Answering Your Questions

Welcome to the 444th Metamorphosis Monday!

As I’ve been blogging about adding storage cabinets for some of my dishware down one wall of my garage, I’ve received a lot of questions about this project. I thought this Met Monday would be a good time to answer those all in one post. If I miss one, feel free to ask it in the comments and I’ll add that question to this post.

As you may recall, these are the two cabinets I’m using. Originally I planned to place six down one wall of the garage: 4 of the type (without a drawer) on the left and two of the type (with a drawer) on the right.

Ultimately I decided to go with just 5 cabinets since the little laser thing on the garage door opener that prevents people/objects from being squished by the door would partially block the door/drawer of one cabinet from opening very far. I also decided to go with more of the “drawer cabinets” since the drawers will hold even more weight than shelves.

Cabinet Storage for Home, Garage, Office, Basement

 

After four cabinets were delivered via UPS and FedEx badly damaged, I came up with a different method for getting them to my home. I ordered them via Wal-mart online and had them delivered to the nearest Wal-Mart (a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market) where I opened each box to verify they were okay prior to taking them home.

I’m happy to report this method has worked for two of the remaining three cabinets I’ve ordered. The other cabinet hasn’t come in yet but it should arrive in a couple of days.

By the way, if you buy any of these cabinets and have them delivered this way, I recommend you have them delivered to a regular Wal-Mart and not a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. The boxes are super heavy (145 lbs) and at the Market where I picked these up, only one person was available to help me. It wasn’t easy getting these heavy boxes into my SUV with just one employee helping me. I think you would have more help if you picked them up at a regular Wal-Mart where they are probably used to helping customers load heavy boxes.

Once home, I opened each box again inside my SUV and lifted the pieces out of the box and into my garage one at the time. The process went fast without a hitch, so this method worked really well. Definitely beats having them delivered via UPS and FedEx!

 

Questions:

As mentioned, I’m going to be using these cabinets for storing some of my tablescaping wares. In this photo below, I have flatware, napkin rings and napkins in the cabinet on the left and charger plates and napkins in the cabinet on the right.

Temperature in the Garage

A few folks expressed concern about the temperatures in the garage getting too hot/cold and causing issues with the dishware. I placed a thermometer out there for a few days and discovered that the garage stays around 10 degrees cooler than whatever the temperature is outside.

So, if it’s 94 outside, it’s around 83-84 degrees in the garage. I had never thought about the temperature in the garage until folks asked because it has always been pretty comfortable out there. It’s where I overwinter a lot of my outdoor plants. I think it stays fairly comfortable in the garage because there’s a heated/cooled bonus room overhead, a heated/cooled kitchen on the front end/wall and a heated/cooled laundry room on the cabinet wall.

So there are only two walls that are not against a heated/cooled space, that being the north side, which is shaded by a large magnolia tree and the garage door side which gets the morning/east sun. If I didn’t have all those heated/cooled spaces around the garage, it would probably get a lot hotter out there.

Flatware, Napkin Ring, Napkin, Charger Plate Storage and Organization

 

I won’t be storing any of my vintage dishware in the garage, like this Syracuse “Orchard” pattern I used in a recent table. It will remain in the kitchen dish pantry.

Limelight Hydrangeas for a Summer Table Setting

 

My vintage Copeland-Spode “Tower” lives here in the kitchen cabinets. I love seeing it there, so wouldn’t want to store it anywhere else.

 

The china cabinet seen on the left here in the dining room is where I store my Lenox Winter Greetings, Spode Woodland, Lenox Holiday and some Waterford stemware.

Check Curtains Draperies with French Pleats and Grosgrain Trim

 

So the garage storage will be mainly for dishware that’s more worry free, typically dishware that’s microwave safe, etc…

 

In fact, some of the dishware I brought down to store in the garage cabinets has actually been being stored in an unheated/uncooled crawl space off my bonus room. My bonus room has two dormer windows.

 

On either side of one of the windows is eave storage space. I’ve been keeping all my Halloween dishware inside bins in the eave storage on the right where I store my Halloween decorations. They’ve done fine, no crazing or issues, but sometimes I’m ready to set a Halloween tablescape before I’m ready to drag out all the decorations. So I’m glad to be moving the dishware down where it be more readily available.

 

Hanging Tablecloths

Several folks suggested I hang my tablecloths instead of storing away in a closet or a drawer of the cabinets. The first time I came across tablecloths stored that way was when I got a glimpse of Bunny Williams pantry many years ago in her book, An Affair With a House. I love how that looks but I’m not sure I use tablecloths often enough to make it worth giving up closet space.

 

I do have one small closet in the upstairs family room (see it there in the corner?) that could possibly work. I need to clean out that closet and get rid of some stuff stored there anyway.

