Lessons Learned in the Basement

My aunt Iris and her husband moved more times that I can remember and it seemed like every time they packed and moved, fewer things went along to the next place. Yes, they might be replaced -- or maybe not. I was thinking about Iris as I put my basement back together after the mold removal. I was an only child raised with parents who "collected," and I think doing so must be in my gene pool. 

With my aunt Iris, several years before she died.

As I was putting things back together, I began to wonder if that was a good gene to have!

There are a few more things I need to sort, recycle and purge but the lion's share of the work is done and the rest is refinements. Here are a few things I learned (and some of them would work for downsizing in general).

 Allow WAY More Time Than You Think You Need

If I have one word of advice (and I have a few) it's to allow WAY more time than you think you need! If you are planning to downsize for move, start far ahead of the game. Dealing with quantity is tough at best, and if you start getting into personal items, it will take more time. If you are dealing with post-construction, renovation or a massive project like dealing with a flood or mold, you will also have to add cleaning time to your plans.

Take it one day at a time. You may or may not have a long time to downsize or to tackle a major projects, but if you have the privilege of time, consider breaking up your tasks. 

This is what I saw on one side of the basement, from one end to the other -- the whole length of the house, floor to ceiling!

I had to put a whole basement back together after the mold removal when everything that was down there was stacked floor to ceiling on one side of the room. Any sense of organization that was there  before the workers arrived was long gone. Think of it as unloading a moving van with no labels on the boxes (and plenty of "loose" things.) I knew I couldn't work on it eight hours a day. Or six. Or even four. So I had to make choices on what to do and how. Having the privilege of time allowed that. 

Make a Plan

Make a plan. How do you want to handle this? What do you want it to look like when you are finished? What will you do with the "stuff?"

First thing I did was move everything to the center of the room, and then into zones.

I knew there was much to donate -- things that hadn't been used in years but still had a shelf life for someone. I also knew there was a considerable amount of stuff to be thrown because it was damaged, possibly moldy, or too ugly to give to the poor and certainly not saleable.

I also knew there were things that would require additional thought. These might be things that could be sold (yard sale, ebay, Marketplace) or that someone in the family might want. They at least needed to be asked.

Then there was the stuff to store. These things needed to go into zones so I could easily access them when needed. As you might expect, for me the two largest areas of "stuff" for me were "holiday" and "dishes." But there were also the other things -- home decor items, medical equipment not needed now but that I couldn't part with yet, family memorabilia, and odds and ends. 

One side of the finished "dish" zone

So, I "divided" the basement into those zones with shelving and bins.

Get Ready!

Get supplies. I bought disposable gloves, contractors bags, disinfecting wipes, Lysol mold spray, and also had regular trash bags, paper bags and paper towel. You might  also need a bucket and sponge to wash things down. Most of these things can be used at a later time so don't worry about leftovers.

 

I also bought china protectors (more on that later). I had some; I didn't buy enough. Maybe later.

Sort with Intention

Start the sort. I made a huge pile of "donate to charity" and used contractor bags for most of it.  I didn't wash all of it but I did wipe it down with the disinfecting wipes. There were ongoing bags to fill with trash and another with recycling. 

Much of this went to charity; I'll try to sell my folk harp.

As soon as I could unearth and empty shelving units, I took them outside and washed and sanitized them. Once they were back in the basement I could use them as temporary storage as I was sorting (and later move them to their final spot). I also had three large tables and the top of the washer/dryer. So I could start to "subdivide." If I came across a bin (like Christmas) I would move it to the area where it would later live. 

Things to donate were divided by categories -- books for the library in one pile; donation items for the theatre in another; pictures and paintings (most to keep, some to donate) in another. I could sort through these things later but this got them into a manageable spot which seemed less overwhelming.

Start Moving Things to Their Zones 

 

As areas became clear, more "zone things" were moved into those spaces. The area was beginning to clear out. Rick hauled out oversized things that had to go like wooden pallets and pieces damaged by mold. Many items went on the curb (and surprisingly, were picked up by scavenging neighbors!)

