How to Organize Basement Storage
| April 13, 2013 | Filled under cleaning, Life, organization |
Anyone else have a basement storage area that has gotten OUT OF CONTROL? Ours was. I hated to go into the space because it was overwhelming and kind of made my anxiety shoot up knowing that I really should get in there and get it sorted out!
As “luck” would have it, we were forced to get in there and do something about it, due to some issues in the basement.
This was a process that took several days, lots of deep breaths, and trying to keep a positive attitude! :)
Here is what we started with. Pretty much stuff (boxes, plastic totes, suitcases, etc.) stuffed everywhere.
Our basement is pretty long, and we have been using all of the unfinished space for storage. There are also 2 finished bedrooms/offices in the basement, along with the laundry room and a bathroom. I think because there IS so much space, it just made it easier to be lazy (frankly) and throw put stuff wherever!
The “baby stuff” corner, for lack of a better word. Also where we hide out during tornado warnings. :)
I started out with a fair number of plastic totes, but knew I wanted to get them labeled as I went. I started by getting things into 3 basic areas/sections:
- THROW – If it wasn’t usable by us or someone else or was damaged in any way, I purged it.
- DONATE (as luck would have it our favorite YMCA family camp was having a garage sale soon, so it was perfect timing to donate to them)
- KEEP and get into a tote
Our donate pile grew quite large!
Here is how things were looking about 3/4 of the way through. (Replacing a lightbulb helps too!)
It might have taken me a few days, but it was worth it to finally see it looking like this!
All of the totes are clearly labeled (I put packing tape over the labels, just to ensure they didn’t fall off) so we can easily find what we need AND put it back where it goes!
I can’t even begin to tell you how great it feels to be able to move around in the space without hopping over boxes or searching for what you need!
Even though the timing wasn’t great and Mother Nature forced us to do some work in the basement, it might have been a blessing in disguise! :)
Do you have any areas like this that need some attention?
Great tips, that is how I organize mine too. Tupperware bins are my friend lol
Thank you for linking up to Raising Imperfection!
Make sure to check back on Friday to see if you were featured.
Leslie
I need to get a bunch of totes for the basement! It looks great!
I love posts on organization … I’m a bit OCD so it’s right up my alley!
Thank you for linking to Raising Imperfection.
Please come back Friday to see if you were featured. :)
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(¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
http://www.raising-reagan.com
Looks so good! Now I need some motivation to do our basement!
Jennifer @ utahqueenofchaos.com
Great job!
My basement looks much the same! I men the not organized photos! I am impressed with your final photos. Found you at Pinterest Tuesday and am now pinning!
I know you usually link up with me too, but I wanted to let you know your other link ups are noticed too!
Cynthia at http://FeedingBig.com
Aw, thanks Cynthia – I appreciate it! :)
oh, my storage unit is tiny and some of the things will not fit into a tote!
Good going!
What an amazing difference. I need to do the same thing in my basement! Kaila from whatidoalldaykr.blogspot.com
My husband and I have this task ahead of us this weekend and we’ve done it before … but it’s huge, lol. Your basement looks awesome!
That looks awesome. Great job! We just recently organized our unfinished basement area too. We’re doing it in a similar fashion, but you are right…it feels soooo good to have it cleaned up and organized.
I like your idea of putting packing tape over the labels…I’m going to add that to my to-do list!
Have a great day!
Denise
Wow! I need to get my rear in gear and do this too! Thanks for sharing some motivation at Monday Funday!
Oh yea, I know how out of control storage areas can become, and our entire basement is a beast. Yours turned out great and give me so much inspiration!
great tips! I wish you could just come to my house and help me!! :( my basement is currently a total disaster zone.
Thanks for joining our Show Off Your Blog Party. I’m one of the co-host and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Jules
A Dose of Jules
Hi Krysta, Your basement looks great. That’s the type of thing that I just dread starting on. I don’t have a basement or an attic but my storage building is in a great need of help. So glad you stopped by and linked up at Transformed Tuesday this week.
Hugs,
Peggy~PJH Designs
It was a mess, and took many days, but I am SO glad it is done!! Thanks for your comment!
We got sewage backed up in our basement this weekend (we have a bi-level so we live in the basement part too!) Time for us to get organized!!
Oh no!! That’s terrible. :( Hope you get it cleaned up fairly quick!
What a great feeling of accomplishment! Thanks so much for sharing your tips at our Busy Bee Thursday party! We appreciate you joining us!
Have a great day!
Joye & Myrna
Great organizing job!! I love it when I take on a big project like that. It always feels so good to be in the space after that :) Thanks so much for sharing with us at Weekend Wonders. Hope you’re enjoying your week so far.
What a difference! Great job organizing! Thanks for sharing at Organize My Life!