Tight on space? If your home has a staircase, you might be overlooking some square footage that's right under your nose -- or more accurately, right under your steps! The area beneath your stairs is a common household dead zone, but it's actually the perfect place to stash your stuff. Here are three brilliant DIY building projects that let you convert this neglected nook into a smart storage solution.

Project 1: Under-Stairs Shelving Unit.
Who knew that in one day, I could have a full set of strategically placed shelves for storing everything from books to bedding? Check out these printable plans and easy-to-follow tutorial from DIY Advice. They're particularly helpful if you're a visual learner like me. The printable shopping list -- plus the tons of awesome photos -- make this project totally doable. It's also a budget-friendly: affordable particleboard will be your only major investment, provided you already own -- or can borrow -- the required tools (listed below).

My Rubbermaid containers have lived through one too many pasta casseroles and are starting to smell like it, too. Naturally, I researched a few options on how to take the scent out of plastic and stumbled upon a great solution that I can't wait to try on my next set of Rubbermaids.

Turns out that if you sprinkle a bit of salt in an empty airtight Rubbermaid container before you store it, you'll keep the smell at bay. Go on --- give it a shot and report back. ;)

And yes, I realize we're talking salt yet again here at DIY Life, but honestly --- can you ever get enough of the kitchen hacks? I certainly cannot, and just to show you how necessary a bit of sodium really is, here's another handy (and salty!) post to whet your whistle:
-Make Your Own Toothpaste (YES! With salt!)

Convinced?

I'm all for innovative storage, especially when it comes to displaying my books. Face it -- bookcases can be so dull, especially when your budget calls for Billy after Billy after...Billy. Luckily, ShelterPop has a great solution for a DIY bookcase I can pretty much guarantee you've never seen!:

Enter a fun and flexible (pun intended!) solution. Originally created for Design Showcase 2009 by Pete Oyler, the S T R E T C H Shelf is slated to hit boutiques any minute now with an approximate price point of $120.

Eek. That certainly breaks the bank for me. But what if we used Oyler's product as inspiration for our own rubber band shelving system? I can imagine them working quite well in a modern, industrial space using brightly-colored heavy duty rubber bands and a few stainless screws.

Or try a few animal rubber bands in your child's room as a great way to display light artwork. And for a long, floor-to-ceiling rubber band bookshelf, why not use a bright resistance band used for exercising?

Forget the Billy and book it (ha! another pun!) to your nearest office supply store for the coolest rubber shelving in town. Stretching your dollar never looked so chic.

I put Ziploc bags up there with sliced bread in terms of usefulness. They're like the ultimate affordable organizing tool. If you're only using bags to freeze leftovers or tote sandwiches to work, you're missing out! Read on for 10 new ways to use Ziplocs:

1. Compact wet wipe storage. Like traveling light with your baby or toddler? Me, too. I never bought a bulky diaper bag and I also ditched the plastic wet wipes container early on. Instead, I always carry a baggy with a small stash of wipes, which takes up only the tiniest amount of space in my messenger bag.

2. Diaper changing mat. Speaking of diaper duty, a gallon or larger size Ziploc makes a perfect super-compact changing pad. No, it's not padded (unless you add an old t-shirt or something), but it will keep your tot's head off icky public diaper changing surfaces.

Keeping tomatoes and citrus fruits in the fridge is a big no-no. Besides the fact that I hate cold tomatoes, their shelf life will be so much longer if it's not refrigerated. But did you realize that you should be storing them as far away from the refrigerator as possible? It's true --- keep tomatoes and citrus fruits away from the fridge (preferably on a sunny window's shelf) for the longest shelf life possible.

I don't know why it works, but it does. You should see your fruit's shelf life almost double if you test the theory. Plus, your fruit will be juicier, which means it will taste yummier. Bonus!

Want more kitchen hacks for smart food storage? Read on, friends:
-Like to buy in bulk? You need a vacuum in the kitchen! Make an 'Alvin' Vacuum Sealer.
-Want to know how to store cheese (and yes, there's a special way!). Cheese: There's More to it Than You Think.

Our friends at ShelterPop are back at it again with excellent DIY-able advice. This week? Learn to make these kid-friendly, colorful bookshelves that you can arrange and re-arrange to your heart's content.

What you'll need:
- A jigsaw or similar saw
- Sandpaper/electric sander
- Wood screws
- Powerdrill and/or screwdriver
- Lumber
- Wood glue
- Paint
- Measuring tape
- Pencil and paper


The Plan:
1. Use your saw to cut your lumber pieces to the length that you need.
2. Use a vice or clamps to hold the pieces together and use wood glue to join the corners of the lumber together. When they are dry, drill wood screws into each corner for reinforcement.
3. Sand down all of your edges.
4. Paint your boxes. Laura used high quality spray paint, but any thick, interior household paint or craft paint for wood will work just find.
5. Stack boxes into alcove and enjoy!

Isn't the look adorable, colorful and unique? I can't wait to try it myself!

