Let me just say I'm right there with ya--I have a side by side and I just HATE it. I really miss my bottom-freezer drawer I had in my old house. I found with the frige on top we wasted a lot less food. To at least help us eliminate wasting time searching for stuff, I've started LABELING dedicated space for certain items, especially in the doors. I also containerize within the space if possible. The more OCD I get with it, the less we waste! The tippy top door-bin has the plastic cover. I keep butter/lard up there as well as the tube of tomato paste, yeast packets, and that broth-concentrate that comes in a jar. In the top rack of the door I have labels for the mayo, jelly, and the cream/creamer. Other stuff can be added, but not a the expense of the labeled items. The second door-rack down is large enough for a gallon of milk, but I don't use it for that. I've got it labeled "Condiments" since those are the little things that are just too easily lost in the backs of the main shelves and then fall over when you have to shift items. Incidentally, when I did the actual organizing not too long ago, I discovered that we had SEVERAL duplicates opened--presumably because the first open jar had gotten "lost" in the vast wasteland that is the side-by-side. Grrr.... The third rack down is labeled "Salad Dressings" and also holds bottles of wine. Awesome shelf :) The bottom rack is very narrow and is labeled "Syrups" for pancake and Hershey's syrups. Kids can reach by themselves. Great. Now for the main cavity: The top shelf has about 10" of space, and is for stuff I don't use too much, like the buttermilk mix. Cut/cleaned celery and chicken broth live up there too. I try not to keep tiny items there, or they get lost and forgotten. The second shelf has 6.5" of space and is for the eggs, yogurt, sour cream, etc. The third shelf has about 12" clearance and is for milk, OJ, other liquids, and for leftovers. (Your containers make a difference! I finally just caved in and purchased a complete set of rubbermaid that stacks and interlocks so I could save frige space. It was well worth the $20.) The lowest shelf has just over 7" of space. It is for salads, canned sodas, large fruits like cantaloupes, and for a special container I labeled "Sandwich Fixin's." Now, when you want to do sub sandwiches, just pull out this bin (an old refrigerator egg-container w/o the egg compartments) and you have all of your peppers, oils, special mustards, etc. right there. That saves several trips back and forth to the frige and works great! Top drawer is thin. It's for deli meats and cheeses. Middle drawer is for fruit and veg. I use containers to subdivide that drawer or it gets to be a mess and things get lost and rot. The bottom drawer if for raw meats. It does have a temp. control, so at least I can keep the meat partially frozen. I figure that buys me an extra day or so before it goes bad. The other thing I try to do is NOT TO OVER-BUY. I went ahead and took some shots of the interior as it is today. Luckily, it was already pretty clean! Sadly, I cannot say anything nice about my freezer. It is a MESS. Things will fall out and HURT you if not opened carefully. Perhaps I'll work on that next :) Good luck with your project! Here is a link that might be useful: My OCD frige

@Karin L: The closet is near/on the side that my bedroom door opens, so if the wall was to be torn down, a sliding or accordion door would be much better than the standard door. Even though with the space constraints, I would just pick a sliding door since it'll be easier. I'm able to get 16inch hangers in but at an angle so everything is not flat against each other (if that makes sense). What I did try the first time I organized was to put winter coats on the left side (side with the door) and store summer stuff on the right side, then switch it up to the opposite way during the summer. This has worked but I'm the type of person who likes to see what I have, not have stuff hidden. But, I understand that we can't always get what we want -_- I do like the idea of the mobile hanging/shelf units, but I rather make it myself then looking forever for something that is 15 inches wide. Thanks for the idea! :D @LuAnn: I grew up sharing a room with an older sister and even though our closet was tall and deep, she took up everything with crap. Our floor to the closet was filled with a pile/mountain of just her shoes. So when I got my own room and closet I was just happy to get something that I could claim as my own. I did notice that the closet would be a problem but I figured I would just make it work. Also, the walls and bare wood floor (the owners never took care of the nice wood floor so it was like it just got cut from a tree and placed on the floor...splinter city) needed more of my attention, so I focused on those more. @Graywings: You do have a point and I have considered that, which is another reason why I'm hesitant to go through tearing down a wall. But, it really would have made sense to have the door in the middle or a more open space when the space is only 15 inches width.

I'm always interested in looking at other ideas. Pick up an idea here and there. I already use several of them, shelf over bath door, shelf splitters and addon shelves, hanging bottles from a towel rack, baskets in fretc. ig, I don't use the tension rods to hold things but I do stand things up in the cupboards as I can. Buying things that nest are a great space saver. I miss my Ingenio cookware. That stuff was great. I have a wall rack for the foil, plastic wrap, etc, but it doesn't have enough slots and I don't want to buy a second. So I use a hanging shelf. I'm a person who believes form follows function and my kitchen isn't meant to be a showplace or try to get on a magazine cover. I have wire shelves attached to the soffits and that added a lot of space and function. Easier for me to reach up than bend down. And I can hang cookware and cooking utensils since there's no room for a pot rack. Another house thing I would like to have is a pot rack. I keep a couple canning jars on the counter for some flatware. Serves dual function. First it's handier for grabbing a tasting spoon when I'm cooking and when I sit at the counter to eat, it's right there. The one side of the frig gets used for hanging things like the strap wrench, instant read thermometers, top popper, etc and I made a magnet shelf to keep dish soap, etc. to increase useful space by the sink. I use the shoe organizer on the back of bedroom doors and in the living room closet. In the LR closet it's great for holding gloves, vacuum bags/belts, winter scarves, stocking caps, etc. Great for a grab and go and the bags are right with the vacuum when it needs changing. I won't store swabs, toothbrushes, and the like out in the open in the bathroom. No way. But under the washer or dryer is space that i wouldn't use for the frequently used things like laundry soap, but it'd be a good spot for storing holiday decorations or something. You can bend over a couple times a year for that, which you probably do anyway. I really like the binder clip idea. Not sure where I could use it, but it's creative. I also like using clothespins inside cabinet doors to hold packets, recipes, keys, etc. They work as a clip and a binder.

I have Snap-Lock containers, kind of similar to the Lock&Lock. I get them at Walmart and they are perfect. Not a thing gets past them, really airtight. I always find Tupperware a bit difficult to open. With the snap-lock, you just flip the latches up, and when done, lid goes on, and in one motion, snap all latches down (using two hands, you can do all four in one motion). We have some things (like brown sugar) which we use every day, so I really appreciate the ease of these. I have all my baking products in them. Buy just one and I bet you'll be a believer! I checked Walmart.com and they are not there, but there are plenty in the store.