Organizing the Basement

Happy Thursday! It's time to organize! 

If you are just joining us, we have been getting organized using Jennifer Ford Berry's Organize Now book.  

 

It has some great info and tips on organizing various parts of our life and home. You can see past posts here:

Week 1 about Organizing Your Mind and Life Vision HERE,

Week 2 about Organizing Your Priorities HERE,

Week 3 about Organizing Your Schedule HERE

Week 4 about Organizing Your Cleaning Schedule HERE.

Week 5 about Organizing Your Personal Information HERE. 

Week 6 about Organizing Your Finances HERE. 

      Week 7 about Organizing Your Bill-paying System HERE.

        Week 8 about Organizing Your Receipts and Taxes HERE. 

Week 9 about Organizing Your Files HERE

                          Week 10 about Organizing your Magazines and Newspapers HERE.

                                               Week 11 about Organizing Your Email HERE

                                                Week 12 about Organizing Your Mail HERE

                                         Week 13 about Organizing Your Child's Toys HERE.

Week 14 about Organizing Your Crafts HERE.

Week 15 about Organizing Your Photographs HERE.

Week 16 about Organizing Your Purse or Wallet HERE. 

 Week 17 about Organizing Your Vehicle HERE.

                                                  Week 18 about Organizing Your Pet HERE.

Week 19 about Organizing Your Books, CDs and DVDs HERE.

Week 20 about Organizing Your Entryway or Mudroom HERE.

                        Week 21 about Organizing Your Family Room or Living Room HERE.

Week 22 about Organizing Your Kitchen Countertops HERE.

Week 23 about Organizing the Kitchen Cabinets HERE.

Week 24 about Organizing the Pantry HERE. 

Week 25 about Organizing the Refrigerator HERE.

Week 26 about Organizing the recipes HERE.

Week 27 about Organizing the dining room HERE.

Week 28 about Organizing the Laundry Room HERE.

Week 29 about Organizing the Bathroom HERE

Week 30 about Organizing the Medicine Cabinet HERE.

Week 31 about Organizing Your Child's Clothes and Closet HERE.

Week 32 about Organizing Your Child's Memorabilia HERE.

Week 33 about Organizing Your Child's Bedroom HERE.

Week 34 about Organizing Your Bedroom Closet HERE

Week 35 about Organizing Your Memorabilia HERE

Week 36 about Organizing Your Master Bedroom HERE

Week 37 about Organizing Your Jewelry, Accessories and Purses HERE.

Week 38 about Organizing your Home Office HERE 

Week 39 about Organizing the Linen Closet HERE.

 

This week it's the basement! 

 

 

I was particularly excited about this week because we do not have a basement. lol. The above picture looks pretty nice though, doesn't it? (I was a bit of a pool addict in college so this brings back memories:) 

 

 I realize the basement can be an overwhelming task to organize. I am worried for the future when we actually have one as I am a pack rat by nature and I would be likely to store a lot of stuff there. Is that you too? Jennifer's #1 suggestion is to not dump everything into your basement to be organized later.  

 

 

 

 

This Week's Goals:

 

1. Go through your basement and put things into four piles.

 

Throw Away

Sell or Donate

Things that belong to somebody else

Keep

 

If you are having trouble deciding what to throw away, look for things that are broken, that cannot be used, are mildewy, etc. 

 

For selling or donating, basically things you haven't used in over a year. Let someone else love and use it. You can list them on craigslist or ebay. If your area has a freecycle.com site, you can give them away there or donate to places like Goodwill, which is a tax deduction. Be sure to keep track of what you donated and the value for taxes.

Make a date to return borrowed items.

Find a good and logical home for things you are keeping. Be sure that you really are going to use it in the next year.

2. You can zone your basement to organize things by category. Some suggestions would be holiday items, a work area or office space, a guest room, storage, a play area for your kids, gym equipment, etc.

3. Be sure that the things you are keeping will stay nice in your basement and won't be damaged. Clothing and toys can have mildew. Photos can also be damaged when stored in the basement.

4. Label storage containers and bins well. We use a lot of clear plastic storage bins in our house. It is easy to see the contents and also clearly label.

Tips:

 

1. Consider getting a quality dehumidifier. My parents use one in their basement in Wisconsin and it is a life saver to them to keep things from getting damaged.

 

Do you have a basement? What do you use it for?

 

Thanks for reading. Remember to visit me on Facebook.

 

Have a great day!:)

 

Rebecca