Challenge #7: The Utility Room: Part One – The Prelude (hee hee)!
(Quick note from Cindy: This is a long one, so I broke it into two
parts. Have fun!)
Today's spring-cleaning challenge is going to take us into one of the
most forgotten areas of our home: the utility room (the room where
the furnace and hot water heater are located).
 For some of you, this is going to be a small room in the basement or
on the main floor and it will only take a few minutes to "spring-
clean." For others, the utility room is the very last room that
anyone wants to tackle. Over the years, it has collected every
oddball thing that had no place else to go. Some utility rooms have
even become a safety hazard with chemicals and other products stored
alongside clutter and other combustibles (YIKES).
If your utility room is part of an entire basement, then just
concentrate on the area that holds the furnace and the hot water
heater.
Over the years, we have experienced several types of "utility" rooms.
Our first utility room was the same room as the "laundry pit." This
was an old, smelly, dark basement with too many shadows, spiders, and
way too much junk piled on the floor. The only time I ventured down
into this room was when we ran out of clean clothes!
Our next utility room was slightly better. This time we built shelves
to hold all the junk. The basement didn't smell, but there still was
the occasional spider. The only times these two utility rooms
were "spring-cleaned" was when we moved out! SHEESK!
Today, we actually have a utility room that I am not afraid to walk
through in the dark! We got rid of most of the junk, got rid of the
extra shelves, got rid of the stuff on the floors, painted the walls
a bright color, painted the concrete floor, and added extra light
bulbs. This is now a room that not only holds our hot water heater
and furnace, but also our freezer, my husband's beer and wine making
supplies, our recording gear, our off-season coats, and the odd-sized
(and only used once in awhile) kitchen supplies. Two cupboards with
doors keep nearly everything out of site and nothing is stored on the
floor (except in plastic totes). Even my husband enjoys working in
this room now!
Before we start today's spring-cleaning challenge, I want to remind
you of a couple things:
- Each challenge is simply a LIST of steps to spring-clean an
area. If you have lots of time and lots of help, you can tackle the
entire list at once. However, if you are like the most of us and have
other things that need to be done as well, simply print out the
spring-cleaning challenge and hang it on the fridge. Then, just do
one or two steps per day. Please don't overwhelm yourselves. This is
not a race. Simply cross off the items when they are done. Remember
to get the family involved!
- A quick word about clutter: today we are going into a part of
the home that is NOTORIOUS for collecting clutter. In the past, my
utility rooms have been home to hand-me-downs from my parents and in-
laws, crafting dreams that never materialized, garage sale mistakes,
shopping mistakes, electronic gear, cables, and supplies from an
auction (that stuff belonged to my husband), junk left by previous
owners, broken extension cords and water hoses (duh!), boxes of
college textbooks, boxes of college notes, boxes of paperback books,
boxes of magazines, gardening supplies, sports equipment, and gosh,
the list goes on and on. The secret to creating a space that we use
and enjoy was to FIRST get rid of the clutter. Don't feel guilty
about this. All of us have been there, done that. And I have to say,
I have NEVER missed any of the junk I got rid of! Here's two links
that will help you figure out what to do with this clutter:
Hierarchy of clutter:
http://www.cindysporch.net/pages/h_clutter.shtml
Garage Sale Tips:
http://www.cindysporch.net/pages/garagesaletips.shtml
A few notes about some of the stuff you may find!
- Do you have a stash of stuff that was given to you by family
or friends that you don't want and will never use? Call them up and
tell them you are spring-cleaning. Ask them if they would like the
stuff back or do they have another suggestion for where they would
like the stuff to go? I received too many bags of hand-me-down
clothes. We were never going to use them all. I decided to donate
them.
- Do you have a stash of stuff that you are saving for someone
else (or that you have to return to someone else LOL)? Call them up
and tell them you are coming over for coffee (plus you are bringing
over a few of their things). This is how my mom got rid of all the
things I kept saying I wanted her to keep, but that I didn't want in
my home. One day, she invited herself over for coffee and she brought
with her my old Barbie™ collection, my old stamp collection, my old
highchair, and my brother's giant Tinkertoy™ set. I have to
congratulate her on getting rid of the stuff out of HER home and
moving it into MY home LOL!
Here's a tip from a friend of mine who is saving a few things for her
children when they move out – the stuff is getting packed into
labeled plastic totes and stored safe and sound in the basement. When
the kids leave, they can take everything (including the totes)!
- Getting rid of clutter is like peeling an onion. You do it
one layer, one box, one bag, and one shelf at a time. And you may
shed a few tears along the way. We've been there and we've done that.
Now we have a home that we can take care of in just a few minutes
everyday.
Let's start – onto Part 2!
Cindy
Return to "Spring-Cleaning With Attitude!"
|
