Deck storage suggestions?

Okay, I am at a standstill, here. I have long since filled up the 5 drawer dresser with my tarot/oracle decks and have spillover in my den and bedroom. I need more space. Sadly, I have run out of walls. Bookcases, dressers, etc., are all full. I know one should not put them in plastic storage containers as that could trap moisture. Is it possible for me to store things like runes, pendulums, astrodice, in something like that? That will give me some space, but not enough. I am considering purchasing a lingerie chest, but not even sure how long that will hold my ever growing collection. The drawers can be awfully small. And one of the biggest problems is oracles or anything with large packaging. Any suggestions? I am a neat freak and really prefer things organized and out of sight. Another wall and dresser would be the perfect answer, but that isn't going to happen presently, unless I move my hubby out of the bedroom and his dresser and get another dresser matching the one I store my decks in now. Life was much easier when I owned 30-60 decks, but I really don't want to give any away. I already thought that one out and it is a no go! Creative ideas appreciated!

An example of how I get more stuff into the available space (esp look at the attachments)

Rodney

Something like these...

http://www.rd.com/images/tfhimport/2006/200609_MegaShelf_FigA_sz2.jpg


http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/la/wraparound_c2b02b181f_o.jpg



http://image.rol.vn/Resources/2009/02/11_ROL_090211_T_5.jpg

You could reconsider any need for backups. Or if you have an attic put backups up there.

Have you remodified any of your closets? Quite often a whole second shelf can be fitted above the one already there.
I'm sure you've thought of those, but I live in an A-frame and have become the Queen of Space out of Nothing

In the bedroom and quilt room there are huge exposed laminated beams. I added shelves on them. In the quilt room, 10" shelves I think they were, and bam...all the VHS and DVD were immediately corralled. That added 36' of shelving.
In the bedroom I added 16" shelves up there and bam...all my hats and hatboxes were no longer a storage problem. 16' of shelf space added, and I still have two more beams

edited to add: Morticia was posting while I was, her 2nd picture is much like my DVD shelving. Only mine goes across the room rather than around it.

Hmm! Well, the shelving above furniture won't really go with our design and style, as the house is not modern but very Early American Colonial style. Plus, I want it inside something, drawers or boxes. I want it in a space where it will not be affected by light or dust. The dresser was a perfect solution. I just need another one. The idea of putting a dresser in one of our walk-in closets is a possibility, though I will have to move some stuff around. I have way too many holiday decorations. We don't store a single item in our attic. It is far too hot up there in the summer, too cold in winter. And I don't want my treasure stuffed away in cellars, either. I want them all easily accessable. As for duplicates, while I could cut down on a few, looking over my collection and what decks I do have duplicates of, I am guessing it only adds up to less than 1/5th of it. A lot of space also gets eaten up by putting my most used decks in bags. That would be another thing. Putting all my bagged decks, or at least most of them in something else, again maybe a lingerie chest??, and using that space for my decks, but the huge packaging that comes with certain decks and oracles is a real space stealer. Grrr! I am really going to attack this in the next few weeks because I want this stuff cleaned up before the holidays and I am running out of time!

HearthCricket said:

Okay, I am at a standstill, here. I have long since filled up the 5 drawer dresser with my tarot/oracle decks and have spillover in my den and bedroom. I need more space. Sadly, I have run out of walls. Bookcases, dressers, etc., are all full. I know one should not put them in plastic storage containers as that could trap moisture. Is it possible for me to store things like runes, pendulums, astrodice, in something like that? That will give me some space, but not enough. I am considering purchasing a lingerie chest, but not even sure how long that will hold my ever growing collection. The drawers can be awfully small. And one of the biggest problems is oracles or anything with large packaging. Any suggestions? I am a neat freak and really prefer things organized and out of sight. Another wall and dresser would be the perfect answer, but that isn't going to happen presently, unless I move my hubby out of the bedroom and his dresser and get another dresser matching the one I store my decks in now. Life was much easier when I owned 30-60 decks, but I really don't want to give any away. I already thought that one out and it is a no go! Creative ideas appreciated!

Click to expand...

Tell me about it! I have now realised the same and I really don't want my house to just be a tarot storage space and nothing else. Id actually quite like to live and move in my house, have a life etc, strange as that may sound...

I have no suggestions really. Except avoid buying Llewellyn sets.

And are you flattening your boxes after the decks have been fast-tracked to bags?

What I did (which worked for a while) was buy four very nice different, sizeable boxes (from ikea/habitat; do you have these shops nearby?) that would stack on top of each other. All different, all very beautiful (I know how this too is a priority for you ), one was like wicker, one was carved wood, one was Oriental with lacquer, one lined with velvet on the inside, suede on the outside. Into these four, very spacious boxes, stacked one on top of the other, I put all my regular reading decks in their bags (maybe managed to store 30?) and these boxes live by the side of the sofa. The boxes stacked up do not come up any higher than the sofa arm, and they are at arm's length and the boxes really look very nice and are discreet. Maybe your lounge is a tarot-free zone. I don't know how you organise your collection. I find that here in Europe, ikea have some very nice and compact storing solutions. My apartment isn't huge and I think I have solved it pretty well.

