The house in Michigan has 14 closets. 14 LARGE closets…. I can put a twin bed and dresser in one, have kitchen tables or hutches set up in some of the others. It has a full, very large basement, 2 1/2 car garage and 2 – count them – 2 full attics. You could say storage is not my problem.

The house in Kentucky, where we live now, has no useable basement (floods constantly), no garage, no useable attic (no floor. yet.) and a total of 3 1/2 of the smallest closets you have ever seen! You could say storage is a huge issue for me!

I have to get creative. I have to find places for things that never needed consideration. Hangers on the insides of doors for foil paper, cleaning products and ironing boards. Decorative baskets for DVDs and sewing paraphernalia. Shelves just below the ceiling for my pottery collection.

Recently, I noticed the crocks under the dining room side table. The crocks belonged to my parents and are used annually to make pickles and sauer kraut, a practice my husband and I continue. We do not make as much as my parents did. So, only 2 of the crocks are used. The rest of the crocks sit empty all year long. For someone that needs creative storage, I thought — What a waste of space!!!!

I decided to put it to use. Unlike Irene, I do not have an entire room dedicated to my bar. She is lucky enough to have a full, carved-wood bar, complete with bar stools, TV and every type of alcohol imaginable. I, on the other had, have a few bottles of bourbon tucked here and there throughout the house. A few mint julep cups, a couple of shot glasses and 4 pieces of stemware. When guests stop by, I have to wash and dry the glasses since they collect dust all month on the shelves. I have to forage for the right bottle. (Honey bourbon is behind the guest room door, Woodford Reserve is under the library table…. you get the picture.)

I decided to turn my crocks into my bar.

It makes perfect sense. If you drink too much, you get crocked. LOL

In the large, 8-gallon crock, I dropped a Kentucky Woods Bourbon Barrel Cake Box (wood). Perfectly sized for my crock.

It lifts the bottles to the correct height and cushions the bottom of the bottles from hitting the crock. It prevents them from being “dropped” into the crock. I added a wooden lid to complete it.

In the smaller 2-gallon crock, I simply cut a piece of felt and dropped it into the bottom of the crock. I added my small amount of mixers, pouring spouts, and wrapped glasses and shot glasses.

I happen to have wooden covers on these crocks, so put them back on and Voila! Bar in a Crock!

Now when guests visit, we simply walk to the crocks, select a glass and bottle and enjoy!

Be creative with your space when you are limited. You don’t need piles and things tucked in boxes. If you use them (and at this stage of life, you should be using and enjoying almost everything!), keep them creatively on hand.