Your basement could be a scary place that your kids are reluctant to go down to, or it could be what you have always needed – a storage space that makes your life easier. If you prefer the latter, here are some innovative storage ideas for your basement. With a little effort, you can transform this often-neglected part of your home into a neat space you’ll love to frequent.
Pack everything in clear plastic containers
A handy idea for basement storage is to put everything in clear plastic containers. This solution has several advantages. First, you can find everything quite easily. You can see all the items in these containers and know precisely where the thing you are looking for is. These containers are usually waterproof, especially if it is a basement. It’s not uncommon for the water to show up down there. Before you know it, your belongings will be damaged. But with these plastic containers, which often come with a lid that seals well, you will not have to worry about that. The manufacturers of such containers also ensure you can conveniently stack them on top of each other. So you do not even need a shelf to store them.
Set up a toy corner
Toys and parents have a sort of love-hate relationship. We love anything that makes our kids happy. On the other hand, toys take up a lot of space, and given today’s consumerism, kids have too many of them. And what’s worse, they do not take care of them for long. At least, that’s the case with most kids and most toys. But it’s tough to throw away a child’s toys.
On the one hand, you are getting rid of something that does not belong to you. On the other hand, you know your child will not even know it’s gone. This is a problem that a basement can solve.
You can set up a toy corner where you keep all the toys that you and your child do not want to part with for good yet. This is one of the great ways to store toys. They’ll be close by. If your child suddenly decides he wants old Mr. Snuggles, a quick visit to the basement can solve the problem. You can use any container or box for toy storage; just make sure you label them appropriately. It’s a good idea to sort the toys by type or other criteria.
Tools could use their own wall
A tool shed is the best option for any professional or amateur handyman – if there is one. But not every home has one, yet everyone needs a set of tools. The basement can become a home for tools. In order to make them easily accessible, it would be best to reserve part of a wall for them. You can even add a pegboard to hang them. If you have a large tool collection, you can invest in a unique shelving system that consists of smaller shelves that are used to store a single set of tools.
When it comes to tool storage ideas, the sky is the limit. Store your tools perpendicular to the ceiling. You will not need them every day; if you do, it may take you an extra minute to get them. Otherwise, you’ll spend more than a minute looking for a specific tool somewhere you cannot see. Think about it, you handymen out there.
Tools fit snugly against the basement wall and are always available and in plain sight.
Clothes racks with wheels are very practical
Just like with toys, people are reluctant to part with their clothes. Some regularly declutter their closet to avoid the problem of excess, while others simply cannot. If you belong to the latter group, here’s a solution for you: clothes racks in the basement. Hang everything you do not wear that often on hangers and then on the clothes racks. It would be ideal if these racks had wheels so you could move them around at will. When you are done inspecting your clothes, just slide them into an empty corner. This is a surprisingly simple and practical solution that will make you love your basement and think of it as a second closet.
One of the storage ideas for your basement is to get several clothes racks and hang the clothes you do not wear on them
Even the ceiling can become a useful storage space
The great thing about these little-visited spaces like the basement and attic is that there are no rules about how they should look. It’s common to store things in closets, on shelves, on the floor, and even on the wall, but why not on the ceiling? You can hang so many things there. If you like this idea, remember that you will need to add a hanging shelf system or at least hooks to hang things. Remember that this will still be above your head and can always fall. Therefore, hang only things that are soft and not so heavy.
A custom bar is one of the most interesting storage ideas for your basement
People collect all sorts of things; there is nothing unusual about collecting attractive bottles of different spirits. You can proudly display it all in your living room, but you also need space for that. If there is no such place for your drink collection in your house, think about a basement bar. You could have someone make you a bar-like cabinet. But be careful. This may turn the basement into a gathering place for you and your friends. A quiet place with dim lighting where no one will bother you. That already sounds like a description of a “cool little place” that you and your friends frequent, right?
Do not forget to use the space under the stairs
The space under the stairs is enormous, and it would be a shame not to use it for storage. This space cannot be used for anything else. But if you install shelves and cabinets there, you will get a lot of storage space and a stylish part of the house. It is best to choose shelves of different shapes and sizes. This way, you will have many options when choosing what to put there. With fronts, it will look like an exciting wall. Without them, the shelves will openly show what they contain, so you can easily find what you are looking for. The choice is yours. Both options are great storage ideas for your basement.
Make the basement your library
Aah, the books. Another favorite collectible. What goes well with a basement is silence. A basement can undoubtedly provide that, as well as storage space. These are the perfect conditions to turn a part of this lowest room into a very private reading corner. Imagine this. A space where no one will bother you and which will serve nothing else than storing your stuff. You can make it a multifunctional space where everyone in the family has their corner to do their thing. If you like reading, you can dedicate a corner to it. All you need are several bookshelves and a comfy armchair or a lazy chair if your budget is lower.
Books are another thing you can put in your basement
The laundry room in the basement is not a bad idea
A bathroom looks much more spacious and elegant without a washing machine, and so does the kitchen. So where to put it? You can create a laundry room in your basement. You could even move all your ironing supplies there and do that tedious work there. When you are done and bored, but you are not done yet, you can leave it as it is because no guest will come to the basement unless they are specifically invited. This keeps your home free of clutter and your dirty and clean laundry where it belongs – away from the eyes of others. And when the washing machine is on, you will not have to put up with the noise it makes because you’ll barely hear it.
Final thoughts
If you have not come to the same conclusion yet: There are so many cool storage ideas for your basement that can make your life a lot easier. Some of them are more expensive to execute, others less so, but all of them require a little effort and a lot of imagination on your part. They say that life is made up of little things. The little pleasures we experience every day, the moments of happiness and satisfaction. That’s what life is. If you agree, you probably understand how solving storage problems in your home can vastly improve the quality of your life. So incorporate these or similar ideas into your basement design and let them make you happy.