Organizing Our Basement “Store.”

I know almost everyone is into pretty rooms, but I have a confession. I am drawn to functional and well-organized spaces whether they are beautiful or not. Now that I wrote it down, I realize that this is probably the least surprising confession you may have ever heard from me. I just think that tidy basements, laundry rooms, and garages are the unsung heroes of the house world.

It was not long after we started working on BHH that I realized we had a problem with the organization of our tools and supplies. We spent the first 30 minutes or more of each project locating what we needed. I was always frustrated because I could not find things. Also, we over-bought constantly. It was easier to run to the hardware store to buy new washers, drill bits, or whatever than it was to find them in our basement.

Finally, I had enough, and organizing the basement was one of my first major projects. My goal was to set it up like a store so we could always shop at home first.

This system worked like a charm until I began amassing a collection of paint, stain, cleaners, and window repair products. I started stashing all of it haphazardly at the bottom of the stairs because there was no room for it elsewhere. Recently, I realized that once again, I was spending precious project time sorting through supplies instead of getting to work.

Since we are in a holding pattern waiting for the floor refinishing supplies arrive, I decided to tackle this quick organizational tidying project in the interim.

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I did not take any before shots because apparently, I enjoy living in denial. If I didn’t photograph it, it never happened. Isn’t it fun living in the age of social media?

The BHH basement has five rooms including this one at the bottom of the stairs. While all of the rooms could use a quick tidy, the paint can fiasco became a problem here.

The cabinets on the right came with the house, but for this project, I added the metal shelving unit on the left. Wayfair seems to be having a crazy sale on all different sizes of these, and shipping is very reasonable. I bought mine locally for $20 more. #regrets

Let’s take a closer look at everything. First, in that picture above on the far right side, you’ll see a bucket atop a crock pot. I use both to restore hardware. I stow a pair of gloves, tongs, and all of my scraping tools inside that bucket.

Upper Shelves

The top shelf of this new metal unit is where I keep supplies such as stirring sticks, rollers, and brushes, including my very favorite short-handled, 2-inch, angled paintbrush. You can barely see one peeking out of that brush bin. I love them for cutting in and painting window sashes too. I had a few more, but I ruined them with oil-based primer.

We talked a lot about paintbrush preferences at the Historic Homes Workshop, and I’m not alone. That small, versatile brush has a loyal following.

On the second shelf, I stacked various quarts. They are easy to sort through, so I did not spend a lot of time labeling or grouping them. The gallons on the left are colors that I use frequently.

Lower Shelves

On the lower shelves, I grouped shades of white, ceiling paint, exterior products, and primers. On the very bottom shelf, I placed the gallons that I need to keep, but I will rarely use such as the colors of the kids’ rooms.

Labeling Tip

Instead of relying on the paint color label from the hardware store, I write my own. I jot down the name of the room with a Sharpie on a plain white Avery label. These handwritten labels are easier to see, and I do not have to pull out each can to read the store label on the lid.

I am not here to throw anyone under the bus, but one of us is more careful about pouring paint out of can neatly. So, if the sheen label is obscured, I write that down too.

Most paint companies change the names of their colors with some regularity. Today’s “Misty Morning” will be tomorrow’s “A Touch of Ennui.” It’s the formula that matters. So, if you find a color that you think you’ll love forever, ask the person at the paint counter to print out an extra label for you, and keep it somewhere you’ll remember.

Everything Else

In the other cabinet on the left, I keep spray paint, wallpaper paste, drywall compound, and Sarco window glaze. The Sarco Dual Glaze is peeking out, but my favorite Type M is hiding behind the door.

On the right side, I store almost everything related to wood refinishing and repair. On top of that cabinet are the cleaning supplies.

Eventually, I would like to replace these wood cabinets with metal shelving units too. While it is nice that they did not cost us anything, I want to keep the view of the stone foundation clear so we can spot any problems right away. If anything is brewing behind these cabinets, we will never know until it is too late. My general philosophy with basements is to keep them tidy and do regular quick inspections. It is always better to know there is a problem than not to know. In case you think I’m paranoid, remember that the foundation is basically keeping your house from tipping over–No big deal.

Keep in mind that I’m also the same person who cannot find whatever is making the refrigerator smell so bad right now. Ask me about my basement, though.

This quick little organizational refresh will help us as we move through the floor refinishing project. We see a lot of painting on the horizon. Hopefully, some of these ideas will help you too. Keeping storage rooms tidy saves my sanity and our money because it’s easier to shop at home first.

What is your best storage room organizing tip? Have you found yourself replacing items that are lost in a mess? If so, you are in good company.

-Stacy