The Most Wasted Spaces in Your Salt Lake City Home — And How to Use Them | Clozetivity Utah

There’s a pretty good chance your home has more storage space than you realize.

Some of it just isn’t doing anything.

There may be several feet of empty wall above your closet shelf. Your garage walls might be completely unused while bikes, skis and boxes slowly take over the floor. The area underneath the staircase may have become permanent housing for the vacuum cleaner.

And somewhere there’s probably a closet where the current organizational strategy is:

Close the door and hope for the best.

For homeowners throughout Salt Lake City and the surrounding communities, storage has to handle everything from everyday household belongings to outdoor and seasonal gear.

Before assuming you need more room, look at how well you're using the room you already have.

1. The Empty Space Above Your Closet Rod

Open your closet and look up.

A standard closet often has one hanging rod and one shelf.

Then there’s several feet of empty wall.

Meanwhile, everything below is packed.

Shoes cover the floor. Clothes are squeezed together. Folded items get stacked wherever they'll stay.

A professionally designed custom closet in Salt Lake City can take advantage of much more of the available height.

Double-hang sections can provide additional room for shirts and pants.

Upper shelving can hold seasonal clothing, luggage and less frequently used items.

Drawers can organize folded clothes and accessories.

Dedicated shoe shelving can reclaim the floor.

And because the closet is custom designed, the layout can be based on your actual wardrobe.

If you need more long-hang space, create it.

If shoes are taking over, give them dedicated storage.

If your closet contains enough outdoor clothing for three different weather forecasts on the same day...well, welcome to Utah.

2. The Mudroom or Entryway

For Salt Lake City households, a good entryway can do a lot of work.

Coats.

Boots.

Backpacks.

Hats.

Sports equipment.

Outdoor gear.

Dog leashes.

Shoes.

And whatever everyone happens to drop when they walk inside.

A custom mudroom or entryway system can create designated storage for those everyday items.

Hooks can keep jackets and backpacks off the floor.

Cubbies can provide individual storage for family members.

A bench can create seating with shoe storage underneath.

Drawers can organize gloves, hats and smaller belongings.

Closed cabinetry can keep seasonal gear out of sight.

Instead of the entryway becoming the place where everything gets dropped, it becomes the place where everything actually belongs.

3. The Garage Walls

If there’s one area of a Utah home that can benefit from better storage, it’s the garage.

Outdoor hobbies come with stuff.

Skis.

Snowboards.

Bikes.

Camping equipment.

Golf clubs.

Hiking gear.

Tools.

Coolers.

Then add holiday decorations and regular household overflow.

Suddenly your two-car garage has become a zero-car garage.

But while the floor gets crowded, the walls often remain underused.

Custom garage cabinetry and shelving can move a significant amount of storage vertically.

Frequently used equipment can stay accessible.

Seasonal gear can move higher.

Tools can have dedicated areas.

Household supplies can move into cabinets instead of boxes.

The goal isn't necessarily having less stuff.

It's giving the stuff you have somewhere sensible to go.

4. Under the Stairs

Under-stair space has plenty of potential.

Unfortunately, its most popular resident remains the vacuum cleaner.

Maybe a broom.

Possibly a few boxes.

Then everyone collectively decides the area has reached maximum capacity.

Depending on the home's layout and construction, under-stair space may be suitable for custom drawers, cabinetry, shelving, pantry storage or general household storage.

The unusual shape is exactly why custom storage can work well.

Instead of trying to fit standard rectangular furniture underneath an angled staircase, storage can be designed around the actual dimensions.

5. Blank Walls

Not every storage problem requires another closet.

Sometimes it requires looking at an empty wall differently.

Custom built-ins can transform unused wall space into functional cabinetry and shelving.

A living room wall can become an entertainment center with closed storage.

A dining room can gain cabinetry for dishes, glassware and serving pieces.

A bedroom can gain additional wardrobe storage.

A home office can gain drawers, shelving, cabinets and file storage.

When built-ins are designed around the room, they can look like part of the home's architecture rather than another piece of furniture.

6. The Pantry

Pantries are surprisingly talented at hiding food.

Deep shelves make smaller items disappear.

Tall shelf openings waste vertical space.

Bags get stacked.

Boxes get pushed behind other boxes.

Eventually you buy something you already own because apparently the pantry has decided you don't need to know it's there.

A custom pantry in Salt Lake City can divide the available space around what your household actually stores.

Adjustable shelving can reduce wasted vertical space.

Frequently used foods can remain accessible.

Bulk purchases can have designated areas.

Small appliances can move off kitchen countertops.

