Remove related products and space

Hi, I used the code from this thread (pasted below): https://kriesi.at/support/topic/remove-woocommerce-related-products-from-shop-page/ in order to remove the related products from underneath each individual product page. The code works but it leaves a section blank space in dark blue color.

1) Can we eliminate that blank space? What code do I need to remove that space?
2) Or alternately, is there a way to put custom text content there instead of the related products? I could eliminate the sidebar for each product page and instead include the sidebar content in that blue bottom section… is that possible? If so, can you provide coding to create that?

Code works:
.related.products {
display: none !important;
}

Thanks, I appreciate your help!