Organized Workshop & Paint Storage

We’ve been getting loads of snow. Lake Erie hasn’t frozen over yet, so the lake effect storms keep coming, and we receive at least a light dust of snow every day now. According to the weather app, this pattern will stick around for a week or two. It’s a normal February.

Early in January, I posted my 2021 plans for BHH. As is typical, I set a pretty rigorous schedule balanced with organizational and DIY projects. So far, it’s working pretty well. I am crushing my administrative goals, but unfortunately, you can’t see those. Now that I think about it, I didn’t mention admin goals in my blog post anyway.

My organization project for January was the basement–specifically the workshop and paint room. I wanted to finish the whole thing, but after some discussion, Andy and I decided to wait to address the storage room until the weather warms.

Since this isn’t a pretty kind of reveal, I’ll just launch in with the after shots.

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The Workshop

After I rearranged and labeled the “store” section of the workshop, I turned my attention to the tools.

Since our tool collection has grown, I bought a second shelving unit. I put my frequently used tools within arm’s reach, close to the main work table.

Then, I tidied and grouped the rest on the other unit, which was a trash day find. It is a little difficult to see, but I tucked long-handled items and PVC pipe in a five-gallon bucket in the corner.

After I sorted and stored the tools, I cleaned the workbench and scrubbed all of the work tables.

My goal was to find a place for everything on the tables so I could start fresh.

The work tables are just plain doors on top of sawhorses. The doors were another trash day find, and they work really well. For extra light, I hung a cheap IKEA fixture on a hook, in the corner.

I tucked most of my glass underneath, and our scrap wood is now in the rolling cart on the left. The rolling cart’s first life was a toybox in Andy’s childhood home.

Here are a few additional shots of the clean workshop.

The pier is still crumbling, and the ducts are still covered with asbestos, but the workshop is tidy and ready for the hundreds of new projects I have swirling around inside my head.

The Paint Room

The paint room did not change much. I shuffled things around and properly labeled the paints. That’s really all I did. The cabinets came with the house, but I plan to get rid of them during the summer and replace them with shelving units instead. I want to see the foundation behind to spot any issues before they get too serious. Also, there’s an opening that leads under the porch that we’re dying to explore. Maybe we will find a million dollars so we can hire someone to help me restore windows. Cross your fingers!

I like to label paints by room. In the beginning, it was easy to remember which color went where. Now, several shades of white and various sheens later, it’s not so simple.

Goals

While I was completing this project, I worked toward a few goals. First, I didn’t want anything touching the floor directly. If you look closely at the photos, you’ll notice that almost everything is up on cinderblocks, wrapped in plastic, or stored in a bin if it touches the floor. BHH doesn’t have serious flooding issues, but the potential is there.

We’ve had two sewer back-ups, and the problem always shows up in that drain in my workshop. It is just as disgusting as it sounds. We now maintain the drainpipe to the street every spring, and hopefully, those days are behind us. However, it’s always a possibility.

My next goal was to arrange everything so I could see the foundation. I have started repointing the exterior, but some sections of the interior need a little TLC too. As I mentioned above, the shelving units in the paint room cover the foundation, so I want to swap them out as soon as possible.

Finally, I tried to avoid throwing usable items away. Instead, I offered everything to my Buy Nothing group on Facebook. If you are not familiar with the Buy Nothing project, it is pretty neat. Check to see if you already have a local group. If not, starting your own is simple.

I got rid of paint, fixtures, and various supplies via my Buy Nothing group. I recycled all of my cardboard, so the only thing left was about one trash bag’s worth of stuff. Not bad, considering how much I cleaned out of both rooms.

As I work through the organizing projects on my calendar, I will continue to write about how I get rid of stuff. I know that is a sticking point for some.

I’ll leave you today with another beautiful photo of BHH looking stately in the snow.

Is it spring where you live? If it is, don’t tell me.