Stockpiling in a apartment, mobile home, or other such small housing??

[queenofthehivemomof5]

I know many of us have the luxury of a garage, basement, attic, or spare room in which we can stockpile big time. But I was wanting to start a discussion with members who live in tight quarters.

Where do you store your stockpile? Creative tips or places to stash stuff? Ingenious way to store your stockpile without it taking over? How much can you reasonably stockpile given that you live in a smaller place?

[MrsPinecone]

I remember a thread from DAGG in which someone had come up with a decorative way to enclose the space above the kitchen cabinets. They were able to store a remarkable amount of stuff up there, which is one of the things that led me to get the 42" cabinets when I remodeled my kitchen.

[Macaela25]

I currently have about 50 gallons of juice and 30 6packs of applesauce on my counter and on top of my refrigerator. This is in addition to about 150 boxes of pasta, mac & cheese, cereal, and Hamburger Helper stacked on top of my kitchen cabinets. Other than that, the rest of our stockpile is stuffed in closets and cabinets. I would kill for a garage and a large freezer - my mother jokingly suggested putting a freezer in the baby's bedroom.

[berlinsmommy]

Also, lots of places sell those bed risers to add a few inches under the bed. With the right containers I'd bet you could fit A LOT under the beds in the apartment.

I'm not in an apartment, but I have a lot of stuff piled high beneath my vanities. DH jokes about the tower of tampons in the corner (2 rows of about 18 boxes, laid sideways, then stacked).

I also have a lot stacked on the floor of my linen closet since I don't really want to put sheets or towels on the floor, but its fine for shampoo, body wash, and lotion.

[mpmama2re]

i have lots of stuff under my bed and the kids beds, closets... i bought lots of tote 18 gallon containers...suitcases...cabinets...my place is stuffed...

[angielee]

I have an old dresser full of boxes of items like tampons, cereals, food ect..
Works pretty well things are out of site.

[trish_1]

Man I need more room, and I've only just begun stockpiling. Funny someone should start this thread; I stacked 90 cans of free Progresso above one of my kitchen cabinets. Bad idea! This morning I was telling Dh something looks weird about the stack of soup. I just realized I broke a part of my cabinet. Haven't told Dh yet. Yikes!!!!

[sbp]

We have a tiny bathroom but there's a 6 1/2 inch deadspace between the sink cabinet and the wall. I can fit 2 stacks of 4-pack toilet papers stacked from the front of the sink to the back wall and all the way to the ceiling if I need to. I've gotten 40 4-packs stacked in there at a time with room for more, if I had more coupons at that time.

When ds#2 was still in the crib, I kept my supply of baby wipes and diapers under the the crib. I would have also kept the stash of lotions/body washes/shampoos under there too, but I worried about big brother getting into them and making a huge mess.

[BzyBee]

I remember a thread from DAGG in which someone had come up with a decorative way to enclose the space above the kitchen cabinets. They were able to store a remarkable amount of stuff up there, which is one of the things that led me to get the 42" cabinets when I remodeled my kitchen.

I remember that, and we have done something similar. Above our cabinets was an enclosed space...sometimes it is left open as a little shelf. We cut out holes and made doors the same width to match the cabinets below. DH dropped in a shelf along the whole way and we routed out simple new doors.
I see if I can post a picture later.

I think the other poster actually made a fake front out of cardboard she covered with wallpaper or something like that. The doors may have been little sliding doors...I don't quite remember.

Some other ideas I remember for small spaces...shelves mounted inside rooms and above the doors. Stacking boxes (like tampons) behind doors that open up onto a wall, make a sidetable with a trashcan (cover with wooden top and tablecloth) and store items in trashcan.

My first suggestion (no matter how large or small your space) is always to sort and organize your current stuff...get rid of things you really don't want/use to free up room you already have!!

[dolphinlover]

we live in a 3br mobile home at the moment (hopefully upgrading after the summer). the laundry room has two sets of cabinets - one over the washer/dryer, stuffed full of cat food and laundry soap/softener; the other set is over the built in table/counter thing, crammed full of tampons, pullups, hair color, hand soap, air fresheners, among other things. the "linen closet" in the kids' bathroom behind the door has 2 shelves crammed full of toilet paper 4pks and 12pks. under their sink is the bleach. on the overhead shelf in our closet in our bedroom i have tubs and tubs of razors, shaving cream, cold remedies, face wash, etc. in the bottom of our china cabinet their are rows and rows of shampoo and conditioner. under the sink in our bathroom i have a drawer system going on either side of the sink pipes full of pads, pepto, and some odds and ends. on the bathroom counter i have a 3 tier drawer thing full of aspirins and my trial sizes/freebies. the kitchen cabinets are stuffed full of non-perishables, all in neat little rows so i can find what i'm looking for. my freezer is small. it holds maybe 10 frozen pizza boxes and 4 loaves of bread, so meats and stuff i can't stock up on :(

basically. i have stuff crammed everywhere, LOL! i donated 1/2 of it last month to women's shelters and food pantries. out of the other 1/2 i sent part of it to my brother, mostly toiletry type stuff, diapers, wipes, etc.... the rest is tucked away out of sight. DH is afraid to open any cabinet doors anymore, LOL! i picked up several tubs with lids last week, so i'll be cleaning out some cabinets this week to make room for more stuff!