Now that we’ve cleared out our backyard’s weed & liriope convention, let’s move on to another area that has been sorely lacking our attention. Yes, let’s spend some time in our basement, shall we? Oh wait – that sounds like an invitation to get murdered or something. Um, let’s just talk about our basement. You may recall that it recently went from a shameful deck-debris-filled no man’s land…
…to a slightly more presentable space thanks to our Bagster rental a few weeks ago.
Well, that Bagster purge and our recent yard sale were the kick in the butt that I’ve needed to finally put some energy into this room. Because honestly, we’ve put ZERO effort into organizing or fixing up this space since moving in nearly two years ago. It’s been kind of a dumping ground. But I guess that first picture gave that away.
We tackled a similar basement in our last house – a small cinder block fortress accessible from a separate exterior door only.
But there are some key differences to these basements – and some lessons that we learned from the last one that will guide how we approach this one. For instance, the last one was kind of a glorified storage space. We didn’t work down there ever (that’s what the garage was for) so some of the effort that we put into “finishing” the room ended up being overkill. Sure it was nice to have the walls and floor painted (and it definitely seemed to help with resale) but we were barely down there to ever enjoy it. It was mostly just where all of our holiday decorations lived in the off-season, which now live in the attic of this house.
This new basement is MUCH more functional because it still serves as a helpful storage space for some things (like paint, unfinished furniture, tools, etc) but in the absence of a garage, it has also become my workshop. And as seen in our Day One post, we inherited some pretty awesome features – shelving, pegboards and even a large built-in work table.
I’ve spent plenty of time working on plenty of projects down here: from the living room console to Clara’s dollhouse. So it’s kind of a shame that I’ve spent so many hours in a space that kind of depresses me (talk about Dude, Get On That).
So I’m putting an end to it. My exact plan of attack is still kind of forming in my brain, but regardless of where I end up – I know the starting point is cleaning and organizing. And to that end, I’ve made it my mission to steal away for a few minutes here and there (mainly during Clara naps or on random Sherry’s-watching-housewives evenings) and I’ve gone through just about every nook and cranny of that room to figure out what should stay and what should most definitely not. Right at the top of the “definitely not” list was a strange collection of items leftover from the old owners. Some things – like the fire extinguisher below – dating back as far as 1984!
How creepy is that pig in the top right? We think he’s an old dog toy. Clara saw it when I brought it up to show Sherry and she was both delighted and impressed by it, but I was scared. Also, among a pile of old yard tools they left for us I found not one, not two, but three axes. I feel like there’s a Mike Meyers movie in there somewhere…
Speaking of yard tools, those were one of the first things that I decided to tackle. I started by taking inventory and seeing if what I had was what I actually needed (what didn’t make that list? Three axes).
This part of the organizing mission was actually before our yard sale, so whatever I didn’t need anymore (i.e. extra rakes) was sold there. And as for where to put the stuff I was keeping, I figured storing the (sometimes dirty) yard stuff far away from my work table was best. And luckily the area that looked like this a few months ago…
…now looked like this post Bagster/yard sale.
I zeroed in on that pegboard on the far left as my new yard tool headquarters, which did mean I had to get rid of this old rotting slash bug-eaten shelf that the previous owners left.
Good thing rotting = easy to break apart and toss into the Bagster before it got picked up.
Plus, I discovered the spare section of fence that I’ve been storing since this project fit perfectly into the little recessed nook next to the pegboard (so perfectly that when I wedged it in there it didn’t want to come back out). I did bolt it to the cinder at the top just to be safe though – just so it doesn’t fly down and get me someday after intense hammering or sawing nearby. Even though it’s upside down, I like that the wood texture breaks up the cinder a bit.
But my crowning achievement of this process so far is this baby. Oh yeah. It took me a good hour to figure this out, but it was so worth it. Organizing stuff like this makes my pulse race. And I may have developed a new obsession with pegboards in the process. Seriously, I was walking around for days afterwards looking at things and thinking “ooh, I could put that on my pegboard.” Or “my girlfriend Peggy” as I call her.
But before I get too hot and bothered talking about pegboards, I’ll share another one of my loves in a not-so-lovely storage solution. This is the bike rack from our old basement that is so cramped in this basement that I can barely weasel both bikes onto it (the top one grinds up against our lower ceiling).
So I grabbed two of these heavy duty bike hooks at Home Depot (about $2.50 a piece) and screwed them into one of the exposed beams near my wood fence nook.