Or I had done until a couple of months ago. Back ups went to my bf's house. I still didn't see a noticable increase in space...

However, I have now reached a point where there really is no room. Seriously. So first sacrifice; given the choice between deck only and set, I buy the deck only. So no Jolanda kit just yet for me! !

next sacrifice; no more Llewellyn kits

third sacrifice; erm... dunno.

Nice cedar blanket box or 2 or 6 or... ? Under bed drawers ? (make sure mice can't get in....)

If you punch holes in plastic boxes the condensation ceases to be an issue. As long as they are decent sized holes. But if you have space for PLASTIC boxes - why not wooden.

Cardboard banker's boxes, if boxes are OK, though ?

gregory said:

But if you have space for PLASTIC boxes - why not wooden?

Click to expand...

I agree. Shop around for nice boxes, the sort you would happily have on view in your sitting room. haven't you got any of those silicone crystals? I always save them whenever I buy something which has that little sachét in and toss them in the bottom of my tarot boxes.

I bet if you buy four beautiful boxes from a nice interior design shop, and fill them with "bagged" decks - and plan to get your top 30 in, tucked discreetly in a corner somewhere, it will make a difference...

I used to be able to get these high quality cardboard trunks decorated with old styled wall papers, like you would find in a colonial home. They were made by Lang, but they stopped making them. I could easily fit my entire overspill into one of these. We have two of them, but they are occupied with our spill over of DVD's. Yes, books, DVD's, CD's and tarot. I have problems with all three, though my books are fairly underhand. I do have a cedar blanket chest. I could easily empty it out and use it for tarot, but, I heard you were not supposed to store paper items in it because they could eventually pick up the cedar oil and discolour. Anyone else ever heard of this. Not to mention all my decks will smell strongly of cedar. Hmm...if I bought more storage for the DVD's and went through them again, I could use those trunks...They go perfectly with the decor and would fit nicely, too. I've been looking at catalogues and stores and so far have not found any wooden boxes that are the right size. Just lots of sturdy cardboard boxes. I also try to keep in mind if I ever did cut down my collection, whatever I bring in I want to be able to use for something els. If I could only cut down on my DVD's or buy another wooden nighttable (actually if I can get my hubby to empty out his books from the one in the guest room and move that downstairs, put the DVD's in that and then claim one or both of those antique looking Lang chests, I would be set for a long while. I am going to pass along some of these ideas to him tonight. Or just do it. Hehehe.... A pity Ethan Allen dropped most of their classic lines. OR I could move the DVD's into the Boston chest downstairs and claim the boxes for me. Okay...if I get creative I really ought to be able to do this without even having to make a purchase. Lots of what is in that chest could go in my cedar chest, maybe??

I appreciate the brainstorming because it is giving me some ideas I had overlooked. Move the DVD's and claim those cardboard chests. That would be ideal. Perfect for oversized decks, etc. Oooh....excited by the possibility this could be solved sooner than I thought! Thank you, wise, creative people. I just need to find out more about cedar chests and what cannot go in them...

P.S.~Llewellyn kits...I toss everything but the deck and the book. The book goes on the shelf, they deck gets put in a bag. The packaging, pretty as it is, is way too space hoggy!

I have a couple of suggestions for temporary quick fixes--the sort of thing you can do until a permanent solution presents itself.

Our house has very little storage space (except in the kitchen), so my storage has to be out in the open. Therefore, I got containers for my cards that would complement the furniture or decor in the room.

I bought pretty, natural fiber baskets, mostly round and a little deeper than a deck is high. Decks stored in pretty bags can go in these. I have 3 baskets that hold about 15 decks each. They'd hold more if I stacked the decks, but I don't. I make a cluster of these baskets next to a bookcase or under a window--whatever in the bedroom.

At a local after-market discount store, I bought three fancy storage boxes of very heavy cardboard lined inside and out with fabric. You can get these all alike, but I didn't. I got them in the same or similar colors, colors that would go with the decor of the living room where they were going to end up, but the patterns varied. They are of graduated sizes so I can stack them.

I store specialty decks in these: historical decks, TdMs, versions of Rider-Waite, Oracles. The number of decks varies with the size of the box, of course. The smallest box holds about 10 decks, the largest about 50, but many of these are 22 card decks. There are about 30 in the mid-sized box.

Also, when it's practical I store separately the outer card box and often the accompanying book as well. Since I don't resell stuff often, this works for me and it's quite a space saver. I store these in the attic in ordinary plastic tubs which I make sure are vented.