Organizing Your Basement

If you are like the majority of homeowners we work with, your unfinished basement is probably a disorganized disaster of clutter. Most basements we see are filled with plastic bins full of clothes, cardboard boxes full of household goods, and outdoor and sport equipment scattered about. Don’t worry, no judgement here, my basement currently contains a trash can holding wet sand, left over from a sump pump installation. Gross!

For Total Basement Finishing to work in a basement, all of that clutter has to be gone.  Families usually hastily move everything to a garage, attic, or storage unit. If you’re short on time, this strategy makes a lot of sense. Once the basement is finished though, why not use this opportunity to get organized? You can show off your newly finished and organized space to friends and family!

The first thing any professional organizer will recommend is to go through everything and make four piles: keep, sell, donate, discard.  Sorting objects can be challenging, but also really rewarding. If you’ve used your kayaks once in 5 years, consider selling them and using the money toward some new decorations! Donate everything that is in good condition, but may not be worth your time to sell. Local donation centers are better places to donate than those side-of-the-road boxes because it keeps wealth within your community. Examples of things to donate: clothes, books, kitchen gear, etc. Discard items that are in bad condition: expired car seats, nasty holiday decorations, old office supplies.

Once you’ve purged everything you don’t want or need, it’s time to organize what you have! Bookshelves are great spaces for displaying favorite items, books, and media. Cubby style storage is ideal for basements, you can still throw all your things (kids’ toys, craft supplies, pet accoutrements) in bins haphazardly, but you won’t have to SEE the mess. One of my favorite ways to keep blankets and pillows organized is in a big woven bin.

Good luck with getting everything organized, and have fun!