Your Basement Remodeling

Basement storage solutions that really work begin long before you buy a shelf or an organizing system. The best basement renovation ideas start without buying a single piece of furniture, without a contractor or architect, and without spending a single penny. Renovating basement storage systems starts with eliminating clutter, equipment, machinery and even toxic chemicals and general junk that has accumulated over the years. Why buy shelves and organizing cabinets and trays and drawers for things that you use once every 10 years, or never?

Eliminating clutter is the hardest part of starting a basement renovation project, especially if you’ve lived in your home for several years and have not had an effective storage system in place. Perhaps the basement has become a garden shed, workshop, tool shack, mechanic shop, laundry room and general junk trap without you even being aware of it. And for some reason, the hardest thing in the world for some people is tossing out the items that “might” be useful “one day”. If this is a really big issue, then gather some of the “useful” items together and have a garage or basement sale to avoid waste, but GET RID OF anything you have not used in the last few months.

1. Start with paints, solvents, chemicals, fertilizers, cleaning solutions and any toxic items you have kicking about. The rusty cans or bottles that are not used, dispose of them in a safe manner. Most cities have a toxic chemicals and paint or solvent disposal center or neighborhood drop center. Keep only the items that you will use in the next 6 months and you have used in the past 6 months. Set these to one side. Part of your renovating basement storage plan will include an area to store these items away from furnaces, vents, hot water heaters etc.
2. Basement renovation ideas will come more naturally if you eliminate the items you think you need to store but really shouldn’t. For example, do you really need to keep a toaster or blender or other appliance that you plan to fix when you get a minute? Do you really need to keep old Christmas gifts that you hate and will never use but can’t bring yourself to throwing away? What about old Christmas decorations that you will never use, strings of lights with half the bulbs burnt out, etc? If you eliminate the junk, you eliminate the need to store it. Pick up and look at each item you think you want to store and ask yourself if you really need it, if you ever use it and what real purpose it serves. Boxes full of papers, mementos, keepsakes that you look at once every 10 years, look at once more and ask yourself if you really need to keep “things” in order to remember. If your life won’t change by not having them, throw them away.
3. After a good clean out, a garage sale, lots of donations to your favorite charity, and filling the garbage with junk…..look at what’s left. Evaluate the things you’ve decided to keep and make sure they are in categories. Nails and screws can now be placed in organizing trays, tools on peg boards, necessary papers in small organizing boxes with LABELS. When you have everything categorized and stored in a systematic manner, now you are ready to consider basement renovation ideas for storage systems that will work for what you really need to store.
4. Renovating basement storage will now mean finding a system that works for what you most need. If it’s papers and office supplies, invest in a cabinet that has a filing system. If it’s tools and paint and equipment, invest in a peg boards, open shelves or even a storage chest like the ones by Rubbermaid, or even a shed that fits in the basement.
5. Categorize your storage based on what items are used for: Home office, paperwork and memorabilia in labeled boxes and filing cabinets; crafts and hobby items in see-through plastic so it’s to use; barbeque and picnic supplies in their own area away from laundry and linens. You will be able to see clearly how many shelves or cabinets to build or purchase.

Basement renovation ideas begin with eliminating the junk that clutters your space and your mind. Free yourself of junk! Finding renovating basement storage solutions will be easier and much cheaper if you have less to store.