One of those household chores that we like to postpone indefinitely is cleaning the basement. We make all sorts of promises and offer ourselves bribes to get it done, but somehow the basement cleaning typically falls to the bottom of the list.
If you need to get your basement cleaned out, here are some tips that might make it seem a little more manageable.
1. Start early in the day. Most of us have more energy in the morning as our biological clocks get reset when the sun rises. Schedule a day in advance when you won't have to stop mid-way through this task to run an errand or meet a friend. Get supplies ready and have them waiting at the foot of the steps. Grab head and mouth covers and get started bright and early. Don't answer the phone if it rings unless absolutely necessary.
2. Begin with the area furthest away from the steps. Use the brightest light possible, and plug in an extra floor lamp if needed. You may want to open some windows or turn on a fan to keep the air circulating. The most distant area may be a former coal room, storage closet, or dim corner. Remove everything from that area. Toss out worn, broken, or unneeded items that have accumulated over time.
3. After covering your hair with a hat or scarf and your mouth and nose with a paper respirator, sweep down the rafters or ceiling and the walls. Watch for spiders and get all the cobwebs. Then sweep up the floor debris into a pile and scoop it into a dustpan. Now replace storage items that need to stay in this area, after wiping them clean and checking to be sure they are still in working order. Also check for signs of ants, mice, or other unwanted guests, and if spotted, leave a trap or other means of eliminating them.
4. Move on to the next area and repeat the process. You may have to shift around furniture or appliances as well as stored boxes, cartons, and containers. If you find unmarked ones, find out what's inside and attach a label with this information for future reference. For random items laying around you may want to start new storage boxes, marking them appropriately.
5. Clean each section thoroughly, one area at a time, until you have worked through the entire basement area. You can either tackle the appliances as you move through each section, dusting and wiping these clean as well, or save them all to the end when you have cleared the walls and floor. Get rid of everything you don't need, such as old furniture, bags of outgrown clothing, and other forgotten items. The rule of thumb is that if you haven't used it in the past year or two, you probably won't. Make exceptions for sentimental things of course, like the kids' artwork or baby items.
Air out the basement when you're done by keeping windows open or the fan on for an hour or two afterwards. Make it a point to touch up the basement every few months to prevent an accumulation of hard work in the future.
