Too Much Clutter? 8 Ways to Organize and Clean Your Basement

A clean basement might not be a household priority. But once you have to come face to face with the state of your poorly maintained basement, you’d wish you took the time to clean it.

That said, cleaning and organizing your basement can be intimidating. But there is no need for you to worry because we are here to help you.

In this, we will share eight practical tips on how you can organize your basement.

Declutter

There are plenty of ways to clean and organize your basement. But according to cleaning exec , decluttering will always be the best at getting rid of the mess in your basement.

No other hacks, tips, or tricks can be better than getting down and doing the work of detangling the clutter that has become your basement.

When decluttering items, you have four different options on what you’re supposed to do with them. You can keep them, donate them, sell them off, or get rid of them entirely. You should get four boxes to store the items based on what you want to do with them.

Once you finish cleaning and decluttering, you’ll see that it’s much easier to picture how you will use and organize your basement from now on.

Categorize Your Items

When you’re thinking of using the basement as a storage space, you should develop a system for categorizing your items in there.

You should group similar items and place them in one area. Grouping these similar items will make it a lot easier for you to find them when the time comes for you to fetch and use them again.

Of course, you should ensure that you have enough storage solutions in the basement. That way, it’d be easier to designate categories on specific spots of the basement.

Also, you might need specific storage solutions in the basement based on the items you plan on storing. For example, if you’re storing Halloween or other costumes in the basement, you might want a hanging rack for these clothes.

Choose Your Shelving Solutions

People usually use the basement to store items that they can’t keep in other parts of the home. If you intend to use your basement for that purpose, then you should consider adding more storage solutions in the basement.

A great way to store items in the basement would be shelving solutions.

You can create built-in shelving solutions based on how you plan on using the basement in the future. That way, the shelves are functional and fit the basement’s purpose.

Shelving systems can also help you maximize your horizontal space in the basement. It’s also great for protecting any items in storage in case of flooding since the shelves aren’t near the floor.

Consider Multipurpose Storage Furniture

Your basement can serve as an extra living space and storage area. As such, it would be to bring in multipurpose storage furniture. An excellent example would be an ottoman, which can serve as an extra seat and storage solution.

Multipurpose storage furniture pieces can help you store items in the basement without taking up so much space. It also ensures that the things you’re keeping are tucked away. So, it’s a natural space-saving element when used in the basement.

Use Airtight Containers

When you’re storing items in containers, make sure that these are airtight.

If these items are going to be in long-term storage, it’s unlikely that you’re going to check on them constantly. Therefore, you want to prevent anything that might damage these items from ever getting into the containers.

Investing in airtight containers will help ensure that no harm comes to the items you’re storing. It might also be ideal to put desiccant packets in these storage items so that you can have a bit of control over the moisture levels inside them.

Designate a Laundry Area

If you do your laundry in the basement and want to invest in basement finishing, make sure that you specify an area for the laundry. It does not matter if you’ll do a full-scale basement finishing project.

Creating a designated laundry zone can make it more convenient for you to wash your clothes. Add storage solutions to store cleaning items in the laundry zone. You can choose higher up shelves so that your kids or pets don’t have easy access to the potentially harmful cleaning solutions that you have.

You should also clear some space for the drying rack for your clothes if you plan on drying clothes that way.

Zone Label Everything

When you’ve organized every item by its category, it would be a good idea to put a label on them.

Labeling the boxes, shelves, or whatever storage solution these items are in will help remind you what their contents are. You wouldn’t want to have to up-end the contents of a box only to find that’s not where what you’re looking for is.

If you want to be a bit extra, you can also label each zone for what is supposed to be in these areas and not just the storage solution.

Marking these areas will make it easier for you and everyone else in the house to remember how and where to store certain items. At the same time, you won’t have to try and remember how to organize your items in the basement.

Clean Thoroughly and Regularly

The basement can quickly gather up dirt and dust if you don’t learn how to clean it thoroughly and regularly. If you find it hard to remember, why not set up a regular schedule of when you’re supposed to clean the basement?

At the very least, you should be deep cleaning the basement twice a year. However, you can reduce the cleaning tasks you have by making sure to clean the cellar regularly.

Your basement also needs care and attention. You might be surprised at how welcoming a cellar can be if only you treat more than just a place where you store unwanted items. That’s why you should apply the ways listed above to transform your basement into a genuine part of your home.

About The Author: Andrew is a writer living in New York City with his two rescue dogs, Jet and Rocket. He usually writes about DIY home projects, cleaning, and organization.

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