In my old 1957 row house, the garbage can was sunk into the ground outside the kitchen door, I remember some houses in my 1950s neighborhood growing up with the same thing. It had a heavy hinged metal lid and a latch, but those raccoons are smart! And nothing deters them. I'd put the baby's diapers right at the top, and they just tossed them aside, so we did as our neighbors and kept the can in the garage in the alley, and moved it to the kitchen door on trash days. No, they would not pick up from the alley. I'm glad to hear that the new big hinged cans are harder for those little bandits, because I suspect our town will have us switch to them, and they won't fit in the garage. I don't know if we'd be able to see one stored outside, to see if the critters have gotten in, unless we keep it on the front porch. Although, they did add an option for smaller recyling carts when many people in older homes found the big carts didn't fit in the garage, either.

Mine is 24" wide and floor to ceiling. It's built against one side of the fridge and it faces the range. I only need to take two steps to get at anything and I can see everything. It's not near windows so light isn't an issue. I cannot store things like spices in tightly organized spaces as I often have gunk on my hands when I reach for something (disorganized). These shelves hold all the spices -- large and small bottles -- including a row of Bodum glass storage jars that hold different kinds of salt, sugar, baking soda, tea, fancy sugars for guests etc. The Bodum canisters hold up really well and still look new after years on the shelf. I throw them into the dw periodically. Another benefit of the full wall treatment is that I can store my oils and vinegars here as well. I have a dowel to hang up towels and there's a space at the bottom where I have a clip for often used recipes. I need to add another clip there. I've also thought of adding a shelf above the dowels. It could be easily done but I'm waiting until I have someone in to add after market pull outs to two of base cabinets where I stupidly specified shelves.

I don't want to hijack Elizabeth's thread, but I am going through the same, only have a much worse problem. My projects get really big, and I realize that in the past the boxes or baskets I have used haven't been deep enough. I was a The Old Time Pottery last weekend, - they've got a number of stores in Atlanta and I don't know if they are elsewhere. They were selling "lingerie chests" with drawers that are about the size needed for 8.5 x 11 papers, or folded legal size paper. So I bought the only 2 they had (one was their floor sample, already assembled!) and have started sticking projects in that. I have already realized I'll probably need paperweights to keep the larger piles from getting out of control and sticking so the drawers can't open. The chest is about 45" high, and the drawers look square - I would say about 14" x 14". I am planning on using these drawers and maybe if I need them some boxes. I've tried baskets before, and realize that one reason they don't work for me is that they are so heavily textured that the papers get caught by the woven strips, or it's uncomfortable for me to stick my hands in. So far, I've scoooped up the project piles on my morning room table, which serves as a desk. As long as the drawers remain easy to open (i.e., good, lasting construction of cheap furniture, as well as controlling the piles by dividing into sub-projects, if needed), this might work for me.

Hey, thanks everyone! Those of you who posted pics of where you all keep your slow cookers, thank you for making the effort to do that! macybaby, your hobby closet photos are amazing! It made me a bit homesick for my parents' house--with the videotapes alongside the appliances. :-) I was always confused about the difference between the "Super Susan" (no pole) and the Lazy Susan (with pole). I mean, I didn't understand how the Super Susan could rotate without a pole! Based on this thread, I dug up one of the cabinet companies brochures I still have in the house and found a photo--and now I think I understand. Alas, I think what happened is I opted for the Lazy Susan type because of the door style. I liked the look of the inset type of door the Lazy Susan has (where the door goes in as it rotates), instead of the other door. (Form won out over function that time!) abfabamy, thanks so much for your voice of experience about keeping the heavy slow cookers in a pole-type Lazy Susan for 16 years without problems! That's a great track record, and makes me feel more confident about doing it myself. Tonight, I tried putting the big slow cooker into one of my Lazy Susans and it fits through the opening (whew, I had been wondering if it would). So I think that's the way I'm going to go. (And if it turns out that I'm not slow cooking as much as I thought, it can always go down into the basement.) Thanks again everyone! Lee