We’ve come a long way since D2 haven’t we? We have a shared stash now! So why do I still find myself creating umteen mules just like back in the good ol’ D2 days? Maybe I’m a hoarder and I keep too much. Maybe crate wants mules to be part of the game.
I realize the game is an RPG. Your stash is supposed to actually be a stash with different compartments (slots). And I don’t want to download any 3rd party programs to make the stash process a database rather than me actually walking up to something and taking it out in-game.
So integrate elements of mods/3rd party programs whatever you want to call them into the game that my character can actually interact with. A visual database of my items in game that my character interacts with.
What would this look like? I hate to say it, but probably a bank, vault, house, or commons added to the game. Perhaps in Steelcap district, or a future DLC new area, or maybe even the next expansion area 
I imagine maybe a place where there is an armor rack with chest armor on it, you walk up and access all chest armor you have deposited there. Searchable, and can be viewed alphabetically, or by level requirement in a tiled list.
There are countless ways to integrate a place like this in the game. The Malmouth Resistance fighters could have an underground bunker/vault, where the new stash area would be unlocked after achieving Revered reputation with Malmouth resistance and completing a special quest perhaps. The unlock would also require 2 million Iron Bits in honor of the cause.
This way we get the best of all worlds. 1. We have a searchable database at our fingertips, so more time slaying monsters and less time feeling like I am at work! 2. That database mentioned in (1) is interacted with in-game by the player. 3. The integration of this system has strong design potential to reinforce lore, story development, and player immersion into a story that they are part of creating themselves.
What are your thoughts on stash space?
Same as always. We have what we have and there are several mods to give me more stash I can use so why do I need any more ingame?
Stash got increased a little while ago, but if the devs wanted it to be more then that’s what they’d have given us. I doubt it’s going to change now so either use one of the mods or cut down on what you keep.
There’s an absolutely insane amount of epics, legendaries, and green items that you’d want to keep for yourself in GD (maybe a lot more for honest trading if you do that). The variety is cool for theory crafting but even for someone very stingy with keeping items there is nowhere near enough space to store it all after a couple of play-throughs. Then there’s components and other misc things you’d want to keep for crafting, etc. Also by the time you fill your stashes up it’s pretty tough to keep track of what you have and don’t have, what their variable rolls were, and where the heck they were stored at anyways.
I think everyone has been aware of this if they have played a moderate amount so I assume we aren’t going to get an inventory overhaul.
I have Grim Dawn Stash 3rd party mod and I love it. I know you said you don’t want to have to resort to that but I have enjoyed the game and the thought of making new characters a lot more after getting it. It even keeps track of the items you have as well as the ones remaining to be found in terms of Epics and Legendaries which is badass! I love trying to complete collections. GD is super easy to use and mostly automatic, it has power search for finding items, and you can use it while your game instance is running. Any item you found can be in your stash in a few seconds. If you get it just promise yourself you won’t spoil the game by injecting items you didn’t honestly acquire.
Maybe. Maybe devs are too lazy for such details. But IMHO: more excess movements = more time in game = more players = more money. As a result, they steal your lifetime. Only adults can understand this, unfortunately.
And I don’t want to download any 3rd party programs…
Me too. But Crate insists.
BTW, some time ago I made a stash with 9 pages. Look at 4 or them in game:
