The pictures say it all.
The alcove
The tool bench
The back of the laundry room
It’s a hot mess down in our basement.
In my defense, when we bought this house 8 years ago, it came with its own collection of old paints, old electronics and an array of wood and metal. For some odd reason, we have hung onto it all these years. Being stored in the basement, it was easy to ignore. Then, the pile started to grow. And grow. And grow.
I am not a pack rat. I keep a box in our basement for Purple Heart, the donation service we prefer, and add to it periodically. Each month, I set up a pick-up with Purple Heart and get rid of it all.
Dan, on the other hand, would have our house piled from floor to ceiling with stuff if I let him. He operates under the “we might be able to use it someday” belief. Case in point, check out our bins of old keyboards, mice and odd cables. I’ll eat my hat if we ever use anything from those bins.
I love my husband, but this little quirk of his drives me batty sometimes.
To be fair, the basement is not all his fault. I have a bad habit of operating under the “out of sight, out of mind” method. The other well-loved method of mine is to store an item in the basement for 6 months to a year with the idea if it doesn’t get used, then it will get donated. Years later, the item is still in the basement because I have forgotten about it.
Enter Org Junkie’s 31 day Organizational Challenge.
Laura’s challenge has motivated me to tackle the basement. My goal is to get all the paint and toxic chemicals out of the reach or our growing daughter, purge the junk and organize the rest of the tools and paint in such a way that I can actually find everything without a several minute search. Wish me luck!
The Life, Designs & Crafts of Marie Haigh 