Thursday, February 4, 2010

Decluttering: The Basement Attack Plan

Since I've gone and entered my laundry room basement in an organizing contest, I thought I'd better sit down and come up with a plan of action--before I have to go put on some extra layers and actually spend some time down there!

I have a lot of stuff to move around, so I will start by sorting items into various piles, ideally in large, empty containers or boxes. My pile list:
  • Goodwill
  • Consignment Clothes
  • Baby Equipment
  • Baby Toys (no longer used)
  • Other toys not currently in rotation
  • Books
  • Gift Wrap
  • Photos, momentos, and scrapbooking items.
  • Giftwrap, boxes, ribbons, gift bags, etc.
  • Items to sell online
  • Items to consign/sell at yard sale
  • Extra Bedding
  • Laundry Supplies
  • Beverage Stockpile
Items in boldface are those that will require a permanent storage place, even in the actual items in that location rotate.

My next step is to find some boxes and bags to use so that I can start sorting everything out. After everything is sorted, I will need to clean the storage spaces and come up with a plan for where everything should be stored, then start putting everything where it belongs.

I think I am going to have some free time this weekend to work on this. We are supposed to host our Brunch, but we are expecting a foot of snow, and transportation comes to a standstill when it snows in this area, so we may have to reschedule.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting your sort categories--they are motivating and very applicable to a lot of us--whatI found so funny is that even though my "baby" is now 18 years old...I still need a TOY sort bin...smile. Grandchildren anyone??

Have a nice week,
Gina

El Bilson said...

Basements tend to gather so much "stuff" - thanks for sharing these tips!