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| Note the pantry next to the refrigerator |
I don't care where you live, or how much space you actually have, storage is always a problem in one way or another. In the 1980s, right after my graduation from college, my husband and I were lucky enough to buy a 400 square foot summer house in the Ramapo Mountain Range. The house looked more like Colorado than the Northeast. Within a couple of years we replaced the electrical systems, the heating systems, the septic tank, provided insulation, and ultimately built an addition This all occurred while simaltaneously having our first two children. The house was quite lovely when it sold at a significant profit, and freed us to move on to another state. Living in 400 square feet with two adults and two babies was no picnic. Storing diapers, toilet paper, canned goods, laundry detergent, and anything else was no picnic in such small space. We adapted by having shelves placed in between wall studs, and by using our attic for things that would not be adversely impacted by 30 degrees below zero.
The houses which have followed became larger and larger as our family grew and our interests began to include agricultural pursuits. More children require more storage space, and living farther from shopping requires more food stored for times when running out to the store is foolhardy or simply not possible. Animals also require storage, but barns can't always store medications or things which might be hurt by dust, freezing or extreme heat. Largely, even when we get more space, there is the human tendency to fill it, either with larger furniture, books, sporting equipment or items inherited from a beloved relative or two.
I would like to take a moment to encourage you to consider your home for a moment. Where can you squeeze out additional storage, perhaps hidden, or perhaps not ? Check out under your stairs. Can you put a closet there ? What would it take to make all of your attic useful for storage while still preserving its ventilation ability. What could you do with your basement to make it possible to store more things in it safely ? Is there a place where you could place shelves between studs, attractively, as if a builder had done this ? Could you add a lovely pantry to your kitchen ?
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| The owners of this house could not cut a closet underneath their staircase. They did find a way to store things in small space though. |
Most of us really can find more space, even if we are challenged by unusual architecture.
10 comments:
Find that space, then FILL it up!
That's the plan !
Try as I might, I can't dig any space out of a one floor Florida home. (They were dumb enough to think that concrete blocks and single paned windows are good insulation, so you know they didn't think of storage)
But, finding the space is the problem, Matt - especially if you have designed and built a weekend / holiday home, and which you are now living in full time LOL
Yes, depending upon construction, it can be very hard to squeeze out storage. Sometimes a fortified storage building is the only answer,and a partial one at that.
Yes,a lot of homes designed for the 55 plus set think they don't need or don't want to store anything. This is very foolish on their part because many times medical supplies, such as diabetes, insulin pump, ostomy, nebulizer etc. take some storage, and these homes don't have it.
I've been having space anxiety lately. I got canning jars coming out of my ears. They went on sale I bought, oterhs bought for me, I find at estate sales & I buy more. It's a compulsion, I can't help it.
Thank goodness we don't have company slated or they would have to sleep in the living room. Husband looked at me this week & said "You know we have a whole loft that is never used".
Lightbulb! The stairs are narrow, but for 'long term storage' items it will be perfect & the shelves don't even have to be 'pretty' since no one ever goes up there. Just get me past the holidays & it will be filled up!
I am so glad you found a solution. I too have some organizational work to do on all the preps.
Until last year, I had 4000 sq ft for storage. No more. It was lovely for 30 years!
I have lived with very little storage, and lived with a good deal of it. I have concluded that it doesn't matter how much you have, we still need to plan storage, buy what we need and not too much of things we "might use someday", and we need to actively donate or give things we really don't use to others when we can. It's a challenge, and it certainly is for me also !
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