I have a less functional closet that is narrower and deeper that I store seasonal items in.
Your's looks like a perfect place for Costco purchases of toilet paper and paper towels.

Or.. Go ahead and store whatever on those deep shelves, then after a year of not using it, you can giveaway or toss without trepidation!

I use deep shelves in two ways:

1. For 29" deep shelves, I store items in boxes in the back of each shelf. I use the copy paper boxes because the lids just pop on. The boxes are only 12" deep if put in sideways. I label the contents of the box on the side of the lid, and this part of the lid is usually visible behind the items stored on the shelf in front of it.

You can put in tax forms/checks from years past.
Old photo albums you would rarely get to.
Anything else stored for the long term .. . and you can still see whats there by the label on the box.

2. Since I buy things in bulk, I can also use the full depth of the shelf to store one type of an item, all in a row. For example, TP, Paper towels, soaps, Dish detergents, Laundry soaps/softener, shampoos, deordorants.... If it was in the kitchen, I'd store all my vegies in one deep row, spaghetti sauces next, pastas next, ....

Thanks for the replies and suggestions!

Gayle, I'm in awe of all you have been able to do on your own, kudos to you. My current home, my closet it just like yours, no door. The only thing I see different, other than your shelves are a lot neater than mine is we put molding on the end of the shelves, it gives it a lot nicer look.

Gardenspice & Beemer, thanks, I hadn't thought about putting items like pictures and photo albums in there, good place to stash them.

Wonder if I should leave the wood shelves that are in there, or replace with ventilated? What about removing bottom shelf and putting a short dresser, or something similar at the bottom? Any way to utilize the space on the doors?

I just hate wasted space. Especially when your moving from a larger to a smaller home, every bit of space is needed, at least in my case.

Thanks!

Try creating some risers to put in the back of some of the shelves (even balsa from the craft store would work)--they'll help you see what's there.

Baskets are a good idea, as are lidded plastic shoeboxes (to store, say, extra health and beauty aids or sewing supplies). And label the fronts so you can pull out the right one the first time.

Where do you keep guestroom linens or extra towels? If you fold linen sets into one of the pillowcases and roll the towels, they would be stored efficiently in that closet.

You might look into fitting some pull-out shelves or pull-out baskets into the closet, for easy access. I think that the Rockler woodworking website has stuff to make those without too much effort.

This might also be a great place to store an "emergency box" -- spare batteries (some people choose to put those in the fridge, some don't), a flashlight, a radio, etc.

After living with these or the other suggestions offered by folks, you should think if the setup is working for you or whether you need more flexibility. If the latter is the case, you should look into either Elfa shelving or the Closetmaid shelving, the types that allow you to customize the shelf heights, because you might do better with more shelves, instead of having all that space between each one.

My vote is for adjustable shelving. I also prefer wired shelving.