House questions 🤔

So I have two areas off my kitchen that I’m struggling to use efficiently:

Area 1: off the kitchen, but next to the garage door, it has 2-3 shelves and the furnace next to it. What can I efficiently use this space for? At first I wanted a pantry area, but it’s just too exposed to traffic from in & out of the garage + the furnace area, shoes, etc. I thought of storage for cleaning supplies, but I’m not sure because it is kinda exposed & and I have little kiddos. Currently I have my mop bucket, vaccum, and trash can there, along with some shoes, but it just feels like too good a space to be wasted as a catch-all.

Area 2: closet under the stairs, directly in the kitchen, too angled and narrow for a pantry, and it also is carpeted for some reason? Currently I have a box of dishes and a printer along with other misc junk in there 😂 there’s also a short hook thing, like for coats ? (Doesn’t really make sense to me)

What would you use these spaces for?

We recently moved in and I want every corner of this new house organized & efficient.

Thanks !