Don’t we know it? Procrastination’s a bitch!
We had this area in our basement which we’d allowed to become a deposit area for stuff there really wasn’t room for; for instance: garbage(!), building materials (our excess hardwood floors mysteriously ended up here), shoes, clothes, etc. This was in addition to what was not there by accident: boxes with light bulbs, ski gear, suitcases, sleeping bags and so forth. This last category (the not by accident category) was carefully planned at the time we moved into the house. The original plan was to neatly categorize and store our stuff in boxes from IKEA in a separate storage room. That was before we got the water leakage I was telling you about earlier causing damage to the wall, with the result that the lower part of the wall was torn down. We recently tore down the upper half of it as well exposing the chaos to anyone entering our basement. This area is next to the family room in the basement which also seconds as a guest room on occasion, and the oldest boy who stays with us every other weekend sleeps down here. This situation had continually gotten worse and I’d let it slide until the situation became unbearable – just see for yourself!
There was barely enough space to get past the pile of junk and into the den!
Why I let procrastination get the better of me I’ll never know, but I decided to put an end to it! Therefore I declared war on procrastination!
The first phase in any home improvement project is to define the problem! (In this case it wasn’t so hard – it was practically staring me in the face every time I went down to the basement…) The second phase is to make a plan for renovating or reorganizing the problem area and finally the third phase is to do the job! The project may have short term and long term solutions. Like this area for instance where the short term solution obviously was to clear out the mess; but the problem is a bit bigger than that since the whole area needs a face-lift. Have a look at the table of Conventions made to clarify the different phases and levels of a home improvement project.
Looking at the heaps of junk laying there on the floor I must admit I was a bit unnerved; imagining spending at least a day or two on this gigantic chore; wasting my valuable spare time lifting, moving, cleaning, etc. (No wonder I’ve been putting it off, right?)
Well, guess how long it took to make this area look like this?
Not one to two days, but one to two hours! Actually I was mostly done clearing it up after one hour, but then I put all the garbage on my hanger ready to be transported to the junkyard and that took another half an hour or so. That was a great kick in procrastination’s butt! Step one of the plan, executed (check)!
The second part of the plan for renovating this area is far more extensive as it involves fixing the ceiling, painting the walls and tiling the floor. In fact, I’m thinking of painting the stairs as well while we’re at it as it looks pretty dreary.
Also, have you noticed that once you start clearing out a mess in one part of the house you suddenly notice other parts in desperate need of attention? The other day I found myself re-planning the entire basement, moving and removing walls and doors, among other things. I’m finding the planning phase of the project: renewal of the storage area, is taking on a life of its own, and now the future plan of the basement looks like this:
The new part of it is the storage arrangements in general and the removal of some walls making three small storage rooms into one big one.
Then there is the business of organizing and furnishing the storage spaces of our basement. I’m planning to make a complete list of our stuff in need of storage and systematize it accordingly. This will be the content of a separate article, I imagine.
Now that the first step of the plan is done I’m ready for step two, but I’ll be battling the procrastination monster again for sure so wish me luck. I’m planning to have someone come and do most of the carpentry; a necessary compensation for the fact that my husband and I both have more thumbs on our hands than we should (someone messed up there, somehow). Be sure to subscribe to our feed or newsletter to get the heads-up on the next part of this project.
Wow, Great Job!
Thanks!