When we moved in we just piled our extra stuff in the basement with the intent to get to it when time allowed. Well, we were sitting down there when storms were going through our area the other week and it was a good motivation to get that place tidy.
I find the best way to organize is to group like things together. Christmas, memories, china, old taxes, craft items...what ever categories work for you. Here we have some before shots.
After we group it, we decided to assemble some sturdy shelves (look for these at yard sales or make your own). Shelves in storage areas is worth the investment.
I am using these inexpensive book cases to store craft items. Our basement is a great space for projects and such. We even are keeping some old tables out for crafting and projects. The tables were pretty shabby looking so I recovered them with my contact paper (that post will come later).
Here are our utilitarian looking shelves. I label the shelves with a little map so everyone can find what we are looking for. Then I post the "map" on each shelf. You can tell that these things wouldn't be as accessible without the shelves. Boxes stacked too high just aren't user friendly.This is all "deep storage" kind of stuff. Once a year kind of stuff. And believe me, I am wondering why I still have most of it. I am getting to that tossing and sorting one box at a time.Happy organizing.
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