I did a bit of house shopping this week and found a lovely bungalow style home, but it was soooo tiny. I suppose if I was an optimist, I'd call it "cozy", but the truth is (and there's no hiding behind the truth, is there?) -- it was just small. Luckily, the low ceilings and minimal square footage won't deter me... especially after I watched this video from AOL's interior design expert Kelly Edwards.


Want more great ideas for maximizing small square footage or making the most out of small homes, spaces and nook? Here's the best tip of all: Get creative. You can often work with what you've got by thinking out of the [very small] box.

Try transforming a closet into an office, a pantry into a playroom... or even a garage into a man-friendly den/cave. It's all in the space planning, and don't be afraid to do something out of the ordinary. Your reward will be more space to work with, and storage solutions you'll actually use!

Get to work!

Straining pasta. Martian helmets. These images spring to mind when I hear the word "colander." But the humble colander has lots of other potential uses ... and why not? The steel version does, after all, sport a super-cool classic design that just begs to be creatively repurposed. Check out these ideas!

Handy Household Uses
1. Grease splatter reducer. Carefully place a colander upside down over frying foods. The heat can get out, but the grease is largely contained.

2. Warm a serving bowl. I love this one: Set your colander inside a pasta serving bowl, then drain boiling pasta as usual. Instead of running down the drain, the hot water will get the bowl warm and ready for your spaghetti and meatballs.

We all know people who can no longer fit their car into their garage. Perhaps we are even among them. (Hey, I just moved, okay? And we downsized dramatically! And there are no basements! And, and, and... I'll take my own advice soon, I swear!) The garage has become a repository for all the stuff that they have nowhere to store. Look around your neighborhood, I am willing to bet that most people are using at least one of their garages for storage.

Did you know that Americans are renting storage units to store all of the stuff that won't fit into their houses? According to this article "self-storage units cover 72 square miles, the area of Manhattan and San Francisco combined." That's a whole lot of people storing a whole lot of stuff, that frankly they probably do not need.

My take on the self storage phenomenon for the average suburban American? Get rid of it. Make decisions about what you really use and need, then get rid of the rest. If it isn't useful or making your life better in some way, then you do not need it. The problem that most people have is that they do not organize their stuff and therefore they cannot find it when they need it.

There are a lot of great reasons to pick up a six pack of some cold, icy beverage in the summertime -- grilling, boating and lounging at the beach, for instance. But before you toss out those six pack rings or that cardboard six pack bottle holder after your brew is gone, consider the idea that you could put them to work for you instead.

Six pack rings, especially, are dangerous to marine wildlife. Birds and fish can get tangled in the rings, leaving them unable to eat or swim. Cutting the rings before disposing of them is one way to make them safer, and cardboard six packs can always be recycled. But as DIYers know, reusing is more frugal and more fun!

Here are six great ways to reuse a six pack holder:

There truly is something for everyone in this world. I would never have thought to combine kitchen storage with geeky computer stuff, but this idea is well worth crossing the two. After thinking it over, it makes perfect sense to store your server in your extra bread bin.

The tutorial for this project is quite clever -- and clear enough for even the most challenged of DIYers. A bread bin is just about the perfect size for a server, and the material is easily cut to fit cords and the like. Once the server is safely tucked in its new home it can live there relatively dust free and out of harm's way.

Mmm-mmm. Fresh basil. It's so very fragrant -- the indispensable ingredient in a host of mid-summer recipes.

My basil is lush, green and ready for picking. Okay, I don't have a whole lot of it out in my garden; however, I'm planning on growing a lot more next summer. In preparation for that lofty enterprise, I thought it'd be cool to find out how the expert basil-growers harvest their beloved herb. Here are some tips I picked up:

1. Know your basil. There are lots of varieties out there, and it's always good to know which one you have, as the flavors vary quite a bit between them. Chances are good that, like me, you've got the most common variety: Genovese sweet basil.

Planning a road trip this summer, and want the perfect accessory? How about a map purse? Or, for you guys, a map bag. Instead of lip gloss and lotion, you can put... um... manly things in it. Spare socks? A razor?

Perhaps it should best be the "car bag" and hold things to make the trip more comfortable: tissues, a water bottle, sunglasses, chewing gum, and, a little art-comes-to-life, maybe your maps can go in the map bag.

I envision using it as storage inside the car rather than as a purse to carry around town, because I'm just not sure how sturdy it would be. Most women I know carry a load of stuff in their bag. Would a map and two layers of contact paper, no matter how well-stitched, be up to the job?

To make one, follow the instructions here at Sonya Style. If anyone makes one, feel free to report back and tell us how it holds up!

When is the last time you cleaned out your liquor cabinet? You've used and replaced your favorites many times over, but you've probably never made it to the back of the shelf, uncovering those less popular bottles.

Not sure if that bottle of Bacardi is still good? Ask your bartender!

Dave gives the quick rundown on liquor expiry. He outlines the basics, and by keeping them in mind you'll avoid sipping rancid rum. Explaining the "half-life" of distilled spirits, he dispels the mystery that shelving a 17 year old bottle of scotch for 20 years makes it a 37 year old bottle.

Understanding your liquor's shelf life, and making sure that you store the bottles tightly capped, in a dark place, and free from extreme temperature will keep the quality of your drinks high.