Storage spaces? Ideas? Pics?

[whiterock]

In the past some people have posted pics of cellars, pantries, storage rooms of all sorts, some a joy to behold. It occurs to me that there may be a number of people currently looking for ideas.
Those in the north seem to have some really nice cellars, but those of us in the South are not in the habit of having such a nicety. I bought a house about 30 yrs ago, the upstairs had a unfinished room over the kitchen and dining room. That was the "store room" for that house. My dad told me it reminded him of the store room of his grandmother. A platform was suspended from the rafters with cables(which were greased) so that flour, sugar, and such would be kept where ants couldn't get to it.
I had neighbors that kept potatoes under the house, again no basement.

Could we get some more pics posted of some of your storage places? Links to some sites with good pics/plans/info. Old house plans, etc.

I'm sure there are folks looking for help now and in the coming months.

Ed

[Ruby]

I'm in Texas and would also like to see some ideas. Our water table is too high to have a basement or root celler.

[SFM in KY]

Same here in KY ... water table is too high for a cellar. Quite a few people do have tornado shelters here, of course, but almost all of them have water seepage problems.

[whiterock]

I'm trying to think back to my childhood for some storage ideas, grandparents bought a place in '57. Had a large pantry(to me) that was probably 6'wide 8' deep, 12' ceiling, shelves on 3 sides, a mud room with washer and dryer connections, freezer, and another "pantry" with 8' ceiling. The long wall of kitchen was a full run of cabinet, but it seems like i remember one of the base cabinets was a tilt out bin for flour, could be confusing it with a hoossier(sp) cabinet. I just don't remember many houses having much in the way of storage unless it was in an attic room that I didn't have access to.

The pantry in my growin up house was about 5 x 6 x 10high with shelves on one short wall, and those shelves were 3' apart, lots of wasted space in there.

My pantry is a closet about 6' wide, 7'high and 30" deep, I use several bedrooom closets, for storage of things besides clothing, an advantage of being divorced with no kids at home now. Still, I am looking for more and better organized storage, Texas heat doesn't make attic or outside bldg storage attractive for long term food storage, so any old time ideas would be most helpful for many people with newer homes.

Ed

[mamaof3peas]

yeah, i had a storage question as well. can you use old freezers or old fridges that maybe dont work electrically but still seal tight?? to keep out in shed and store things like flour, sugar, canned goods, stuff like that in? it wouldnt be pretty, but it would at least keep mice out right>

[7thswan]

My pantry is on the first level. I don't not consider my basement worthy of storing anything.The pantry was a laundry room with cement floor. It is unheated,no window and a dryer vent that lets in cool air.This is for all canned goods and storing potatoes,squash,ect. Pick the coolest place in your home, somewhere dry. I keep many dry goods in the kitchen in a large cabinet not too far from the woodburner in gallon jars-no problems there either.Large Tins,the ones popcorn dog biscuits etc. hold flour in zip lock bags after they have spent 2 months in the freezer.Sealed around the rim with electrical tape. Everything I buy in bulk and then store in glass jars.

[kasilofhome]

A major mistake was made in building by home ---I will take the heat for it.
What I have is a basement of poured concrete filled syrofoam block. The problem is the basement is sorta what was to be the first floor above grade structure. so I have 4 windows and a door underground.

The grading is not done on any of the sides of the house with a window or door underground. We live in the basement now and I have Special greenwood plywood covered with bitchathan weather/waterproofing covering the 4 windows.

I have wondered about turning a mistake into storage. For the door I added a concrete footer and pad built a greenwood wall and added an "entry stairwell" to the basement. I have wondered if I could pour a footer in where the window are and water proof it. The entry to the space would only then be from the underground 'windows". All the windows are made for a 3 by 4 exit window at the normal hight that one would expect to find a window in a house above ground.

I am thinking that I could end up with 2 8foot by 20 hidden areas. I came up with this as I have not done the grading by these openings as the water table scares me. I lived in homes that flooded.

Good or bad Idea