Do you have a cellar?

[Creatang]

Latest house has a cellar. I live alone and have always found the idea of cellar creepy - being locked in etc. However, here I am with a perfect good dry cellar. But what do I use it for?

I'm fortunate in that I already have spare rooms and good storage so what do you use your cellar for, or would use it for if you had one?

We use it for storage.

Totally depends if it’s tanked and dry! If usable, suitcases, wine, household things like lightbulbs, bulk buys, tools etc

We have one with the big double doors and steps down that can only be accessed from outside (no internal door) Its lovely and dry and we keep our logs for the wood burner in the winter down there. We can store enough to get us through the whole winter, tucked away in the cellar under the house. 😁

Use it similarly to a garage or shed

It is good for keeping stuff cool so we use it as an extra fridge at Christmas and even in summer it's pretty cool.

Cleaning stuff, hoover, rarely used kitchen equipment, spare bulbs, birthday party stuff like candles and cake toppers, vases…

Tanked ours and it’s our laundry

I’ve always wanted a cellar.

I live in a Victorian semi and have a proper big old stone cellar.
I love it!!

It is a bit damp (do have a dehumidifier) so can't really keep textiles down there unless they are in big sealed plastic boxes but I have metal racking shelves and store christmas stuff etc
Big suitcases and most of all wine!!!

My DS-who at the time we moved in was a strapping student-has always been a little afraid and still to this day does not like to go down there!!

I find cellars creepy too! But if watertight and not damp then I’d store big things down there. I pay for a storage unit so all that stuff (bins of Christmas decs. Paintings etc) would go in the cellar.

My friend at school lived in a big posh house on the local rich estate, private road etc. They had a cellar that was about half the length of the house. They had a cinema room down there, workshop, couple of empty rooms. There was a tunnel that her dad said went under all the other houses. We used to scare ourselves silly going so far into the tunnel and running back out!
In the actual house was a proper wine cellar with winding stone steps! How the other half live eh 😆

Love ours. Store so much down there. Xmas decs, emergency chairs, tools, extra cleaning stuff and even and food and drink at Christmas time after the big shop. Dont know what I'd do without it.

Ours is dry and used to store food (dried and frozen) and gear. I wouldn't like to be without one again.

Our house is built into a hillside, so half of the ground floor is underground. The boiler is in one section with lawnmowers and garden furniture. The rest holds a freezer, decorating materials, car stuff and larger or infrequently used kitchen equipment. We also store stuff for our DC before they buy their own home. It is invaluable, and much easier than storing stuff in the roof space.

sadly, no cellar, but I know someone who runs a catering business. She turned her cellar into a separate kitchen for her business so she can keep it separate from her home.
I have also seen them turned into really nice sitting rooms, cinema rooms, etc. If you can afford to have them tanked and converted, they make super rooms as they often run the whole length of the house.
of course, you need to block up the coal hole or street gratings, or else you end up with all sorts in your cellar

We've previously had four houses with cellars of varying kinds/sizes and I'm really disappointed our current Georgian cottage doesn't have one - especially as our neighbour does.

Our last house (a small converted mill) had an undercroft with double doors at street level with the front of the house sitting above it, so there were steps from the front gate up to the house itself. Originally there was an internal door with steps down to the undercroft/cellar but this had long been blocked up, so access was only from outside. Inside the double doors there was a small, unroofed courtyard leading to two storage areas. OH used the undercroft for storing tools/ladders etc, some stuff inside and some out.

At a previous house we used the cellar for an overflow freezer and tools/paint etc, whilst at another house the cellar was appropriated by teen DS as a 'nightclub' for his friends when they were sixth form age/beyond. I had lots of fun helping him kit it out with a bar area, old sofa and sound system/various lighting effects.

A friend's OH had his soldiers set up on a huge table in theirs (an old pub) so he could play battles with his mates 🙄

Years ago I lived in a house with a huge cellar, as we were in a band we soundproofed it, turned it into a recording studio and practice room. It also doubled up as a place to chuck stuff in that we didn’t use much.

Totally envious you have one. We investigated the possibility of having one dug, but the bedrock is far too close to the surface here, and it woukd have cost too much. Would have used it for wine, firewood and storage.

Ours is part above ground at the rear so there are ‘windows’. Well holes in the wall with shutters to be exact

Perfectly dry as it’s lime washed and has no modern finishes ie plaster
We use it for storage and it’s packed high. One half used to be used to lay out, salt and cut up meat. We’re veggie so don’t do that 😳.

Agree with all those who say it’s invaluable. It’s so much easier than storing in a roof

My cellar now seems more exciting, with more potential.

It's perfectly dry. Does that mean it's been tanked? How would I know?

I grow alot of veg. If I had a cellar, I'd stored and dry onions, pumpkins and garlic in there. I'd store pickles, jams and chutneys. Sloe gin, plum brandy and just about any alcohol. Gardening seeds and anything that needs a dark, cool environment.

OP- You might need to take up making plum brandy. Only so you have a use for the cellar of course. Its delicious 😋

Not necessarily
Our is perfectly dry because it’s well vented and the materials used on the walls are breathable

I keep the bodies in it.

Wine racks (left by previous owner, we don’t use them much), I added better lighting and power sockets and now we have a tumble dryer and extra fridge for (mostly) Christmas overflow. There’s a second section which has a lockable gate where the previous owner kept his extra special wine under lock and key, but which is where I keep tins of paint, diy stuff and Christmas decorations. I will have to have a good clear out soon because inevitably it does get silted up by stuff people can’t be bothered to either use and find a home for, or throw out (see also garage and loft storage). It’s pretty dry but I am the only one in the household who can stand up properly in it.

Exactly
Why just LTB 😁