MUCH better. Especially since it doesn’t take me 15 minutes to get the bikes on or off like the last solution. Is it hot in here or is it just me? Plus, putting them in the recessed area means the fact that they stick out into the room a bit isn’t a big deal.
And I realized Clara’s bike seat and our bike rack for the car hang nicely on the ledges created by the fence rail. Oh how I love getting things up off of the floor.
I’d love to end with some big beauty shot of the whole room, but there were like five other organization projects going on simultaneously so I’ll be back with more progress as I go. Isn’t it funny that no matter if you’re chipping away at a lawn makeover or a kitchen redo or a basement refresh, it just seems to come down to tackling things in phases? What are you guys doing one step at a time these days? Do pegboards get your pulse racing or is it just me? Hubba hubba.
How’d you decide on the bike seat for Clara? We’ve been debating between a trailer and a seat (front v. back as well).
And the basement is looking great btw!
The Bowers had a similar seat and had great things to say about it. We knew we didn’t want a trailer yet, just because it would take up much more space. And we’re glad we went with the front mounted seat because the rides seem to go much better since I can actually interact with Clara while we ride and we can look at the same scenery together.
-John
Looking good so far! I tackled a few areas of clutter this weekend and it really brightened up our place. More room for me to decorate.
First first comment ever!! Made my day! Please come to the uk on your book tour! :)
Oh boooo! So close
Best post title ever. I hope we can look forward to a “The Sign” or “All That She Wants” subsequent basement posts? Please?
Hahahahahahahah!
xo
s
John,
darn good job! Love Peggy! I need to get my Jon (hubby) one of those :)
You know, Julia Child had pegboard in her kitchen, and her husband traced all of her pots and pans on the board so she would know where to return things once she was done using them! I think that might be a nice look for your girlfriend Peggy! ;-)
I love that! John isn’t sure since he thinks over time as he gets more tools things might shift, but he’s thinking about it…
xo
s
I though the _exact_ same thing Jessie!! And I thought similiarly to John about being able to move stuff around, so instead of using ink, I think sidewalk chalk would be perfect!!
Here’s a link to show you how it looked :: http://twomenandalittlefarm.blogspot.com/2011/09/julia-child-style-kitchen-pegboard-wall.html
So awesome! I tried to convince John to use chalkboard paint and chalk but he didn’t like the idea of chalk dust near his tools or wiping it off accidentally when he grabs things and it looking all smudgy. Will have to see where he ends up!
xo
s
But if you do do that, make sure you don’t use one of your yard tools to commit murder or else the blood splatter analyst at Miami Metro will discover you’ve stashed the murder tool…
Seriously.
xo
s
What a great improvement! The previous owners of our house also left a bunch of pegboards in the basement and they are such amazing storage solutions for so many different types of things.
Are you going to share the deets of the first stop of your book tour???
Yes! We have so many photos and things to go through, but within a few days we’ll spill all the deets! It was so much fun. Let’s just say midwesterners are hilarious and sweet.
xo
s
Ahhh, much better! The before picture made me all twitchy, I hate having things all over the place. Organization makes me happy. Well done.
You’re totally inspiring me to clean out our spare room! It’s a black hole of stuff (yikes!) but we’re planning on donating a lot next week so hopefully, that’ll help!
PS – the bike hanging racks are genius!
Pegboards. Love ’em! Great job. Someday we will get ours cleaned up and organized as well.
It’s funny that you guys posted this today because we just tackled our garage with this same philosophy this weekend. I too, would love a beauty shot, but at the end of the day, it’s where we work! Plus…Nate did knock over a half a liter of poly last night all over the garage floor and now the whole house not only smells, but there’s an ugly stain on the floor.
The one thing I HAD to do was paint the pegboards (http://www.brokeasshome.com/2012/10/a-little-surprise-for-man-in-flannel.html) and I am actually posting tomorrow about us organizing them.
Don’t stress out about it pretty. Just have fun with discovering all the stuff you forgot you had!
Love the pegboards! And the wild Emma!
xo
s
Hey J&S, here’s my pegboard organization I mentioned yesterday!
http://www.brokeasshome.com/2012/10/round-pegs-in-round-holes.html
So fun! Thanks for the link!
xo,
s
Hey John and Sherry…..just curious what you did with all of the furniture in your first home’s basement? thanks!
We sold that with the house actually. The new owners really liked it, so we offered that along with some other things as part of the sale (our built in bed, all of the curtains, etc).
xo
s
basements to me seem like those spaces I’d never want to get started on organizing, but would love for it to be magically done. What goodies you found though! I love the fence where you put it too!
