So my question is...what do I do w/ the stuff. ( I am not tossing it!) We keep our house with the minimal amount of stuff but if I paid for something and have some left over I try to find another use for it. Like the paint. I intend to use on the upstairs bathroom. One day. The floor tiles...I have no idea.Maybe I could use that there too.

Is there a clever way to disguise that mess under there? Or another way to utilize the space? I suppose if I turned it into something functional I would be forced to find a "home" for this stuff. But I am at a loss.

Another solution would to get an armoir that will fit under there

How much room do you have?

I would have shelves on both walls, do the black painted plywood at the back of the stairs and the curtain and also have a bin on casters in the middle for bigger stuff.

You can store a lot of stuff there and have it very organized too. Love it!

It will cost some money, but not a whole lot if you DIY.

Maria in Chios, Greece

I would have shelves on both walls, do the black painted plywood at the back of the stairs and the curtain and also have a bin on casters in the middle for bigger stuff.

You can store a lot of stuff there and have it very organized too. Love it!

It will cost some money, but not a whole lot if you DIY.

Maria in Chios, Greece

I do have a baker's rack type thing that is now empty after relocating some books. I may be able to fit that along the left wall there. And maybe some of those cheapo three bin plastic drawers or something along those lines?
Baskets won't work for us. I will just fill them up until they overflow. Not proud of that but, it's the truth. Well, maybe one basket right there under the stairs. Since it will be hard to put anything else there.
I have decided to move the paint upstairs since that is where I will be using it. I have double sinks up there and not one thing in the cabinets underneath. I also noticed (blush) that two of those large boxes are empty. Who knew?

OR, use just 2-drawer ones and put a top on them to make a "launch pad" where keys, mail, and other transient things go. Add some coat-hooks for purses, a key rack, and a mail basket. Maybe some small drawer units to hold stamps and scissors.

OR, find a table that just fits the space, put a skirt on it to cover the mess (Put the mess into plastic labelled bins). Make the top into your launch pad.

http://freshome.com/2008/09/11/beautiful-and-practical-under-stair-dra wer-system/

http://dornob.com/10-clever-under-stair-storage-space-ideas-solutions/

I understand small (my first house being a pretty bare bones townhouse), but no basement, garage, carport, shed, mudroom, covered porch, utility room, laundry room, accessible attic, closets?

Paint- You said you were going to use it upstairs. Pick a time when you can paint and then paint. Putting this off is stealing your energy for other things. Most people hang onto paint cans indefinitely and never use the paint again. Use it or get rid of it.

Tools - you need to find a way to store the tools since they have value and add value to your home when used. I would make the focus of the storage space for your tools. If the tools are organized and easy to find, you will be more likely to work on projects. You could even build a small workbench in there. Put shelves above it and to the right of it. Totally useful. Then you could hang curtains along the whole length. Ikea had a wire curtain rod for almost nothing. It's very indiscreet. If you don't sew, you could use bed sheets. On most sheets, the top hem is like a pocket which you could use to string the wire through, but if you are mildly handy with a sewing needle, you could sew rings at the top of the sheets and run the wire through the rings. That would make it easier to open and close.

Keyboards and other misc computer equipment - What do you mean it's a hobby? Are you actively building new systems that use up the components on a regular basis? If you are not, but keep saying that you want to do it, think about it really hard. It's very common to get all excited about a new hobby, but then we lose interest in it. If you are not doing anything about the equipment, that means you really are not that into your hobby any more. Let the equipment go and you will gain space and open up your mind and heart for a new hobby that you will enjoy doing. Hanging on to an ex-hobby keeps us in the past and doesn't allow us to move forward to live the life we want to live.

Tiles - You have no idea where you will use them. I know of a perfect place. If you have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore or something similar in your area, donate the tiles. The tiles are taking up valuable space, not only in your house, but your head. Free them and it will free your mind, and your tiles will benefit someone who is less fortunate than you.

If we focus on organizing what you have, Lazy Gardens has what I think might be the best idea: filing cabinets. Try to get the real office kind that are 28 inches deep with full extension slides - usually affordable if you buy vintage; I haven't priced them new. The biggest challenge you have in that under-stair space is actually using the depth, not organizing it. If you get a series of cabinets - perhaps 4, 3, and then 2 drawer - in the same colour, it will look very unobtrusive from the front door.

If you look hard you can get very cool old cabinets of that depth with drawers for index cards or all sorts of small drawers, good for tools and bits.

If you put something with less depth there, and I doubt you'd have a shelf unit with more that 16" depth if that, maybe even a sideboard with 17-22 inches, you'll just pile stuff in front of it. Ask me how I know.

And yes, I said sideboard. Or armoire. Even if it just paint and other ugly things, there's nothing wrong with using a nice piece of furniture to keep it in.

And just have to say that, wow, Oilpainter gets points upthread for being prescient about there being no risers. Would never have occurred to me, as my space like this is under closed stairs.

KarinL

Karen, You seem to have taken my post personally. I did not say she was a bad person nor are you, but making justifications for keeping stuff isn't helping anyone.

I'm w/ duluthinbloomz4 and with Janet--I vote for committing now to a time to paint the bathroom.

And if you can't do it, then I wonder if you are telling yourself that you don't really *want* to.

I do know that sometimes I have to "be ready" to toss* something. But I wonder if this post of yours is actually a huge part of being ready--you don't like how that looks. That's the first step.

Also--money. theoretically, the paint is worth money. Theoretically.
How much money? And how likely is it you want to paint the bathroom the same exact color, and is it mildew-resistant bathroom paint, etc.?

How much money is it worth to have that eyesore not dragging you down?

I sometimes say to myself, as I toss* things that seem to have monetary value, "I'd *pay* $35 not to look at this for the next year."

*toss = "get it out of my house in whatever way works--recycle, donate, put in the garbage."