You may be wondering what I’ve been up to. Where have I been? Besides cursing my camera for starting off 2013 with a non-working auto-focus which forces me to use my iphone camera.
Well, I’ve been right here at home. Working on some no pressure sorts of things at an easy pace. The first of the year had me packing up Christmas
which led to organizing the basement…because I sort of messed it up digging out Christmas decorations and piled up empty boxes in a hurry to resume making the upstairs pretty for the holidays.
All of the decorations are in hiding and the basement clean up is nearly wrapped up. Our scary OLD OLD OLD part of the basement will never be pretty but I do love the additional storage space it provides. {never say never. I could win the lottery and then…possibilities!} Be warned. These pictures of a 90 year old basement are not for the faint of heart and do look as if they’re still-shots from “Hoarders” {hence, no watermarking. lol!}…not something you’re going to see in the next issue of House Beautiful:
Of course it was one of those “make a bigger mess” before it looks better types of projects”.
- Dig EVERYTHING out.
- Unpack boxes and storage containers.
- Purge.
- Create a pile for donating.
- Fill 3 garbage bags.
- Have tissues on hand…dust can induce sneezing and a runny nose.
- Wash dirty hands every 30 minutes.
- Listen to happy upbeat music, sing, dance throughout the obstacle course you created.
- Separate and organize things in to related piles.
- Pack neatly and in an organized fashion.
- Label boxes and containers.
- Pile it all back up where it will fit.
This may take days. Family might send out a search party. You’ll need a shower with lots of scrubbing. Oh, and lotion for those extra dry hands.
You may wonder why the heck you’ve been hoarding 584 empty boxes of various sizes.
I organized some decorative accents I like having on hand. It’s like my own secret store for shopping from home.
Must have spray paint supply…
I even managed to create a work space using an old farmhouse table. It’s not much of a “project” in the way of fun or pretty or a “oOoOohhh” reveal. But you know how much better it feels to get chaos under control, right?
And it feels sort of like nesting for adding a furbaby to our home in the near future. I want everything to be perfect…even the scary old spidery dusty basement that no one but me sees. Oh and well now, you‘ve had a glimpse too. I know you’re torn between feeling honored and horrified. Sorry about that.
And, all that lead to finding the chartreuse paint that I used on the apartment door…
because yes, the boxes of apartment renovation supplies have been sitting unpacked, haphazardly tossed in a corner from the car. For months. And cleaning/organizing the older part of the basement meant putting those things away too. Finally.
And where am I going with this? Organizing the basement, finding the left over paint? Well that lead to an unplanned mini-project upstairs which I’ll share with you tomorrow.
What have you been up to? Don’t forget to share your latest DIY at the party.
Umm, I have to say, mine is a close 2nd to that lol. I wish I had your drive to clean mine out! Spiders freak me out!! You did a beautiful job!! Can I come shop those shelves?!!!
xoxo
Jeri
I love that you keep it real! I’m sure there are folks without a scary basement……But well, I don’t know them. I won’t be taking photos of my basement but you’ve given me encouragement! Wednesday is “D” day for my basement. It won’t even know what hit it !!!
You are so inspiring. Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Awe, thanks, Anne! I’m still working on organizing the basement. Of course that led to creating a bigger mess. But can’t wait to get started on my DIY first project of 2013! Thanks so much for stopping by.
Oh my goodness! I’m going to jump in my truck and come help you out…and by helping you out, I mean, I will bring all of that lovely “stuff” home with me
Good for you, it looks amazing. I am totally impressed and would love to have all that space for storage. I just now finally got all the Christmas put away. Amazing how long that took. Hugs, Marty
You and I are on the same page! I have been doing the exact same thing. It feels good, doesn’t it? xo Diana
Thanks for keeping your blog real! That’s exactly the process I often go through to organize my stuff in our old, old basement!
Thanks, Shelley! I wish I didn’t have to create a BIGGER mess in order to get the basement organized. lol Thanks for stopping by!
LOVE the chartreuse on the door! … One of my favorite colors!
*Sigh* So jealous of your basement storage! I had to convert my dining hutch into a spray paint cabinet because our house is so teeny-tiny.
Our basement is pretty horrendously not organized. I like your wood shelves – might have to make some of those! We have been working on our garage – going to post some pretty scary pictures of that place soon!
Such a great way to start the year!
Oh to have a basement!
My first project of this year was to build a beadboard accent wall / headboard. But to do that, I had to find trim pieces to use. My scrap lumber shelves look kind of like your basement. Well not really, but anyway, I decided to sort through and reorganize them, and add some shelf brackets I couldn’t find when I first built them. All that just to find the trim I needed to do my wall.
Good luck with your beadboard accent wall/headboard, Marti!
What does one have to do to receive a personal invitation to go shopping in your basement…? I’m a really good oral reader if you want to barter….
Roeshel, We must be on the same old house wave length. I have that same kinda storage space in my 86 year old house. My storage room was actually the coal room( we still have the coal shoot) and my tools area was the cold seller. Anyways right before the holidays we decided to build shelving so I can better organize my scary storage room, which looked like yours. I am going to share my post next week. I am still working on the rest of my work area. This stuff takes time! Have a successful and organized 2013!
DeDe@DesignedDecor
My basement needs cleaned out badly. it is no where near as organized as yours!
Ugh! Mine is still a disaster. Why does cleaning and organizing always lead to a bigger, more overwhelming mess?! lol Thanks for stopping by, Denise.
I shared my 100 year old scary basement organization last year! It’s unfinished, dusty, dirty and disgusting! After one year, it’s back to it’s original disorganized clutter! Gotta go back down – but I’m scared I may never come up alive!
Great job on your basement – at least I know I’m not alone!
Kelly