 

For right now I’ll just store tablecloths in my recently-cleaned-out hall linen closet until I can find time to move them to the small closet in the bonus room.

Closet for Linens, Sheets, Blankets and Tablecloths

 

Are The Shelves Bowing?

A few folks asked if the shelves were bowing since they appear to be in some of the photos. The instructions that come with the shelves say they will support 40 lbs, but online the instruction manual for the shelves says they will support 35 lbs.

I noticed when I stick to the 35 lb limit, they don’t bow at all. The bow (when I add more weight) is very slight and doesn’t really bother me since this is just garage storage. If you order these cabinets and wish to store heavier weight on each shelf, you may want to consider having some shelving cut at Home Depot or Lowes. I don’t know if the pressed wood shelving they sell (that can be cut down to size) is sturdier or not, but it may be worth a try if you would like to store more weight per shelf. Update: I eventually had issues with the shelves bowing with 35 lbs of dishes on them, so I had shelves cut to the size I needed in Home Depot and that solved the issue. So if you’ll be storing heavy dishes, I’d get new shelves cut in HD.

Flatware, Napkin Ring, Napkin, Charger Plate Storage and Organization

 

I hope this answers a few of the questions I’ve received about this garage dishware storage. Thanks so much for all your suggestions and input! I really appreciate them so much and have used some of them, like the suggestion to store my napkins on their edge/side.

Store Napkins on their edge

 

If you would like to see some of the other areas where I store my dishware, check out THIS post and my FAQ page HERE.

Pssst: I post almost daily to Instagram. Follow Between Naps on the Porch on Instagram here: Between Naps On The Porch.

Looking forward to all the great Before and Afters linked for this week’s Metamorphosis Monday!

Metamorphosis Monday

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Comments

  1. Thanks for hosting! Hope you have a fabulous week! 🙂 Linda

  2. We all envy your organization Susan! Thanks for the motivation and the party!

  3. I think you have the storage down pat. But it sure is nice to visit your home again. It’s such a pretty traditional home and I miss seeing it! Thanks Susan!

  4. I envy you your new storage. I have been asking Joe to help me clean out the garage so I can make some storage out there. Hopefully we will get to that SOON! Thanks for hosting, Susan.

  5. I love your well thought out plan for organization. You’ve inspired me to do the same. It’s going to be my weekend project once fall approaches. I have a ton of fall decor and it’ll be nice to see everything in open cabinets than in my huge Rubbermaid bins. Thank you!

    • This will be a great fall/winter project…much cooler too than doing this in July and August. lol My timing isn’t the best! 🙂

  6. Mary Boger says

    So glad the cabinets came and were in good condition.
    Enjoy seeing the organizing process.

    • Thanks, Mary! I was so surprised when they were after the last batch. Makes you wonder what UPS is doing to our packages when they are in their warehouse!

  7. I need to follow your lead and do more closet organization projects around here! Thanks for some good ideas.

    Big Texas Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

  8. Linda Nixon says

    Are you sure you aren’t a spoke person for Talbot’s? There was a 60% plus 15% plus 5% and no tax weekend in Tn. I purchased the orange sweater, the green sweater, the white blouse with the polka dots, the woody sweater and a pair of shoes, the Frannie D’Orsay, blue denim with leather tassels, for $114.00. What a steal! You would love the shoes. Perfect with jeans or leggings. Keep those cute clothes showing. Your taste is so like mine I don’t need to look any further. Thanks. Would love to hear what you think of my purchases. The 15% was for taking out a Talbot’s card which I had neglected to do but that was great to wait. You are so organized with your cabinets. Hope it all works out. My garage is lined with cabinets that my hubby built and is organized by seasonal, casseroles. etc. Organized on the hottest day in the summer several years ago. I had dishes,etc. under beds, closets everywhere. Now I just go to what I need. I like method and organization, also. Thanks. Linda Nixon

    • I should be as much as I shop there! lol I’ve been visiting family this weekend out of state and visited the Talbots here. I purchased several things during the clearance sale they have going now. I’m obsessed with their scalloped shorts…sooo flattering and comfortable! I still don’t have one of their cards…need to unfreeze my credit and get one as much as I shop there!
      Love all your purchases, Linda! You got some amazing deals! I saw the woody sweater was on sale and was tempted to get a second one. That is such a cute sweater!
      When I was in the Talbots here in Ohio a couple of days ago, the sales associate (who was ringing up my purchases) and I started talking about that polka dot shirt. She has had the same experience I have had where every time she wears it, she gets a gazillion compliments. There is something about that shirt! I hope they continue bringing it back, it needs to be a staple in our wardrobe from here out. lol

