed (lack of cabinets).  I had to eliminate some Christmas decos that I keep in an extra storage locker in my building.  Now I have some extra room in there.  I stopped using my dishwasher and store products in it.  Actually, my dishes look better when hand washed (no streaking).  I also use small baskets to keep my spices in.  I also have a Metro cart in the kitchen that I can hang my pots & pans and store my microwave and toaster oven on.