apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Bins. Easily accessible bins stacked neatly in the closet or elsewhere. Preferably clear or at least translucent ones so you have a visual clue as to what is in what.

Does your building rent storage lockers to tenants? If so, I'd move the seasonal stuff down there and put the daily stuff in the closet. Much as I love *not* needing an extra storage unit any more, sometimes it is the logical solution for an apartment with limited storage.

Otherwise, I'd look for a closet substitute, some sort of tall cabinet with doors that can absorb the sports equipment and maybe some other stuff, too.

I second the renting of storage for such a large amount of seasonal stuff.

Otherwise how about one large chest (kinda like a tea chest) that you can stick behind your sofa?

I adore multi-purpose furniture. Considering the width of any hallway like space of yours, or perhaps as a coffee table, have you looked at a trunk/bench into which to throw your goods? With some searching you could surely find one to suit any style decor. And with the addition of a strongly hinged padded trunk in the entryway, you'll gain a comfy perch for which to sit while peeling off inevitably dirt-tracking footwear and the like.

Someone posted pics of their loft on the AT-Chicago site, and she used ikea kitchen cabinets for storage in her living room--it looked really sleek. If you have any spare wall space, that might be a solution. I like the idea of one of their PAX units behind your sofa, with either sliding doors, or fitted with opaque curtain panels to hide the mess. That's the solution I'm leaning toward to hide the husband's collection of vinyl. The sliding doors are a huge space saver....

Put em on display! If you use them all the time, get some utility hooks or the like and arrange them in a cool way on the wall, or hung from the ceiling. My neighbor upstairs mounts his surfboards on the wall like shelves for the winter months. He also has one suspended from the ceiling. It looks really really cool.

have you considered using a locker that is used ( generally seen at schools or YMCA

Underbed boxes. All of the equipment you described is reasonably small in volume, so you should be able to fit most of it in wide short underbed boxes. The see through plastic ones would be best, so you could access what you wanted pretty easily. They sell them everywhere: Target, KMart, Container store etc.

as with any stuff that needs to be stored but for whatever reason won't go into your closet, there are two storage options.

open 'on display' storage which is visible within your apartment -- such as shelves or hooks on your walls.

hidden away container storage. in a small space, preferably multi-use.

any equipment you find genuinely aesthetically pleasing can be stored in the 'on display' manner. the container store and other such places sell hooks for bikes and other large equipment. you can also easily hang tennis racquets and yoga mats in their carrying cases on wall hooks in your entryway in the same way you would hang a coat or bag. install a small shelf for your bike helmet, softball equipment, etc. but remember that people are going to see this so it should be neat and mesh well with your decor.

any equipment you don't want to look at can go into containers. i prefer bins and such that are aesthetically pleasing if i can't shove them into a closet. any furniture store will sell various and sundry storage-solution furniture items. you can go with the obvious storage benches and ottomans, as well as trunk-style coffee tables and credenzas that have room for more than just your DVD player. you can also get creative and repurpose children's toy storage, laundry hampers, file cabinets, etc. go to Ikea or The Container Store and check out your options, remembering that just because the tag says "toybox" or "magazine rack" this doesn't mean the Furniture Police are going to come get you if you put tennis balls or frisbees into it.

We have a big old chest we keep ours in, like a blanket box I guess which lives in the hallway and keeps all the sports stuff hidden away. We call it the 'toy-box' :-)

Thanks for the tips...
I like the trunk/bench/toy box idea... it would also give another seating option (something our apartment could really use). Now I just have to get out and start looking.