Our apartment is approximately 775 square feet (70 square meters). It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room/dining room. It also has a rather large patio – 1075 square feet or 100 square meters. So, it’s not small (by European standards) but it’s definitely not huge either. Thankfully we have three closets and quite a bit of storage in the living room as well. Still, sometimes we need more space for random stuff super useful stuff.
Enter our super secret storage room. Okay, so it’s not super secret – I’ve actually mentioned it a few times in the comments – but I’ve never shown any pictures of it. Well, today’s your lucky day! (not really…)
Our (empty) parking space – the car was parked outside that day – and the door to the storage room
These storage rooms are quite common here. They’re usually right next to the apartment’s corresponding parking space. And they’re perfect for storing Christmas decorations and random wedding stuff and leftovers from home improvement projects. Or even for a spare mattress as you can see. The problem is, ours is a complete mess:
The view as you enter, to the right
View to the left
Some stuff for the wedding
Christmas decor
And if we take into account that my number one goal for 2012 was organization, well, there’s definitely room for improvement there. In the following weeks I’ll try to organize everything (and throw out a lot of stuff). But I’m mainly looking for ideas on how to make everything neat and tidy as cheaply as possible. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to organize a storage room or a garage-like area? I’d love to hear them.
Oh and I forgot… in addition to that, I’ll also be purging my closet. Yeah, I’m letting this out in public so you guys hold me accountable. The number of t-shirts, skirts and pants that I have is getting ridiculous. It’ll be nice to recover part of the space in my closet! These two things should get me closer to achieving the organization goal for the year.
What about you guys? Are you also trying to pare down on stuff? I find that we accumulate so many random things!
We had a room like this in the basement when I lived in Grenoble! It was so good, I miss it all the time.
I think the shelving you have looks great so I don’t really have any suggestions – except to make sure any boxes are clearly labelled (or to use clear boxes) so you don’t have to rummage through when you need anything. And maybe have a small table for when you do need to go through a box?
Can’t wait to see the finished thing!
Adding a small table is a great idea! I’ll have to see if we can fit one in there
I think Lisa wants one of these near our kitchen!! Congrats on the big Euro Cup win! Bet that was fun to back home for!!
We stayed in and watched the game at home but some people sure went crazy!
Oh my goodness! Good luck with clean-up! Our garage needs to be organized, but I’m lacking the motivation to do so lol.
Haha, thanks. I sure need it!
This year is all about organization for me too. The shelves look like a good start for you but maybe add some baskets (for smaller things) or some stackable storage totes. Our basement and garage are FULL but we’re starting by listing a few items on Craigslist, had the Restore pick up a few items and then our town is doing a bulk pick-up for the dump (only those things that we can’t get rid of any other way). Then maybe we can get some more shelves up like you!
Baskets or boxes will help! I’ll have to keep an eye out for cheap ones
I like the idea of having a storage closet like that! We have access to the garage in the backyard but don’t put anything important (like Christmas ornaments) back there because there’s no lock on the door. All we have back there is a mini grill and charcoal. We still need to clean out/organize our back room but we’re waiting for Joe’s sister to pick up the rest of her stuff.
They’re definitely handy for random stuff!
Of course less will help – so once you sell/donate, you’re challenge will be reduced!! Someone on 365lessthings.com has a rule that things need to be accessible by one hand, which is a nice rule of thumb, but might limit your options in a storage room.
Consider if a rail (Grundtl from ikea) or hooks might be better suited for some stuff. Label label label (maybe both the shelf and the box, so everyone knows where things go back?)
A rail and hooks are a good idea! And yeah, labeling too. I don’t know if my bf will want everything to be as neat and tidy as I do though, I think I’m gonna have to work on this on my own!
It’s great that you have a space like this for storage!! I don’t have many tips other than search Pinterest for “garage storage” and maybe some fun things will pop up. Pinterest solves every problem! lol.
Our basement and garage and spare room are stuffed with wedding things and need organizing SO badly. I’ll look forward to your tips!!
Hahah, wedding stuff seems to take over everything, right? I’ll share what I end up with!
wow! fantastic space!!!!
Thanks Shannon!