We just moved into a new apartment, and so a lot of the apartment looks like the “before” pictures of your basement (minus the rotting wood — I hope)! This post gives me hope for the future, haha. Just need to keep chipping away! :-)
where is the AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH we did our first book signing post?? :) so happy for you guys!
Ahhh! We have too many pics to go through! Still getting things together since hopping off a plane, but it’s coming in a few days!
xo
s
Love it! The peg board is so great.
We’re trying to get our kitchen organized after getting a lot of new bakeware and cookware.
AND what I was mostly commenting to say is that I’m now going to have “The Sign” stuck in my head forever.
How did Cincinnati go??? It’s always a relief to start the great new adventure!
Ahhh, it was amazing! So scary and fun and hilarious all wrapped up into one ball o’ midwesterners. Can’t wait to share the deets in a few days!
xo
s
OMG! Reading this this post is totally my idea of a good time. Look at that well organised peg board! Those bikes and bits up off the floor! *sw00n*
Looks wonderful! I noticed the exposed insulation, and was wondering if you would cover it up or something? I don’t think it’s good to breathe from an exposed insulation?
Yes, we’ve been chatting about what we’ll do with that. We’ll keep you posted!
xo,
s
I loooove pegboard, it’s my dream to have a kitchen wall covered in it a la Julia Child.
I recently tackled moving my blog to wordpress.org, but that was more like “step-scratch head-tweak-step-get frustrated and swear at laptop-step away and relax-fiddle a bit more” than step-by-step!
PS. This blog title made my day.
Wow it’s definitely an improvement. That peg board is fantastic!
Nice work! I’m loving the peg board, and now feeling inspired to tackle our garage.
Wow, looks great! Organixation posts are one of my favorite categories, because they’re so budget friendly — most of time it involves getting rid of stuff rather than having to buy DIY supplies. Lovin it!
Haha, organization. Working so hard to comment at work before I get “caught” makes me typo like crazy ;)
Haha, we knew what you meant!
xo
s
Oh, wow. I’m so inspired.
I think I’ll sit here and finish my coffee until it passes. :)
Hahahaha!
xo
s
My husband and I also inherited pegboards (lots) when we bought our house. My husband gets equally excited about organizing his tools! John, maybe I should send you pictures of his shop for inspiration! :-)
I’d love that!
-John
Looking good! I started a love affair with our garage peg board this weekend too! It’s so nice to have everything off the floor and on display!
Super impressive! Our basement is all storage or living space, so we had to do similar work in our garage. We inherited bike hooks, as well as a really great set of pegboards. We are “hooked” on them now! All our garden stuff neatly tucks on the boards, and we fit three bikes in a double garage (we hang ours horizontally), our two cars, a small-ish motorcycle, push mower, weed trimmer, folding stroller, and sundry other stuffs.
“Woman…woooooman. She stole my heart and my cat.”
Sorry – couldn’t resist the So I Married an Axe Murderer reference. :)
Hahahahahahahaha!
xo
s
Maybe a little weird to ask, but if you didn’t yet toss the newspaper from July 22, 2010, I’d love it! My son was born that day and it’d be fun to have a paper from another part of the country to add to his momento box (we’re in WI). :)
Oh no, so sorry Amy, we pitched it into the recycle bin with some other paper stuff we found during the cleanout :(
xo
s
OH MY GOSH – I can’t wait to tackle my basement. Will def. get some pegboard. One half of the basement I am hoping to turn into storage and my workshop/studio and the other half I would love to turn into a living space. I have an uber-scarey basement. I did just paint partial walls and move some furniture around and tried to tack some fabric to the exposed beams (FAIL)…..just don’t have money to do too much. If I can grab a few hours and just get in there and organize. I am thinking some cheap IKEA shelving units will help. Oh and doing the floors with cement paint or epoxy will help. I can’t wait to see how you tackle the rest of the basement. This is SO timely for me!
The peg board is AWESOME! I’m looking forward to more posts about the garage. We have a teeny tiny garage (seriously, I don’t think it’s even standard sized, not sure how that happened.) and we have one little nook like your bike nook where we store everything! We need some good ideas and direction to get our garage organized, so I’m excited that you are tackling yours first and we can steal your ideas :) Haha. Hope the first book tour stop was amazing! I am sure it was! I am asking for your book for Christmas!!
Peg boards are awesome, and just the thing our basement needs. Thanks for the great idea! And now I am going to have Ace of Base songs stuck in my head all morning. Don’t turn around, I don’t want you seeing me cryeyey! :)
Wow! What a difference!
