The basement is a very useful room that can be used for a variety of things. Most families use the basement as a storage space where they store stuff they don’t normally use or need on a daily basis.
Some families do their laundry there, while others go as far as to make it the home theater room. But if there is one thing that every household struggles with is cluttering the basement.
As time goes by, we tend to clog it up with stuff that we don’t need, regardless of what the purpose of this room is. And as time goes by, it gets so cluttered that we think about doing a full cleanout.
In this article, we will discuss the 5 essential tips for doing your basement cleanout. This article will serve as a guide for 2024 as we will discuss trends on top of tips.
Make a Plan
Our plan will consist of the 5 essential tips, but it’s important to emphasize the need for one.
Without a plan, we would spend a lot of resources that would otherwise be used differently and more effectively. It’s not easy to do a full basement cleanout, nor is it cheap.
Experts say that this task will cost, on average, around $330 that goes into renting dumpsters, hiring experts to take things such as a junk service, and various other things. The cost will depend on the amount of waste you have to remove. For more accurate estimates, you can visit an efficient dumping company like ewmdumpsterrental.com or a similar platform.
So regardless if you’re doing it on your own or will lend a helping hand, it’s important to come up with a plan. And every basement cleanout plan starts with the most important thing which is…
1. Tagging Essential Items
This is our first and most important tip of the article. Tagging the stuff will help you separate the useful ones and those that you can throw out or sell.
It’s crucial to do this as it will clarify things for the rest of the cleanout process. There are a few ways to go about this, and you can ask yourself a few questions if you cannot decide which items you need and which you don’t.
Here are a few things to consider. Tag each item with either keep, sell, or donate
- Donate the item or sell it if you cannot remember the last time you’ve used it.
- If there is a particularly good reason to hold onto the item, then you should do it.
- If you end up surprised for finding the item in the basement and this item holds little to no importance to you, then your best course of action would be to sell it.
- If you cannot find the space for it, again, then maybe donate it or sell it.
- If you feel someone else could benefit more from the item, then it’s best to donate it.
Considering these are very important as some people tend to hold onto stuff that they don’t actually need. These people are called “hoarders” and they’re generally the people that clutter up the basements.
2. Throw Out the Trash
The easiest part of this guide is to throw out the unwanted “trash” from the basement.
Chances are that most of you have stored one or two brken items that you lie to yourself you’ll get them fixed one day. Again, consider the previous tip and decide whether you need the broken item or you’d benefit more by throwing it or giving it to someone else.
But the most important thing here is to actually do something about the trash in your basement.
We’ve all been in a situation that required us to separate from stuff we’ve kept in the house for decades. There’s no use for this stuff if you haven’t used them or repaired them in such a long time.
If your basement is pretty clogged up, then chances are you’re hoarding stuff that you have no use of. Stuff that you have no use of is considered trash, and one persons trash is another person’s treasure.
The best way to purge it is to rent a dumpster so you could do it in a single go. We mentioned dumpster renting as one of the costs of doing a basement cleanout.
This is generally considered a smart move and a cost-effective move. For more information about dumpster rentals, we suggest you visit this page.
3. Sort Your Basement in Sections
Once you’ve thrown out the trash and made some space to work around, the best thing to do next is to sort the rest of the basement.
Remember that you’ve tagged all items with either keep, sell or donate. So it’s best that you make three sections that resonate with each tag.
The best way is to start small by separating only a handful of items. This will make sure that you don’t overwhelm yourself with items and it makes the sorting job much easier.
Using a painters tape you can make large circles where you will place each item in each section. If sections start to clutter and you’re left with no space to add more items, then expand the section or start keeping, selling, or donating the items.
4. Rent a Storage Unit
If you need to rent a storage unit to help empty up the basement to finish the sorting job, then you should most certainly do it.
It’s generally best advised to move either the “donate” or “sell” items to this storage unit as you’ll be disposing of them one way or another.
If you’re in no position to rent a storage unit, then try to move the items into a separate room or ask a friend if you could use theirs.
To learn more about this topic, visit henfieldstorage.co.uk.
5. Sell, Sell, And More Sell
This is probably the most exciting part as you’ll end up getting some money for stuff you haven’t used in ages.
When selling unwanted items, there are a few ways to go about it.
The most “American” way to do it is through a garage sale. But if you don’t want to do it, then other options include Craigslist, eBay, Amazon, OfferUp, Facebook, and various other platforms and websites.