Start Getting Rid of the Donations

Make deliveries as you go -- if you are donating things, don't wait until you have so much  you can't handle it easily packed into your car. If you are close to the donation site, drop things off periodically. Getting the stuff out of your vision helps in two ways -- you get space which makes you feel you are accomplishing and it keeps you from digging in the bag to retrieve a treasure. (Some places will pick up, too.)

The Tricky Items

Stack up anything you don't know what to do with -- yet -- to deal with near the end of your project. If you have folding tables, this is the time to use them.

That type of thing might include family memorabilia, like photos; saved archival newspapers or magazines for a final look; personal journals or datebooks; trinkets that should be shared with friends or family; cords whose appliances may be buried in another pile. You can pitch these things later but for now they are all in one place.

Putting It Back Together

Once things are well sorted, it's time to start putting it back together. You may have started this when you divided to move your things into zones. Now, it's just putting them back where you want them. 

This shelf has "keepers" that don't really fit in another zone. Puppets, camera gear, Larry Bird memorabilia, etc.

As I mentioned, I ordered protective china coverings for the dishes. They're more expensive than I wish (about $30 for a set that includes large, salad and dessert plates, cups and saucers) but they keep them clean and zipped up.

Things that didn't fit these protectors or were odd sizes went into ziplock bags of various sizes. This is useful because you can actually see what they are and it keeps them free of dust and mouse tracks. (Yes, I know-- I have a cat. She is not a hunter.)

Christmas trees and florals went in one area and were dust-covered to the best I could. Put things like wreaths in clear recycle bags before stacking (if you can't hang them, and loose bagging so they can "breathe"). 

And don't forget to label. Almost every storage tub looks alike! If you don't want to pull out Easter thinking it's Christmas, a label maker (or tape and scrap paper) is a good choice!

You Think You're Done But You're Not!

You may have your space together but if you are like me you have all those things that you saved out to handle later. These tend to be more personal items, things you might want to review and either discard or  keep. Among them, photos, journals and datebooks. 

This table still needs to be sorted.

I was surprised by the datebooks -- it clarified times I'd forgotten (what year DID I have that surgery?). A quick glance might do. Give them a look, tear out or copy info from any significant pages and toss the rest. (And looking through every calendar for years does slow a person down!)

Journals often require a lot of reading and what one does after is very personal. The question is, should you get hit by a bus, do you care who else takes a look? If so, do the same -- give it a read, save the pages or entries that might be meaningful to you or someone else and give the rest a toss. 

Photos are a challenge, especially if you, your parents AND your grandparents were prolific photographers, as mine were. Some are obviously bad, like those of my grandparents 1938 visit to Mount Rushmore or their hunting trips. Quality is bad -- blurry or faded. If something is particularly important in telling your story, scan and/or save it. The rest (along with all those unidentified people you have no way of finding) can be tossed. (If you scan, remember, technology might need to be upgraded and be sure to save important things on an external drive or the cloud.)

Note to self and to all-- label every single photo and/or photo file in your computer with who is in the picture. It will help someone down the line who has to deal with what you save now! 

Later...

Once you have the lion's share of the work done and organized, it is time to revisit the bins you may have stored. (Holiday decorations come to mind!) You may well have things you haven't used in ages and could donate, give away or possibly sell. You might even be able to eliminate a few bins by consolidating. This is an "as you go" activity -- perhaps best done when you are hauling out things to decorate for different seasons. 

Finally, Talk with Your Friends and Family

Many of us have come to realize that our kids don't want our stuff. There may be special memory things that resonate but chances are they may not want most. Now is the time to ask if there are any particular things that they might like. Would they like the Christmas or Thanksgiving dishes? Specific holiday decorations or  ornaments? Certain serving pieces? Don't forget asking extended family or friends, too. After they have all made a request or said no, it's time to make a plan for what happens. And, if items to are be distributed after your passing, it would help to mark them to make it easier for those settling your estate.

If you are downsizing to move, choose what you would be likely to take with you. If you are planning on having an estate handle things, this is especially important.

I'm not to that point yet, but I will be. We all will be! So, next up -- the rest of the house!

Shall we start with the office/art room? 

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