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Since I posted my plan for a slow, steady 12 months of tidy, I've made some progress on my first space, our large semi-finished basement.
In tackling each space, I'm focused on three key steps to guide the process over the course of one month:
Serious clear, clean and repair. Identify any materials needed in advance to make this possible.
Assess how we use the space for making improvements.
Identify ways to maintain it more easily going forward.
In this post, I'll focus on the first topic--Clear, Clean and Repair. In advance of starting on the basement, I made sure to have some materials ready:
Trash bags
Labels for clear bins (we already owned the bins, but some needed to be repurposed)
New vacuum filters
Kitty litter (for disposing of old paint)
Boxes for donations
Knife to cut down cardboard
Standard cleaning supplies
Clear
My method for clearing is to essentially trash, donate and relocate. If things are not useful and in the right place, they go into one of these three piles.
As I mentioned in my previous post, we've lived in our house for over a decade, so we've collected a lot of stuff. Some of it we use, some we don't, and some just left behind empty cardboard boxes. Over the past couple weeks, we were able to clear:
a large toy table and accompanying accessories
a large piece of sports memorabilia to its intended display area
empty cardboard boxes into recycling
old paint cans
I then sorted through the misplaced items remaining into trash, donations and relocation. Everything has a designated place, and all the bins get labeled.
Once everything is clear and sorted, cleaning begins.
Clean
Our basement is used for working out, relaxing, playing, storage and tools. Its many purposes meant it needed a thorough cleaning. I've checked off a few of the following and have a few more still to complete. Since it's only the first week of January, I have time!
steam clean carpet
vacuum carpet, vinyl floors and storage area
treat carpet stains with Folex (this product can remove years-old stains!)
dust/vacuum ceilings and walls (basement = spiderwebs)
clean gym equipment
wash workout towels
empty trash cans
dust and clean surfaces
Repairs
We have a few things we need to repair in this space, and I'm hopeful those will take place this month:
replace some vent covers
repair a carpet threshold
In a couple weeks, I'll be back with a final update on the space, including how I've assessed for Improvements and identified new ways to maintain the space.
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