Well guess what! I've got exciting news, and this is a first since we moved here 5 years ago... I am pleased to announce that the basement is all organized and clean! It is still mostly
unfinished (except for the part we just got
re-carpeted) so these pictures probably don't look like much, but I am very pleased. So proud of myself! My one and
only goal for summer and I'm already done! As I mentioned in the post about Corey's chore board, he asked the kids for specific goals for summer, and I was ready with my weight goals post baby, but he only wanted summer goals. And then I was stuck - I really don't have any goals other than make a baby. So after a day or two of thinking, I made one big goal that I think will keep me busy all summer: to clean and organize every corner of our house. And I am off to a good start - we're gonna start at the bottom and work our way up. I worked in the basement a lot on Monday with Mel's help and then after a full day today! It is late now, but I am pleased to say that every last bin of "
random junk" is gone! No bins or boxes of junk...
that probably hasn't happened our whole marriage! Now everything is sorted by item and everything has a place. We have a play area, an art area, two storage areas, and a decor area.
First: Play area with the legos and playsets. The Lego area was upstairs, then we split up the boys about a year ago and the Lego room was packed up to await this in the newly carpeted area, but that room doesn't have any windows or natural light, and so it just didn't feel good to me to think of the kids spending hours of summer in a window-less room. So I moved that over in the unfinished area with a big piece of carpet I got a few months ago that fits perfectly. Yay! Area one, done. The toys are all sorted (well, Legos aren't
sorted by color yet, but it's on my list!) The playset is in the middle of the room, giving Owen a nice track to drive around.
His car parks nicely there next to the house when he's home from work.
"Pirate ship" in the middle of the room, Bookshelf on the opposite wall.
Lego area behind that on the brown carpet. You can't see it, but over there by the window.
Next: Art area - The kids have two folding tables to work on, that I don't care if they get covered in paint or markers or scratched with scissors. Those two tables are floating in the middle of the room with easy kid access on all sides.
Then we also moved the desk that was upstairs in the music room (and not being used much up there) down here where now this is another kid create area - right across from the folding tables island.
And I think having the desks and tables downstairs for the kids art/creative area is really going to be great, cause that was a problem before - they'd come in the laundry room or the kid's homework study or my office to do their drawing and it just goes downhill from there. No more! They can go create down there, and there is no carpet to spill paint on or walls to ruin with permanent markers. It's going to be great.
And it's also an area where I can work. I've got my holiday and other decorating stuff close by:
There is a little room on the right there where I keep spray paints and frames and things for future decorating projects.
Lastly - Storage areas. Area 1 is under the stairs. I've had the
clothes organized like this for a while. But then moved boys clothes into a bin during the 10 year spread when we just had the little girls. Now that Owen is here, boys are back on the shelf.
Toy storage is under the clothes, and there is also area 2 with seasonal clothes across the room. Lettuce boxes from Costco full of winter clothes and summer clothes, sorted by person.
Season clothes are sorted - now we'll go through it all kid by kid and figure out what we have on hand for this swimsuit season and what we'll need for the next winter season and I'll make a list. Organized
and making lists - doesn't get better than that for this mom!
