I’m still in the midst of cleaning out our unwanted belongings and reorganizing everything that’s been left behind. The dining room table is loaded to the brim with blankets, clothes, books and CDs that are just waiting for the donation truck to arrive.
I clean out the house every few months and just when I think I can’t possibly find anything else to donate I dig through another set of drawers or closets and find boxes and boxes of items that can be handed over to those in need.
This time around I’ve been able to part with even more stuff than ever before. I’ve relinquished a lot of emotional ties to my possessions and feel ready and willing to part with things I’ve never wanted to part with before.
If an item has gone unused for over a year it is definitely time to give it away. The only exception to this rule is a bunch of toys that I’ve been holding on to from my childhood.
Now I’m trying to find a better way to organize the possessions that remain. My house has extremely limited closet space. We make do with a few small dormer spaces, but they are unbelievably difficult to maneuver around in. I usually have to sit on the floor just outside of them and get down on all fours to grab a hold of the items inside.
Some of the items, like Christmas decorations, are unbelievably heavy and awkward to move. Luckily I only have to dig into the dormer once a year to pull out the items and once a year to put them back, but it’s still a big pain in the you-know-what. I’d really like to organize all of these items in a way that is easier to manage.
In an ideal world I’d build some cabinets in our basement to store these things, but there are a lot of other things that need to be fixed before this could be accomplished. I’d need to redo the paneling and the floors.
I don’t really want to wait to fix this problem. I’d prefer to purchase some shelves an shelving units that could help me organize those items that I don’t use more than a few times a year. Our basement is in a state of disarray, but I’d still like to purchase something sturdy and strong that I can use for years to come.
I’ve considered a number of different shelving units ranging from Home Depot and Target to Walmart and IKEA. I really like the elfa shelves from the Container Store.
I’d also consider replacing the upstairs shelving units with fancier ones and moving the old ones downstairs. I found a couple of interesting modern furniture options at CSN stores.
Before I can make any decisions I guess I need to figure out exactly what I want to store. I currently keep an extra dresser in the basement to store seasonal clothes. I also moved an old Target bookshelf downstairs to use as an extra pantry for canned goods and paper towels.
I’d primarily like to store seasonal items like Christmas decorations and gift wrapping supplies, but it would be great if I could also use this space to store other random items, which includes everything from stockpiled goods and rarely used electronics to craft supplies.
Now I need to set a budget for my new found solution and figure out exactly how much I want and need to store.
I absolutely love Elfa! It's pricey, but so easy to assemble, disassemble and rearrange. All of our home office furniture is Elfa, as is our bedroom closets, a bedroom wall unit, and – most recently – the entertainment center in the basement. We've purchased these items separately over the last few years, and moved it from one house to another.