A Basement Reorganization

Our basement remains unfinished and as a result, remains the realm of stuff. I have been overwhelmed by all of it, especially as much of it has just been tossed wherever. I had the day off work (thank you George and Abe) and while I wanted to do something fun, I also wanted to put the basement to rights. I woke early (thank you internal time clock), rode my bike, and then got right to it. 

It was a BIG job. Brandt had a whole bunch of sound equipment on several surfaces and all over the floor, so I had him come down and we organized all that. We put cables into bins, microphones into boxes, and speakers and all his gear on a shelving unit that I had set up months ago and which was empty. We've had cushioning mats for the concrete floor, and we set those out so when Brandt is rocking out downstairs, practicing his DJing, he has a more comfortable surface to stand on. 

In addition to sorting out all the sound equipment, we moved loose shelving parts we will get rid of, determined we will get rid of some chairs and a large piece of carved wood that is the top of a mantle. We got it out of Kent's grandparents' home in Erda and we've had it for 20 years, but we haven't done anything with it and finally determined we won't. So that will go away. We dismantled boxes, rearranged some food storage buckets, and swept the floor as we went along. I propped a mattress against a wall, out of the way of potential activity space, getting it out of the middle of Brandt's practice area. 

Years ago, 2017 to be precise, we took down some cabinets in the kitchen and have had them sitting in the basement since then. Kent and I talked about getting rid them, discussing where we might take them, but then I realized I wanted them hung up. We've had some open shelving holding a bunch of stuff, and by putting up the cabinets, we could enclose all the visual mess. I sorted through all the stuff as well, chucked some, organized the rest, and closed the cabinet doors. It was a terrific change. 

There are still things that need to be hauled out of the basement, like the chairs we will throw away when spring cleanup comes around again, but everything that is staying is ordered. I will post a couple of things on the neighborhood Google group, and hopefully, soon, the basement will only hold things we actually want or use. That's the goal. Well, that's my goal. I can't speak for anyone else in the house, but I did tell Kent that nothing else can come into our home to take up permanent residence unless something of equal size leaves the house permanently. 

I had Isabella take these pictures while we were hanging the cabinets. I should have taken a before and after picture because in my mind, there is a stark difference. I'm not sure anyone else would think it was much of an improvement, but when I walked down several times today, my heart sang with joy. It looks tons better.