Talley Sue...I searched and re-read the evolution of your triangular closet. I will be getting a small brass plaque engraved and attached to one of the visible walls of my closet. I haven't worked out the exact wording yet, but it will read something like "In honor of the inspiration of time and space coordinator extraordinaire, Talley Sue NYC." You've asked several questions in the above responses and I've been trying to take photos to go with the answers. Christmas prep keeps interfering, but I will get them answered. 1. ...another thought—the stuff that sits in that handy space on the table leaf: I might put them in some sort of container... I haven't had time to go to town (45 minute drive, one-way ) to get a dedicated container, but I did measure the space. I can fit a box from 5 1/2" to 6 1/2" wide by moving the leaf down to the left until it almost touches the other wall. The box can be 15" to 17" long. For a temporary "Quick-and-Dirty" solution I'm using one of the cardboard boxes that hold 12 suet cakes for my wild birds. The box is 5 1/4" wide and about 16" long. For now it's holding the rain gauge (normally stays on the front deck but has to come inside for winter ), an extension cord for the two snowmen that are suppose to go on the front steps (it normally lives in the large "electrical stuff" Rubbermaid container in the basement ) two strips of the oak flooring boards to use to match colors, paint chips for the living room and hallway, and the spare "specialty bulbs" (halogen and LED ) that fit in the LR ceiling fan, front porch light, desk lamp, etc. It also holds the remote control for portable Penguin air conditioner, which will be sold now that I have central A/C! The large portable unit does not have a place to attach the remote and it was always "misplaced." Now it has a dedicated home until I find a way to attach it to the Penquin and get them both out of the house! It is much nicer having these items all in the one box. It's easy to pull the box down and take out what I need. The door stopper wedge and the ceiling fan/light remote stay on the edge of the lower shelf. I use them often and can reach them very easily. I put a few more DVDs to fill in the back of this shelf. This way the wedge and remote cannot "migrate" and get lost. Can you tell we've cut pieces of thin "pressed board" to use as shelf liners on the wire shelves. They are less than 1/4" thick and are easy to cut to size on the table saw. They help items slide in and out and keep smaller items from falling through the wires. I know companies sell acrylic liners, but these very inexpensive home made liners are working fine. We have a few more to cut. I've put them on nearly every shelf in every closet in the house. [IMG][http://i64.tinypic.com/3148avs.jpg/IMG] <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=3148avs" target="_blank"><img src="http://i64.tinypic.com/3148avs.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Caroline94535/media/LR%20Closet/Closet%20for%20KTers/DSC06572%20640x480_zpsqtmjvt1d.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Caroline94535/LR%20Closet/Closet%20for%20KTers/DSC06572%20640x480_zpsqtmjvt1d.jpg" border="0" alt="Containment box photo DSC06572 640x480_zpsqtmjvt1d.jpg"/></a> Well, I'm back to figuring out photos. This should link to the photo showing the containment box. You can see I also moved the Mandoline box to the top shelf edge. I seldom use it, but I do want to keep it near the kitchen.

And put some serious storage on the back of the door for the stuff you use all the time (whether it's pantry stuff or cleaning stuff, or perhaps both, depending on what will fit). For mops and brooms, to keep them from flopping on the door when you open it, use the new Command broom holders and put one at the bottom too--I did that w/ my back-of-the-door Swiffer, and it was BRILLIANT (if I do say so myself). There are other options for pantry type things, but I'd vote to stay away from things like shoe pockets or even those Elfa baskets, and go for something deeper and sturdier. More like this: (In fact, look at that--is has a pull-out unit at the bottom--I bet that's an option for you!)

I think you're giving the taper too much power. If something needs to be in a bin, that bin doesn't need to exactly fill up the whole shelf. Lots of stuff may not need to go in bins or baskets anyway. You could get 12"-deep boxes and put them on the deeper side, and leave the rest of the shelf for setting things that don't go in bins or boxes. Or, if you do need a bin that exactly fills the shelf, can't you use your plethora of woodworking tools to make your own in a trapezoidal shape? It's just an oddly shaped wooden drawer, which is itself a lidless wooden box. (I made a storage box/bin for an oddly shaped space by cutting up foam-core board and hot-gluing it together. Now and then I have to reinforce it, but it works great! I'm too lazy to make it out of wood, and I don't have a lot of experience using thinner wood like 1/4" luan or masonite, and 3/4" stock would be too heavy) You could install shelves, or you could make "pockets" to hang on the wall based on what's going to go in them (if you make your own pockets, you can make them as fat as you need for whatever you're going to put in them). I'd say: First, figure out how to put a single hanging rod on the 24"-deep side (and limit how many coats can go in there--everybody in the family gets two hangers, and any other outerwear goes in the bedroom). Or, put in one hanging rod (those Closet-Maid/Elfa wire shelves?) for long coats, and install second one halfway down the wall to convert one half of that space for jackets? My experience is that especially in winter, there are more hip-length coats than short jackets, so plan for winter, not spring or fall. Then see what sorts of other storage needs you can fulfill there--would the vacuum bit on the coats side? Can you put pockets on the side wall for gloves, hooks for umbrellas and dog leashes? Can you put a tray or basket on the floor to hold boots or shoes? Or something on the shelf above the hanging rod that would be useful for what you store there? Then stand in front of that tapered side with all the stuff you're going to put in there, and see what inspires you. Do you want shelves you can put boxes on? (You could make a small trapezoidal bookcase and bolt it to the wall, leaving space below it; or use brackets on the back wall to install tapered shelves--you can buy brackets of varying lengths.) Would pockets or baskets on the side wall be useful for stuff like cleaning supplies or shoes? Would hooks allow you to use the most shallow section for hanging the vacuum hose?

I like Fun2Be's last 2 pictures, with a rod on the short side of the closet. I think that makes efficient use of space that's otherwise hard to get to. If you don't have a lot of long clothes (dresses and pants), that would be a perfect spot for them - leaving the other closet available for a double rod. My Mom's closets have deep sides. She uses the inaccessible back part for out of season clothes, and moves the current season to the space in front of the door. You can definitely put shelves above the clothes rod - maybe even two. In my hubby's closet, I put the rod up as high as I can reach, put a shelf above for long-term storage, and two shelves below for everyday things (shoes, briefcase, etc).