Different sections can organize snacks, baking supplies, canned goods and breakfast foods.

The pantry doesn't necessarily need to be bigger.

It needs to stop hiding your groceries.

7. The Laundry Room

Laundry rooms often contain plenty of unused storage.

Most of it is on the walls.

The washer and dryer occupy the floor while the area above them might have one shelf — if you're lucky.

Custom laundry room cabinetry can provide organized storage for detergents, cleaning products, linens, paper products and household supplies.

Open shelving can keep frequently used items accessible.

Drawers can organize smaller products.

Depending on the room, pull-out hampers and folding surfaces can also be incorporated.

Larger laundry rooms can even provide household overflow storage.

Will the new cabinetry fold the laundry?

No.

Apparently technology has failed us.

8. Corners in Walk-In Closets

A large walk-in closet can still waste plenty of space.

Corners are often responsible.

Hanging areas overlap.

Shelving gets too deep.

Items become difficult to reach.

Some sections simply aren't used.

A properly designed custom walk-in closet can account for those transitions from the beginning.

Shelving can wrap around corners where appropriate.

Hanging areas can be positioned so they don't interfere with one another.

Cabinet depths can change depending on accessibility.

The closet doesn't become larger.

It simply starts using more of the square footage it already has.

9. Seasonal and Outdoor Gear

Salt Lake City homeowners can have a lot of seasonal equipment.

Winter arrives and you need coats, boots, ski gear and snow equipment.

Then warmer weather shows up and suddenly bikes, hiking equipment, camping gear and golf clubs are back in rotation.

Trying to keep all of that equipment in the same places year-round can create unnecessary clutter.

Custom storage can create areas for seasonal rotation.

Frequently used equipment can remain accessible.

Off-season belongings can move higher or into less prominent storage areas.

The goal is to make the items you're currently using easy to reach without allowing everything else to take over the house.

10. The Guest Room Closet

Guest room closets start with promises.

“We're keeping this empty.”

Nobody believes that.

First comes the suitcase.

Then extra bedding.

Then seasonal clothes.

Then holiday decorations.

Eventually your guests receive three hangers and a very warm welcome.

A custom reach-in closet can divide the space between household storage and guest use.

Upper shelving can hold less frequently used belongings.

Drawers can organize smaller items.

A dedicated hanging section can remain available for visitors.

You keep useful household storage without completely evicting your guests from the closet.

11. The Home Office

Even a mostly digital home office can accumulate an impressive amount of physical clutter.

Printers.

Paperwork.

Files.

Chargers.

Notebooks.

Office supplies.

Random cables that apparently must be saved forever.

Without dedicated storage, everything ends up on the desk.

Custom home office cabinetry can create organized storage around the workspace.

Equipment can be concealed.

Files can stay accessible.

Drawers can organize supplies.

Shelving can provide room for books and display pieces.

And the desk can return to being somewhere you work instead of the world's least organized filing cabinet.

12. Hall and Utility Closets

Almost every home has one closet whose purpose is difficult to explain.

It holds:

Cleaning supplies.

Paper towels.

Tools.

Batteries.

Towels.

Pet supplies.

Board games.

Light bulbs.

And something nobody remembers buying.

The closet may actually have plenty of room.

The problem is how that room is being used.

Adjustable shelving can create dedicated sections for different categories.

Frequently used items can remain easy to reach.

Bulk supplies can move higher.

Smaller items can stop disappearing behind larger ones.

Suddenly the closet becomes actual storage instead of a pile with a door.

Your Salt Lake City Home May Already Have the Space You Need

When storage becomes frustrating, the first thought is often:

We need more room.

Maybe.

But before reaching that conclusion, look around.

Look above your closet rods.

Look underneath the staircase.

Look at your garage walls.

Look inside the pantry.

Look at the blank walls.

There may already be a surprising amount of storage potential inside your home.

Good storage design isn't about putting cabinets everywhere.

It's about identifying the spaces that can solve actual problems and designing them around your belongings and the way you live.

Custom Storage Solutions in Salt Lake City, UT

Clozetivity of Salt Lake City designs custom storage solutions for homeowners throughout Salt Lake City and surrounding Utah communities.

That includes custom closets, walk-in closets, reach-in closets, custom pantries, mudrooms, laundry rooms, home offices, garage storage and custom built-ins designed around the individual home.

Whether you're trying to create better storage for outdoor equipment, maximize a smaller closet, organize a pantry, reclaim your garage or transform an unused wall into functional cabinetry, custom design can help you get more from the square footage you already own.

Because sometimes you don't need another room.

You just need the rooms you already have to work harder.

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