Storage Space, A Hot Commodity

The search for space in my house is a constant battle. Part of the problem is I'm way to good at collecting new things and not as good at getting rid of things. I recently got a roommate as well which means I cleared out the spare room and have to find a new place for all the furniture and items that were in there.
One idea I had was the wrapping paper storage project I wrote about in January. While the project didn't work out exactly as expected, it definitely helped to corral my wrapping paper in an out of the way area.

I've also stored some of my kitchen items on the top of cabinets in my laundry room. I'm planning to put another shelf over the utility sink in my garage.

Another area I thought of was the corner of my L-shaped hall. My hallway doesn't have a lot of space, but lately I've been thinking of places I could capitalize on for more shelf space. I began the search for a small corner bookcase or table, but most of my internet searches came up with items that were too big or way out of my price range.

The Perfect Price
When life took some unexpected turns I decided the bookcase would have to wait, especially if the purchase was going to be in the $100-$300 range. Then I got an email from Amazon. Normally I end up deleting their emails as irrelevant, but this time a small corner bookcase for $30 caught my eye and I bought it on the spot. I even got free shipping!

I got the package and put the shelf together. The finished product is in the picture to the left.

The shape is perfect, and I like that the way it's designed means I can choose to only use some of the five included shelves. I used all five though. What I don't like is how cheaply made it is. The poles are plastic and the underside of the shelves aren't "finished." I would be more upset if I had paid more than $30.

I moved the books that I wanted to display, a small desk lamp and a couple of items with the same color scheme onto the shelves. I needed something heavier for the bottom shelf to help stabilize the bookcase, I'm thinking that one of those round "garden" balls from Lowe's might be a good there. Maybe I'll find something similar next time I paint pottery with my book club. Meanwhile I've put some more books on it, those I have plenty of.

Do you have any creative storage solutions in your house?