Itching to Change

Why do I get the itch to change things around when it's probably the least convenient time to do so?  You may recall that Marty ever-so-graciously worked hard to create my craft room in summer 2014.  That was only the construction side of things, and it's all well and good; I'm not wanting to make any changes to that...unless there was a way to add a half inch to the depth of my stash closet.  There isn't unless we remove the wallboard on the inner short wall - it's tempting!  I would not relish moving my entire stash out though in order to avoid the guaranteed dust from such a project.  Here's what prompts this thinking:

Just inside, to the right of the closet door is this space.  It measures 33.75" from the wall to the edge of the shelf boards.  It's perfect for my bins that hold fabric I don't put on the shelves, pieces not yardage.  Whenever I search for fabric to fulfill a scrap quilt need I have to wrestle these out one at a time and wrestle them back in when I'm done.  It's inconvenient, and it's hard on my aging back.  I need a better solution.  

With Marty once again unemployed, the solution needs to be inexpensive.  I thought, hmmm, there are two toy bin racks.  One I've been using out in the hallway under the mirror as a quilt rack, while utilizing the bins for projects and my FQs.  The other is still taking up space in Nick's room and I think he'd like it gone.

Bin added for visual effect.

I thought this might be a good solution if it could fit in that space.  So I measured it.  Wouldn't you know, it measures 34.25" in width...a HALF INCH too wide!  Oh sad faced me :( .  I thought, well, maybe we (meaning Marty) could remove one end and shorten the dowels, but instantly, I realized the bins would no longer fit if that were done.

Still standing in the closet contemplating what could be done, I thought maybe I could move the two lowest shelves to abut the wall on the other end and proceeded to measure that space which would allow the equal amount of open area on the other end. 

Only a little over 9".  Could be tight.  Not to mention I wouldn't be able to stack those small bins there any more.  I usually have four stacked and they fit perfectly though the lid will extend over the end of the shelf.

Unfortunately, it was clear that this would not work either.  The rack is inches deeper than that space would provide and additional space is required behind it to allow the bins to sit in correctly.  I suppose it's possible to notch the boards but I'd rather not.  But I might consider it.  Back to the drawing board.  Meanwhile,

I know, this looks a total mess, and it IS even by my standards - please ignore the dust as well.  Getting back to this room as a whole, my original intent as I planned it and before Marty did his work, was to have cabinetry along the entire wall where you see the shelf unit in the background.  About that time was Marty's first lay off, so cabinetry became nothing more than a past thought, and since we had this shelf 'thing', I used it.  

Some of our household furnishings have been scavenged from the neighborhood and back when I first became a stay-at-home-mom, this was one of those 'freebies'.  It's actually the hutch that would be atop a dining room buffet dating back to the 60s or 70s.  Over the years, it was just convenient to use it here and there and this is where it ended up.  I was recently reconsidering the cabinets but under current situation, it's a no-go until there's income.  However, I'm really tired of this cluttered mess.  The two drawered carts shown with stuff stacked all over them belong in the closet.  They're wheeled so that was their original place, but every time I needed to get to the bins in the first picture, I'd have to wheel them out.  The cart drawers are full and shallow, so can't be a substitute for the large bins.

I'm considering rearranging the rest of the furniture in this 9.5' x 10' space too, hoping to make it more functional and easier to navigate.  With a space this small, layout is very important, and I'm thinking it needs a better arrangement.  I'll be getting out my graph paper, tape measure, scissors and removable tape and this will keep me occupied for the rest of the day.