So, I actually have some photos to show you! I'll start with some before photos of what will be the Toy Room.
Isn't that a great view? That is what you saw when you looked down the stairs. It's known as "the pile" and I hate it!!
This is the view at the back end of the room. That love seat hidden back there is going to actually replace my couch in my living room (My couch is on its last leg and needs to go!).
These last two photos show the other end of the room and the base of the stairs. That desk is staying for now. We plan on using to to hold a TV/DVD player and the games. Eventually, some day, I'd like to get a flat screen to hang on the wall and get rid of the desk but for now, it is a useful piece of furniture.
Are you ready for some after photos??? Here's my disclaimer. This is real life - I went right from clean to unpacking and sorting bins from the other side of the basement AND to kids discovering the love seat - it's a great place to play. So no, this isn't "done" but it is an improvement!
Notice how you can see the floor? The cedar chest is now sitting at the base of the steps (with kids clothes sorted out on it)
And, other than the cushions and blankets on the floor - this area is all clean! Now, this area is becoming my sorting area as I work through the other side but once it is done, I will post real photos :-)
Now, on to the next phase - the laundry room and the pantry. Now, I have a disclaimer - I only had three days to work in the basement this week. (Monday it was so hot and humid I did "desk"work and we had a family day on Tuesday) With that in mind, I didn't get quite as far as I wanted to but the laundry room is clean!
Eventually, I have a photo idea I want to do on the walls - a way to display some favorite photos in a room I spend quite a bit of time in.
Excuse the shop vac - it travels with me as I clean downstairs :-)
There are few things left to do but it is one of those projects that includes three steps that need to happen at once. 1)Hang some more shelves in the pantry so I have room to store my jars/canning stuff 2)Move the bakers rack out of the water softener "room" 3)Move the chest freezer into the water softener "room". WHEW! It really isn't that bad; I just need my husband to put up those 2-3 shelves for me and I can do the rest. Also, did you notice the big hole in the wall? We had to do that in order to get the water softener in quite a few years ago. Some day, I'll have my electrician move a big wire and we'll put a door in . . .but that is really on the bottom of the list :-) On a different note - I also decuttered the bathroom this week. That opened up some shelving which was nice. Yes, I made another trip to Good Will!!
So what is on target for this upcoming week?
1) The Bedrooms - I want to declutter what I can from the rooms. I don't think there will be a lot but if I can clean out some older things/outgrown things that would be good.
2) The basement - Clothes Bins - I have several totes in the basement that house the kids clothes they have outgrown. I have a friend who is adopting a boy from Ethiopia - she has three girls :-) I offered her the clothes my kids have outgrown (and she said she wanted them!) so I need to get the bins sorted, pull out my favorites to keep, and pass them on to someone who can use them. I will admit, it has taken me awhile to get to that point - baby clothes seem to bring back so many memories but then I realized that I have those same memories in photos so it's ok to let go of clothes that are just packed away anyway. By cleaning out the bins, I will then have empty bins to use to start sorting the other things. I also want to do something else I didn't get to last week and that is to get rid of the junk (large items) and also to take out big items that need to go to Good Will that are just sitting around. That will open up lots more space.
