This week has been all about cleaning and organizing, and that prompted me to finally confront the most chaotic, unkempt space in our home: the basement workshop.
Like our first house, this one has a separate basement entrance from the backyard. Unlike most of the rest of the house, I’ve kept this space off-camera for the entire 16 months we’ve lived here. That’s unusual for us — I’ve been embarrassed by how it looks. I kept delaying tackling it, but now I’m forcing myself to show the mess in the open. Feel free to let this be the motivation you need to face your own clutter.
For anyone who can’t watch the video or only lasts a few seconds, here are photos of the chaos. The pictures don’t quite capture how overwhelming it felt — the video shows the full effect — but the space definitely needed attention.
I partly blame the pile on pallets the previous owners left in the yard. I dragged them inside last spring to build our living room console, and that pallet scrap seemed to invite other leftover wood into the pile. Small pieces accumulated with the intention that someday they’d be “taken care of,” but that someday never arrived.
Because one corner became a dumping ground, I lost the motivation to keep the rest of the workshop tidy. The clutter spread until the whole room felt like a messy, dusty zone that didn’t function well for work or storage.
So I’m making a commitment: I’ll clean and organize the workshop. It won’t happen in a single day, but I’ll make a plan, follow through, and share progress. The space is useful for tool storage, yard gear, and as a workspace — it just hasn’t been serving those purposes with all this clutter in the way.
Here’s the plan of attack — if you want to tackle a garage, basement, or attic along with me, join in:
- Pare down and organize the scrap pile: I like keeping spare wood, but not in overwhelming quantities. Many scraps are too small to sell or donate, so I’ll sort what’s usable and consider freecycling or responsibly disposing of the rest.
- Empty the space and clean thoroughly: Sawdust and debris have accumulated because it’s hard to sweep around all the clutter. Clearing everything out will make deep cleaning possible and set the stage for better organization.
- Return only what’s needed: As I bring items back in, I’ll group similar tools and materials and create functional zones so the workshop works for building, staining, spraying, sawing, and storage.
- Sell, donate, or dispose of unneeded items: I expect many things will leave permanently. For items we offer locally, I’ll post details so interested neighbors can claim them.
My goal isn’t a full blown, magazine-ready makeover — just a clean, functional room that supports our projects and storage needs. If it ends up feeling a little like a man cave, I won’t be mad about that either.
Now tell me I’m not the only one. Who else has (or had) a shamefully messy space in their house? This is a no-judgment zone — hopefully. Either way, I’m getting started and I’ll share the progress as I go.