7 Storage Solutions You Didn’t Know You Had
Every square foot of your home is valuable. Here are seven storage solutions that take advantage of underutilized nooks and crannies. And just for fun, we did some back-of-the-napkin calculations based on the average price per square foot of a U.S. home ($81)—so we could attach a theoretical value to the bonus space.
1. Tuck pull-out drawers under sturdy stairs. They’re ideal for stashing extra linens and seasonal items. Each drawer provides about two square feet of storage. If you really could calculate this on a value per square foot realized, that’s roughly $162 worth of extra space per drawer!
2. Basement crawl spaces or open areas under apartment floors can be lined with shelves and outfitted with folding stairs to hoard anything. A finished 10-square-foot crawl space uncovers about $8,100 of space value and can even lower your energy bills.
3. Sleep Away Storage. Not enough room for a Carrie Bradshaw closet? No problem. This mattress lifts to reveal a hidden compartment great for stashing bulky blankets. It could save you about $200, the price of a linen cabinet, and it provides about 20 square feet or about $1,587 of extra storage space.
4. Locker Room. Gain more kitchen space without a costly remodeling job. Reclaimed high school gym lockers sport a new use as built-in pantry compartments. These add 18 cubic feet or $243 in square feet of extra space.
5. Some things are best left hidden, and kitty’s business is one of them. An inexpensive, storage cabinet doubles as a rest stop for this tabby, who enters and exists via a small framed opening. Store the litter box and all its accoutrements in one spot and gain about $205 worth of storage space.
6. Overhead Room. Give your storage space a lift—overhead areas, such as narrow hallways, make an ideal place for floating shelves and cabinets. You could gain up to 2.5 square feet, valued at $203 of space, in no time!
7. Keep wrapping paper out of sight but not out of mind by suspending it from your closet ceiling on a simple cradle of wire. It’s easy to reach but won’t get torn or creased. In a closet that’s 6 feet wide by 2 feet deep, this trick makes 12 more square feet of storage worth about $972.