Marla the Blogger

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to spend a day organizing my basement and I'm happy to report it was a success. I didn't get everything done that I had hoped, but I made significant progress and my basement is now in a much more useable and organized state. At the end of the day, I had two bags full of items that I dropped off for donation, two bags of trash and a stack of recycling. And now my husband and I can walk through our basement without tripping over boxes and find what we need down there.

There were a few things that I think contributed to the success of this organizing project:

• I stuck with my plan.  Although I was tempted to veer off course a few times and get distracted with other things, I kept reminding myself to stay focused. By doing that, I was able to finish even a little earlier than I had planned.
• I kept my expectations realistic. Originally, I had hoped to organize the basement AND go through my son's baby items stored down there. Once I started, I realized that was more work than I could do in one day. So I focused on cleaning up and organizing and left the baby items for another day. Now, though, all of the baby items are in bins and stacked up in one area, so when I do have time to go through them, I can get to them easily.
• I tried to have fun. Cleaning out the basement on a Friday off from work isn't exactly my idea of a good time, but instead of dreading it, I cranked up some music and tried to enjoy it. I kept thinking of how satisfied I'd feel when I was done and because I stayed focus, I was able to finish and pick up my son from preschool early and still enjoy spending time with him.

I'm glad I set aside a day to tackle my basement and get it organized. I find I feel less frazzled when my house is organized and I can find what I need. And it's easier to keep it clean and straightened up once I've taken the time to get it organized. Next time, I'll work on organizing our home office!