Most homes use some portion of the basement as functional storage. Though it can be all too easy for ad hoc stored items to devolve into disorganized chaos. Especially if your home’s basement is unfinished or seldom used. Suddenly you find yourself struggling to find things like seasonal stored items and family keepsakes that may have gone out of sight, but not out of mind.
If you find yourself struggling to deal with the chaos of a disorganized and unkempt basement storage space, then you might want to consider using one or more of the following basement organizing ideas.
Built-In Shelving For Support & Esthetics
Built-in shelving is a great storage option for holding heavier items. They are a little more work than a fast-assembling free-standing shelving unit, as they are attached on at least one, or not two planes to the walls. Those also give built-in shelves superior weight tolerance per shelf.
It also allows for you to put cabinet doors or covers to help tuck away items that might otherwise look disorganized. Built-in shelves are a great option for a partially finished basement, as they can more easily be styled to match the existing décor.
Stackable Totes For Seasonal Items
Stackable totes tend to be more about functional storage than they are esthetics. The tough polymer plastics they tend to be made from have strong corners and reinforced lids that let you place one atop another.
This is a great way to store a lot of loose seasonal items and holiday decorations with a minimal footprint. Just make sure to use some sort of labeling system, so you can find the correct tote for the season or holiday you want, without resorting to opening totes at random.
Use Stairs As Storage
The underside of most basement stairs is seldom used space that often descends into disorganized storage. Installing bracket shelves, cargo hooks or using them to store stacked totes helps keep things in order. It also reduces the temptation to just “Heap” things into the void underneath the stairs.
Optimize Laundry Room Storage
Most people have a laundry room and/or utility room in their basement. These tend to be functional places that don’t get a lot of attention until they descend into chaos. Yet there are a lot of simple organization strategies you can put into place to help get them organized and keep them tidy. This includes things like:
- Over the door pouches for loose items
- Shelf dividers to maximize storage space
- Collapsible hampers to hold separate laundry loads
- Adjustable shelves to make the most out of vertical storage
- Hanging closet poles to hang shirts & sweaters
- A Folding ironing board
Peg Board Systems For Crafting & Tool Areas
After the garage, the basement is one of the most convenient places to store tools and crafting items. Though so many hand tools and power cords in one place can easily create snarls and disorganized piles.
Thankfully modern-day pegboard systems have evolved from what your grandpa used to have in his workshop. Today pegboards can be paired with a stunning myriad of hooks, holding and adjustable clips to hold just about anything. It’s a great way to stand brooms up, get tools organized and make the most out of a wall that would otherwise go unused or unnoticed.
Towering Toy Storage
Whether it’s the building blocks your kids lost interest in, or your summer fun pool floaties, chances are good you’ve got some toys underfoot that you would rather have downstairs. Yet you know that the second you take something and stuff it in a tote bin in the garage that they will want to play with them again, or the weather will turn warm.
Turning a disused corner of your basement into a tower of easy-to-find storage cubbies let you keep things out of sight, yet not out of mind. It also gives them a dedicated place to put those things back when they are done using them. These cubbies can be stacked or secured to basement walls to give you floor-to-ceiling storage. Doors and labeling markers help you take the organization to the next level.
Create A Basement Office Space
These days working from home is more popular than ever. Though you can only spend so much time cluttering up the kitchen table. Taking the time to transform a disused section of your basement into a functional, dedicated office not only gives you an organized place to work, but it helps give you a place away from the upstairs madness of everyday life.
You can even create faux walls with things like filing cabinets, or Japanese dressing screens. This helps it feel like a real workspace, while also helping to block out distractions.
Hanging Stuff From The Ceiling
A lot of unfinished basements have exposed ceilings that let you see the stringers that support the floors above. These are robust slabs of wood that have tons of supporting strength. Enough that you can do things like drive hardware hooks and other hanger attachments without taking anything away from the floor they support above.
You can then use these heavy-duty hooks to do things like hanging seasonal items such as summer bicycles, and swimming gear. You could even take some of your seasonal clothes, secure them inside garment bags to hang in semi-long-term storage. This lets you keep them hanging wrinkle-free, secured inside safe bags that won’t let them develop a “Basement Smell,” while also letting you enjoy more space in your walk-in or wardrobe closet.
A Bulk Pantry Beneath
While panic buying toilet paper might be in the rearview mirror, buying dried goods in bulk is still all the rage. Of course, this leaves a lot of people struggling to find thoughtful places to store canned vegetables and other non-perishable items without overloading their upstairs pantry with tins of baked beans.
If this sounds like your kitchen or pantry, you might want to consider installing a freestanding garage shelving unit in your basement. They have an impressive pound-per-shelf rating, to bear a dearth of canned goods without bowing. You can even dedicate some of the lower shelves for other items like unfinished projects and power tools to free up space upstairs.
