A Basement, Long Overdue

The basement has been waiting. Not quietly, but patiently, holding years of everyday overflow. Clothes that didn’t have a place. Furniture saved for “later.” Tools, home décor, old toys, and boxes that followed grown children when they moved out… and never quite left. It’s not a space I’ve wanted to show. It feels messy in a way that’s hard to explain, not just cluttered, but layered. The kind of overwhelm that makes it easier to straighten the main house and carry the extras downstairs, telling myself I’ll deal with it another time. And another. This basement does real work for our home. It houses our washer and dryer. It stores off-season clothing and bedding in plastic totes. It holds a wood stove that helps heat the house each winter, along with a wood box that sometimes spills into floor space when life gets busy and the weather turns cold. It’s practical, used, and very full. What I do appreciate is that it’s dry. No moisture issues. No damage — just too much. And there are things down here I like having access to: furniture, décor, pieces I can “shop” from when I want to change a room upstairs. But somewhere along the way, usefulness turned into excess, and excess turned into lost items and crowded corners. Things disappear down here. I know they exist, but I can’t always find them. Starting feels overwhelming which is exactly why I’m not rushing. This basement declutter will be slow. One section at a time. No marathon weekends. No burning myself out trying to “fix” everything at once. I’ve learned that pace matters, especially in this season of life. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s clarity. I want this space organized by usage. Laundry where laundry belongs, wood where wood belongs, storage that makes sense instead of stacks that grow. I want to be able to come downstairs and know where things are. To stop saving everything “for later” and actually decide what stays and what moves on. This will be a series over on YouTube, honest and imperfect. Just real progress, taken gently. Some days might only bring a small shift. That’s okay. The basement waited this long. It can wait while I take my time. I’ll start where I am. And I’ll leave it here for today.

DECLUTTER SERIES