  9. Maggie Amis says

    Susan – I hang my tablecloths – but have not given up a closet – I very rarely use my front hall “coat”closet for coats, even when we have a big dinner (like Thanksgiving). rarely do we hang people’s coats, so I do not need all that space for coats, so – I took that closet – turned it into a “cleaning / lightbulb storage / tablecloth storage” closet. I have cubbies on one side – and that holds all kinds of cleaning things – ( a bin for rags, a bin for all the little attachable mop covers, etc) then ON the door, I took shoe holders, and have all my cleaning bottles in them, then on the OTHER side of the closet – got the kind of shoe holder that can hang from a rod – and put all my lightbulbs sorted in that. (there is still room next to that for a few coats) then – WAAAAY up high – I had DH take out the shelf , and put ANOTHER Rod way up by the ceiling – and whalaaa – hanging storage for all my tablecloths. I also have a space on the back wall to hang mops – brooms – shark steamer, etc. and there is floor space for the vacuum. I also store the table leaves in that closet AND there is an extra dog/chid gate in there. ( WOW – I really do love this closet! may be time to tidy it and paint it – perhaps some shelf liner – and matching hangers for the tablecloths…. show it some love for all it’s hard work!)

    • Love Maggie’s idea of shoe holder for all the bottle cleaners. I use one too to hold what would be in a “junk drawer”.

  10. Kathleen says

    It all looks soooo good. Lots of hard work on your part and on your own amazing power. You have nice storage space inside and now outside too!

    • Thanks, Kathleen! I’m looking forward to getting the other cabinets together. It’s definitely a good all-over-body workout. lol

  11. sUSAN,

    WHERE DID YOU EVER FIND THE PLAID CHAIRS?

    Thanks,
    Eileen

    • Eileen…do you mean the ones in my upstairs family room? Those are by Highland House and I picked out that fabric and had them made many, many years ago when my son was around 10 years old. That plaid fabric was around for quite a while, I used to see it in Calico Corners for years after I had the chairs made. Don’t know if it’s still around now, though.

  12. So glad the shelves are working out for you ! Moving next week ( chaos around here and computer needed more help but now is working great so I could see your post!) and will need to order metal bar stools – Walmart seems to have what I want at the best price and will use your suggestion of having them delivered to the store to make sure they are ok ! Thanks – enjoy organizing all your beautiful things!

  13. I can fully understand your need to get all (well, most) of your tablescape components in one place. I would have forgotten where half of it was with it stored in all areas of your large home. I think you’ll rest easier with it better organized – I know I would. Of course, I’ll never have that much tableware, nor do I need it, but I can appreciate your collections and your desire for more simplified storage. You’re doing a great job of organizing it all.

  14. Glad to hear 2 more cabinets arrived safely, I admire your energy!!! On tablecloths…….I have mine hanging in the hall closet since I am only one person with just a few pieces of outerwear!! Plenty of room there…..

    I also have large plastic tubs in the garage which hold some linens and other household ‘stuff’ and never had any problems with cold, heat or dampness. Can’t wait to see the finished project!!

  15. Yay, you finally got all the materials to do your job, and I know you’ll be a happy camper when the job is done. What’s that saying, if you want a job done right, do it yourself? Yep.
    Thanks for the party, and have a great week.

  16. Wow, I know I am a red devotee…but those blue chairs are outstanding!!

  17. Thanks for hosting!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

  18. Thanks for the update. Can’t wait to see the last cabinets put together.
    Since you have all those awesome electric tools, you could buy a white laminate shelf board, cut it to make divider/supports in the middle under the shelves to prevent any bowing.
    I love your upstairs living room too. Big comfy reading chairs.
    What on earth did you ever do in the past without all of our suggestions ?LOL

  19. Here’s (Cheers!) to PROGRESS!!! franki

  20. Great motivation to get organized! I am so tired of crawling around my living room floor to pull out dishes stored under my couch (it has a ruffle so no one knows)! I thought I had silverware! You put me to shame! Now I can justify the Bee silverware I have been drooling over!

  21. I love all your organization! You’ve inspired me to organize my closets! Thanks.

  22. You have such well planned storage for your beautiful china sets. Thank you for hosting today.
    Joy

  23. Thank you for hosting this fun post! I always enjoy it!
    Katherine

  24. Susan, so happy to learn that the additional units arrived in one piece however I’m exhausted just watching this project come together … . That said; do you ever have the time to ‘nap on your porch’? Just kidding of course. -Brenda-

  25. Linda Louise S. says

    My sister-in-law uses slacks/skirt hangers with the clips to hang her table cloths. She gets them at garage sales and thinks they work very well.
    Have a great day.

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