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txmarti

With lack of storage, where do you put big things?

TxMarti
17 years ago

I hate that my ironing board is always visible, but I don't have anywhere to put it except behind a door. Other things I have that sit in a corner somewhere are the vacuum, the drying rack, and the step stool. Where do you put these things when you have no storage closet? 2 of the bedrooms in this house are 10x10 and none of the bedroom closets are over 2x5'. One of them is 2x3'. Barely enough for clothes, much less other stuff. I have those plastic storage boxes under my bed & the other bedrooms have trundle beds so no under bed space.

Comments (11)

  • quiltglo
    17 years ago

    I use to keep the ironing board under the couch. Kind of had to angle it in, but it was easier than hauling it up and down a bunch of stairs. The vacuum had a permanent home in the corner of our bedroom. Again, I could have hauled it down two flights of stairs to where I did have storage, but I wasn't interested in doing that.

    What about alternatives? Could you have a real cute painted footstool and just keep it tucked under the coffee table or end table? What about using one of those retractable dryers? Something like linked below. The same store also has the over the door ironing board holders. http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?CATID=77005&PRODID=60116

    I recently purchased a small Hoover which takes up a third of the room of my regular vacuum. While it wouldn't fix the putting it away problem, it might fit behind a chair in the living room since the handle can be made smaller. It's very similar to this one. It even has attachments and I think it does as well as my full sized one.

    http://www.tristatecamera.com/lookat.phprefid=14&sku=HOOU5179900

    Our last house didn't have storage on the main floor where I needed most items. I ended up using a coat tree for the kid's jackets and tucked cleaning items like the broom and dust pan in the coat closet. If you really hate looking at the vacuum, you could always make a simple cover to slip over it while not in use. I remember those covers that looked like a country girl. The concept couldn't be too hard to do. While I didn't care for the girl, I did like the concept.

    Gloria

    Here is a link that might be useful: drying rack

  • joann23456
    17 years ago

    I put my vacuums (upright and canister) behind the sofa in the living room. The ironing board lives in a corner of my bedroom, with my steamer. The stepstool just sits in the kitchen, and we kick it around when it gets in the way. There really isn't a better place for it.

  • jannie
    17 years ago

    The vacuum lives in the corner of my daughter's bedroom. The dog sleeps in her room, she vacuums it daily. The room,not the dog.

  • TxMarti
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Great ideas quiltglo. When I pasted the vacuum link, it said page cannot be found so I went to the tristatecamera main page and did a search. Is it the Hoover Fold Away Widepath? If so, how does it fold?

    Sounds like you all do a lot of the same things I'm doing. We kick our stepstool around too joann. That's what is driving me nuts (besides the fact that the rubber feet have worn through & there is paint splatters all over it).

    LOL jannie. I'd like to get rid of the vacuum altogether, and sometimes the dog too.

  • Adella Bedella
    17 years ago

    You can buy vacuum covers. You could do something plain in a fabric that matches or coordinates with the fabric in the room. If you have a chair in the corner, tou could put it behind there and it would sort of blend in.

    A friend of mine made more storage in her tiny house by adding galvanized metal storage shelves to the closed in end of her dining room. She used pretty shower curtains and rings to cover it. It looks nice. If you have a fairly narrow room with closed in end (no windows or doors), you might be able to run a pole across it and hang curtains from it. you could store quite a bit of stuff back there.

  • talley_sue_nyc
    17 years ago

    I stick the vacuum in the bottom of my closet, and the ironing board against a wall next to a dresser.

    The dining-room table leaves are under teh bed.

    I used to have clothing sort of stuff, or linens, under the bed, until I realized that they could be refolded to almost any dimension, but the table leaves (or the ironing board) could not. So, the non-malleable items went in the physical space that would accommodate them, and the linens & stuff went elsewhere (and I purged, as well).

    You could put your sofa so it's a few inches out from the wall and lay the ironing board on its side there, if you liked. Or hang it on the inside of a closet door.

    And the drying rack is just behind the bedroom door--since that door is always open unless we're going to bed, I don't normally see it, and once I'm going to bed, I don't care.

  • quiltglo
    17 years ago

    That's the correct vac. I'm not sure exactly what the handle is on this one. I have two different models purchased in the past 3 years and they are each slightly different than this. I really like this newer one because it has the hose attachment that my first one didn't. My handles just slip right down into the back of the vac so the whole thing is only about 24" high. You can pull the handle out just part-way, which makes it a really good machine for my 6 yo to vacuum under the kitchen table.

    Gloria

  • elizabeth10029
    17 years ago

    In my renovation things are better but not perfect. As of installation last week: Ironing board is hanging on hooks on the wall next to dryer -- just enough space to let us out the fire escape. Table leaves are in the pantry in a special niche (that was a brilliant idea--a result of the renovation. I even covered each leaf with a store-bought zippered bag). The drying rack was a PIA -- it is hanging on a pipe over the dryer (did hit the A/C guy in the head today. Definately not perfect). I've given up valuable closet space for the vacuum but at least I don't have to look at it or trip over it. Stepstool supports the kitchen wastebasket -- visible but practical.

  • sladybug2
    17 years ago

    I have one of those ironing board holders on a wall in a closet. Keeps my iron together with the board- kmart has them. Vacumn is downstairs in a closet with the inserts to the dining room table. I got smart. Now my tablecloths are also in the diningroom closet.

  • rockyn
    17 years ago

    My stepstool is the folding kind. I store it in between the filing cabinet and a kitchen cabinet with the broom & dustpan.

    Luckily, I have a clothes rod in the utility room. We hang extra hangers there and I often just hang drip-drys on those.

    Wish I had a good spot to put the carpet cleaner. That thing is bigger than the vacuum!

  • socks
    17 years ago

    It's tough when you don't have enough space for things like the ironing board and vacuum. I saw these at a craft fair once...

    Here is a link that might be useful: vacuum cleaner cover