Organizing the Basement Workshop

This post was planned for Wednesday, but on Tuesday afternoon our power went out for about five hours, which prevented me from writing it. Instead Douglas and I played Boogle by headlamp. As that is my favorite game in the world and I rarely have the chance to play it, I cannot say that I minded the change in schedule.

Playing Boogle by headlamp during a power outage

Back in January of 2013 I shared My Big Dirty Secret. It was a painful thing to admit that our basement was worthy of starring in an episode of Hoarders. It had been a year since Douglas had moved in, and we still had not managed to cull our belongings down to an acceptable amount let alone organize them or find homes for them.

The first step was to hold a yard sale in June of 2013. It helped to remove large quantities of “treasures” from our basement. In August of that year I was able to fully clean and organize the living area and the storage areas of the basement. I also took some measures to make the basement feel more livable, and Douglas made a cover to hide the sewage pipes. Although we made a great deal of progress, it still frustrated me that there was still so much to do.

In January of 2014 I made it one of my New Year’s Resolutions to finish cleaning and organizing the basement.  In my December Update I had to admit that I had not finished. I made some progress down there in early May, and nothing was done in June. I worked down there a lot in July and August and posted an update here. Then, we had a yard sale on the weekend of the 23-24. In November, we did work on a project in the basement, but I don’t know if it counts as cleaning or organizing. First, I wrapped the pole in twine and then Douglas built a perch for Crème. The only thing that we did in the basement in December was to decorate it. I wrote that I considered the basement 90% finished, but I think that I was being overly generous with that assessment.

Last Friday, Douglas and I were both trying to work on our own individual projects. I was looking for something in the basement workshop and was becoming increasingly frustrated that I could not move in there let alone find a tool. There may have been screaming, crying and accusations thrown at my dearest loved one. OK, I have to admit that I did not behave well. Rooms that look like this bring out the worst in me.

hoarder basement workshophoarder basement workshop

I decided that I could no longer wait for Douglas to clean and organize this area, something that he had been promising to do since he came to live here in 2012. The man has many good qualities, but organization is not one of them. He needed my help, and I put everything aside to start the project immediately. By the end of the night, there had been significant progress.

Basement organization

On Saturday, Douglas decided that he should finish what I had started since it was raining too much to work on his other project. I think that his real motivation was fear that I might get rid of something precious to him in a fit of purging. Whatever his motivation, I was glad for his help. After many hours and a couple of squabbles later we had accomplished great things. The basement workshop was actually usable!

Basement organizationBasement organization

I still have to find homes for some objects that we are letting go, and we are planning to better organize the inside of some drawers.

Box of things to get rid of

However, I am thrilled to have this area functioning well for both of us. Now if we can both just promise to put things back where they belong. Why is that so darn difficult???!!!

Basement organization

Happy Homemaking!

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About

I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com

12 Comments on “Organizing the Basement Workshop

  1. We don’t have a basement, but our attic is a disaster. No one in the family will go up there except me because only I know how to navigate the landmines!

  2. I loved the recap and the get-‘er-done spirit you both ended with. I saw Charlie clearing out the shed this week — I’m afraid to see what he’s done. We don’t have a basement to speak of but we have a Cottage, shed, and attic that all need professional help. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music

    • Organizing is actually something that I love to do, but Douglas was very adamant that I allow him to do it. I am glad that in the end he accepted my help.

  3. I too have no basement. I’m jealous that you have that space to hoard stuff to begin with. I suppose that’s why our cars have never seen the inside of our garage though. Your cleanup is looking good though!

    • I would love to come help, but he would have to be willing to get rid of some things. I can’t use the same motivation with him that I use with Douglas!

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