Basement shelf organization

Have you guys ever stumbled upon Jen's blog IHeart Organizing?  Well, um, let me tell you- I heart it!  It is an organizer's dream blog!  Jen is what I would call an extreme organizer, and her blog is chock full of great organization tips and ideas.  One my favorite parts of Jen's blog and her ideas is that she bring beauty to the world of organization, which is an area in which I am trying to improve.  I think, basically, she is my organizing hero.  Call it a crush, if you want.  I won't disagree.

I am a faithful reader of her blog, and she inspires me almost daily to try to improve upon my systems of organization. So, recently I decided that my basement storage shelves needed some help.  Desperately.  I'm almost embarrassed to show you this picture, as it's pretty bad.  But, here is what I was living with:  a messy shelving area with stuff just thrown onto the shelves.

 Not only was it a sight for sore eyes, it simply wasn't functional.  I couldn't fit everything I needed to fit in the space that I had.  I couldn't find things, and I had absolutely no system for where things were.

And now, the space looks like this:

Oh, be still my heart!  Does anyone else hear choirs singing when you see this picture?!  So, let's see: what did I do?  The first thing I did, which I cannot stress the importance of enough, was to de-clutter.  I got rid of the broken pop-up tent.  I set aside some light fixture globes to sell at next weekend's yardsale.  I truly evaluated the importance of each item on the shelving unit.  And, once I got rid of some stuff I didn't need, I found that I had plenty of room for the stuff that I do need.  **happy dance!!**

My main partner in crime for this makeover was a bunch of clear plastic lidded bins.  I picked up a bunch from Ikea, and the shoebox sized ones were from the Dollar Store.  I think they all ranged in price from a buck to maybe 3 bucks.  And, once I had those, it was really just a matter of grouping like items.

Some of the containers and their labels were fairly straightforward:

While for others I had to get creative:

But really it all came down to identifying what items often get used at the same time and putting them in a bin together.  And, let me tell you, this bin in particular has been a game changer for me:

I mean how long did it take me to figure out that I *always* use the drill and the drill bits at the same time?!  And, it's so much easier just to grab a bin with everything I need for a little project then it is to guess the drill bit size, and then realize I don't have the correct size, and then I don't have the screwdriver bit, and so on.

And, usually when I grab the drill bin, I grab this one, too.  Because this is where all of the hardware and picture hanging supplies live.

So, once I had all of my bins filled, I started to organize them on the shelves.  I grouped like items.  So, we have the electronics section:

And, the painting section:

 

 And, most everything else sorta just got put together:

 

But, back to the painting section for a moment.  If you don't already do this, do yourself a favor and label the tops of your paint cans.  You'll thank yourself on Patch The Walls Weekend.  Trust me.

So, yeah, that's about it.  I created the labels out of cardstock, and I adhered them to the bins using packing tape.  I just slapped the clear tape right across the homemade labels, so not only does the tape adhere the labels to the bin, it also sort of laminates the labels.  Perhaps Jen would have come up with something a little fancier, but this is the basement, people!  And, besides this project didn't exactly have any money budgeted for it, so I had to go with what I had.

So, now when I go to the basement for a tool or some paint, I am welcomed by tidy, organized shelves where I can easily find what I need.  Does it get any better?

And, because no redo is complete without a side-by-side before and after, here's mine:

If you need me, I'll be in the basement!

xo,

Emily

**sharing with the girls at