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Cheap storage organization ideas needed....

6 years ago
Welcome to the Twilight Zone....

My MC ranch has this wonky attic access that I need help with organizing and using for storage. Who better to ask but Houzzers?

Some caveats:

It needs to be movable in case attic access is needed. (Rare, but I don’t want to disassemble shelving to do it.)

Cheap is preferable as I have been spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave. (No disrespect meant to the members of our armed services....)

If there is some install, I am capable if not expert in screwdriver, using a level and swearing.

The neighboring areas of the house feature hardwood floors, cream or caramel walls, bright white trim. Am heading more toward a cottage esthetic than MCM. Not that storage needs an esthetic.

Since having attic insulation added, it is no longer cold, so wine/root vegetable storage is out.

I don’t NEED a ton of storage, just hate to see space go to waste.

TIA for your patience with this long post.

Comments (13)

  • 6 years ago

    My daughter has an almost identical space in her house. There is not really much to be done with it other than maybe a narrow bit of storage against one of the side wall.

    It would be an alright place to keep, maybe, the vacuum cleaner. You already have some things kept in there. That all looks about right.

    You don't need to fill up every space. It is alright to let some space just be space.



  • 6 years ago

    I would likely fasten some spring clips and hooks to boards and mount them to studs with screws. Use for storing things like broom and dustpan, bags of wrapping paper, etc. Generally things would be out of the way since they would be flat against the walls, but if need be, the boards could be unscrewed from the walls relatively quickly.

  • 6 years ago

    Nothing is quick when you have to empty a shelf and dismount it.

    Don't put anything on the wall with any depth that will hamper your access to the attic. I doubt you need that little bit of storage space that badly.

  • 6 years ago

    I'd paint it and use it to store either a vacuum or Costco-size packages of toilet paper.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Why not a shelving unit on casters that can easily be moved out of the way.

  • 6 years ago

    It is on the stairs. Wheels would be useless.

  • 6 years ago
    If it needs to be easily movable, you could just use stacked plastic bins with lids, and not have anything too heavy in them. You could store toilet paper, paper towels, or rags. Maybe cleaning supplies, too.
  • 6 years ago

    The attic access in our house is in my walk-in closet - and the clothes rods need to come down to get a ladder to the attic. Fortunately I've only been up there a dozen or so times in the 30 years we've lived in the house (it is not suitable for storage), so it isn't that big a deal to move things out of the way.

    What do you need storage for? This might be a perfect place for out of season clothes, which would not be hard to move if you had to get to the attic. Put a bar as high as you can reach, with no shelf above, so you can still use the lower part for tubs or a vacuum.

    I'm curious to see how you end up using this space.

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Sorry about that must have been too early. I think the best would be as mentioned just a good spot for cleaning supplies in a bucket and the broom and dust pan. If you don’t need storage don’t stress over this tiny little spot.

  • 6 years ago

    Not a Pro.


    Paint the closet in your favorite color. Add a peel and stick saying to the back wall that makes you laugh. Store things in plastic containers that can be stacked, label them. (as mentioned by someone above.)


    There seems to be room on the back of the door to add some narrow shelving


    Closet Organizer W/ 6 Shelves, Over the Door Organizer by Lavish Home · More Info



    Wall Door Hanger Organizer · More Info


  • 6 years ago

    I agree, don't stress too much over a bit of space. If you don't need the space for storage, let it just be. You don't have to fill up every bit of space with some clever and convoluted storage.

    Personally, an empty space like that would make me smile every time I opened that door.

    It seems that what you may have is a solution looking for a problem.

  • 6 years ago

    I saw something like this recently, and in fact posted a pic of it on a thread here--something about a closet under the stairs.


    Anyway, someone had built a big box that exactly fit into the closet space, just leaving room underneath for some big casters. So they could pull the whole box straight out to access the space behind, without disturbing anything inside the "closet."


    Theirs was more about being able to access stuff stored at the lower levels, where the angle of the stairs created space deep in the closet that would otherwise be unreachable.


    However, you have that step at the bottom that comes all the way out to the doorjamb, so you don't really have a place for a unit to roll in.


    Otherwise, I'd go with the idea to stashing the vacuum there, and out-of-season clothes in big plastic tubs that are easy to pull out.


    and maybe back-of-the-door storage for things that you need to put your hands on quickly in that area.