General Storage

Cabinets are simply shelves with doors. Often, cabinets are too deep for really efficient storage. If that is a problem you have, try dividing the space inside the cabinet with risers or stacking bins. Another way to get more useable space is to hang coated-wire bins on the insides of the cabinet doors. You need pretty sturdy doors for this—pressed sawdust simply will not hold the hanging screws. Plywood or solid wood is your best bet. Metal might be strong enough but could be problematic. Take a look at the hinges, too, to see if they’ll take the extra weight.

Shelves are probably the most common method of storage, either mounted on a wall or in freestanding units. They are usually made of wood, metal, or vinyl-coated, compressed wood chips. There is of mounting hardware of every description for the wall-mounted ones and you might want to think carefully about what you need the storage to do before you invest in one type or the other. Do you need the shelves to be adjustable? Do they need to look nice? Or can you just bash them up out of anything you happen to have on hand? The most important thing for shelving is that it be sturdy enough for what you’re using it for. For instance, books and canned goods can be quite heavy. Flimsy shelves for them could be a scenario for a disaster.

Bins can be handy for things you need in bulk: compost, sand, gravel, etc. But make sure you can reach the entire bin when you need to.

Bottles made of glass are hardly ever used for storage anymore, except for wines and other beverages.

Furniture like free-standing wardrobes, armoires, trunks, hall trees, and storage hassocks, which are designed to hold things, should be used to hold things. It makes sense to store things near where they will be used. Your knitting could be kept in the hassock by the chair where you like to knit. The linens for the guest room could be kept in the armoire in the guest room.

Trash, Garbage, Recycling. We don’t really want to store any of this stuff but we do need a place to keep it while it’s with us, right? The trouble is, often there is just no floor space for it. A really great invention is the Rack Sack, a plastic-and-coated-wire gizmo that screws into the back of your under-sink cabinet door. The full-sized version holds from 3 to 5 gallons of garbage and trash, but here’s the beauty part—although it comes with a box of bags you can use, it can also use your plastic grocery bags! It’s got a lid to help control odors and it’s hidden under the sink. If you have a really tiny under-sink cabinet, or for use in a bathroom, RV, or boat, there is also the one-gallon size, but you may actually have to buy the bags for it. While we’re on the subject of garbage, have you ever heard of a worm bin substituting for a garbage disposal? Look it up! You’ll be surprised. The advantages of a worm bin: less garbage to get rid of, happy worms, great fertilizer. No, if you do it right it doesn’t smell, but it does take up room. But all the worm-bin sites have great ideas for places to keep the bin—garage, deck, back porch, even under the sink if there is room; and if you build the bin yourself it’s pretty cheap to start and free thereafter. So what are the advantages of a garbage disposal? They’re dangerous, wasteful, and can be a royal pain, not to mention smelly on occasion. But they do a really good job of chewing up your silverware.

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