Fall is a great time to take care of your basement. The temperature is between too-stinking-hot and brrrr. You're finally ready to put away lawn games and kiddie pools. And more importantly, it's time to protect against hurricane season storms and flooding.
Most basements take one to three days to organize well. Be sure to budget enough time to get the whole job done.
Most basements could use more storage and shelving. Ikea has inexpensive wood shelving; look for the GORM series. Home Depot and Lowes both carry free-standing metal shelving, which is better for basements with known moisture issues.
Even simple bricks or cinder blocks can help you elevate possessions a couple of inches of the floor. A burst pipe flooded our basement a few years ago. It's amazing what damage just two inches of water can do.
When organizing the basement (or any other space for that matter) tackle the project with these five S-P-A-C-E steps:
S-Sort
P-Purge
A-Arrange in place
C-Containerize
E- Establish a maintenance plan
That last step, establishing a maintenance plan, can make all the difference. If your family tends to pile things on the floor or randomly on shelves when you aren't looking, simple labels can help everyone remember where to properly store basement stuff.
Especially here in Radnor, it's critical to check your water management system. Check your sump pump by pouring a bucket of water into the pit and listening to be sure it operates. Check your battery backup if you have one, to ensure it also operates properly. Replace the battery if it is several years old. They are basically car batteries, and just like car batteries, they will die at some point.
If you don't have a backup solution for your sump pump, read up on the options available to you. After researching for a few years, you can read about my family's basement sump pump backup solution here.
Pretty soon, it will be too cold, too dark, or too wet to want to do much in your basement. Now is the perfect time to schedule some time to organize the basement so you can easily and peacefully find everything you need, when you need it.
