Spring Cleaning in the Basement

There's nothing like getting a big job out of the way to make you feel satisfied! Also, it's a really good reminder that big jobs often take less time and effort than you think they will, and that many hands make light work.

Last night Matt and I did a chore we've been meaning to do for quite some time, and finally cleaned and organized our basement. I don't think I've shown much of the basement on this blog, but it actually gets a lot of use, it's where our pantry shelves and laundry are and there is home gym equipment (which came with the house) that Matt and Elliot use to work out. We have really let the basement go over the last several months though, and it was extremely cluttered. We kind of just shoved things in corners when we moved in, and when Lisa moved in in October, we still hadn't organized much, and the only place for her to store her things was in a big pile on the floor.

Looking down the stairs to the basement (why someone decided to paint the stairs and floor that color, I do not know. Its attractiveness is only enhanced by the fact that it constantly chips off):

Before:

After:

Our pantry shelves and Lisa's things, before:

And after:

 I organized and shifted a bunch of things that were in the elevated storage space to the right (and also got rid of a lot of things), then Lisa's boxes and bags were shifted into that cubby as well. The pantry shelves were inventoried and reorganized, and the clotheslines were taken down (we used them once before discovering that it takes about two weeks for any laundry to dry in the basement, and started hanging the wash up in the garret). The small box to the left of the shelves is our "to donate" box that is now full and ready to go to a thrift store. 

Matt has been home brewing beer for several months now, and started collecting empty bottles a long time before that. But seriously, this is way more bottles than he'd ever manage to fill at a single time!

After:

The lack of shelves in our basement means lots of things stored on the floor (a technique Matt uses in every room, much to my dismay :). This is the area where his tools, our camping gear, and his outdoor toys are kept. Before:

After:

  Not hugely different, but more floor space and a good sweeping helped a lot!

Everything tidy now!

The whole job only took us about an hour, and man is it nice to have that done, and to see a clear, clean floor when we look down the stairs now! I wonder how long it will last....