Coincidentally, I just got two big old pieces of peg board from my mother in law. She asked if I wanted it, and of course I said yes! It’s currently leaned against a shelf in my garage. I was planning on keeping one piece in the garage and one in my scrapbook room.
Where did you find the hooks to use in your pegboard and what kind are they? Are they all the same type of hook? Thanks!
They all just came with the house (the last owner left them in a box and many were on the boards) but you can find them at Home Depot or Lowe’s near the pegboards they sell. Hope it helps!
xo
s
Ok, we also have a pegboard, but the hooks seem to fall right out. We bought a kit at home depot. Any secrets for keeping the pegs IN the pegboard?
Hmm maybe they were the wrong size? I’m no expert, but the hooks that work with our board were already here (left by the previous owners). Anyone have tips for Kat?
xo
s
It looks great now! My hubby would love to have a useable basement workspace like that. We do things in phases around here too. You just have to when you have a small family.
Looking great John!! Keep it up. Organizing makes me SO happy and everyone I know, knows it. My family says I need to become a professional organizer some day. And yes I do love pegboard now, I put some up in my newly finished basement for my craft supplies and gift wrap, then let my hubby have the leftover for the garage and he used it for his tools, I’m still in shock that he organized something by himself!! Ha!
My dad stored a lot of things on a pegboard, hammers, saws, etc. he painted a small line around every item so he knew fit where it went when it was time to clean up.
The pegboard definitely made me think of Julia Child’s kitchen, too! Love it! I also really like the bike/accessory storage–seems like it’s all coming together.
so impressed by how much clearing out you’ve done, can’t wait to see the process and final product! also love that you take clara along on bike rides–i sometimes take our pup on bikerides and he absolutely loves it.
This made my pulse race like crazy! Loooove Peggy! Watch out, John- she’s mine!
Hahah! I’ll arm wrestle you for her. That’s love.
-John
Looks much better!
We wanted a full, finished (or even unfinished) basement so badly when we were looking for our first home.
Turns out that homes in Texas don’t have basements! The ground gets too dry in summer and shrinks, which can cause foundation settling, cracking, and even for the basement to cave in! So we’re learning to do without and make the Little House’s garage the perfect storage/work area.
Wow, never knew that!
xo
s
We don’t have basements in south Louisiana either. We’re too close to (or actually below) sea level!
Love the pegboards! Although, what I got out of this post is realizing that we are sorely lacking in insulation in our basement when I see how much you guys have. lol Especially since we are up in NY. Looking forward to your Ridgewood book date!!!
Ugh my garage is a MESS. I don’t even want to look at it. I really really need to get down there and tackle it.
My project for the weekend was putting together a kitchen cart from Target. And it pretty much took me all weekend. The instructions were NOT clear and I made a couple mistakes. Plus I got interrupted by my friends coming over on Saturday night. In the end though I did it. All by myself! And it fits perfectly.
Now to decide what to put in it!
I love organizing, but I’m terrible at doing it in my own space. Help organize someone else? I’m on it! 6 weeks after moving into my studio apartment, and I have yet to unpack kitchen stuff or even get all of my clothes put away. I try to remember that if I just tackle a little piece at a time, it will eventually all get done.
Love the pegboard ~ I have one for my small tools, but I may have to do that with yard tools, etc.
It looks great! I bought some of those bike hooks, oh, 5 years ago, so maybe I need to Dude, Get on That myself and hang our bikes!
A few years ago I started tackling big jobs in 20-minute spurts, especially the basement. Otherwise I was a sneezing mess. And it works! It took a while, but I hope to one day get to the stage of where you guys were in your first house with painting the cinder block, etc.
p.s. LOVE So I Married an Axe Murderer! The movie, not an actual axe murderer.
p.p.s. how do we decide if it’s “axe” or “ax”?
Haha, it’s a question for the ages! To ax or to axe? That is the question…
xo
s
Nicely done! Can’t wait to see the rest! How about giving Peggy a little extra love and painting her…then drawing an outline of all your goodies to ensure they end up in the right place again!
Cheers & happy organizing
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
John’s definitely on the painting train, although he’s hesitant to outline things since he thinks over time as he gets new tools or wants to rearrange things it’ll lock him into things if they’re traced…
xo
s
All I can think of is “Hello, this is Peggy!” from those commercials. I love the way the fencing works in there!
Well done, John! Our garden shed has a tiny bit of pegboard and after seeing what you did in the basement…I feel I need to put up more in the garage and shed!
Completely inspiring! I feel like that was a nice little teaser for the basement. I just know you and John have some tricks up your sleeve. Can’t wait to see more.