Basement Organization

Ahh, the basement.  We've combined so many purposes into this little space.  We've got the theater area, the school room and finally the toy/books/magazines/everything bookcase.  For years we've had a storage system like this but I was so frustrated that I would spend so many hours organizing the toys (so they could find what they wanted, when they wanted!  Crazy, I know) only to find everything all mixed up when I left them to clean it up themselves.  The price I pay for fostering independence.

Finally I decided to label the baskets but could not find proper tags that were sturdy enough to stand up to the rigors of the playroom.  In desperation I settled for these round metal tags I found at Office Max and I'm so happy I did.  They are quite unobtrusive but they say plainly and clearly what goes into each basket.  Phew.  That is taken care of and I'm happy to report that the kids clean up the room very nicely now.  

Next in the bookshelf is our ever growing collection of books.  We've found so many amazing books at the D.I. (like a goodwill) near our house.  Brand new Nancy Drews and Hardy Boys, abbreviated versions of the classics like War of the Worlds, Swiss Family Robinson, and Ella's fave, Great Expectations.  Add to the books my love of periodicals and I've got myself one multi-purpose piece of furniture!  



Another part of the basement we finally finished is hiding the tv wires behind the wall above the fireplace.  We cut a section of the drywall out, put the wires through and mudded and taped the spot.  I found some amazing paintable wallpaper from design public and put that up to cover any imperfections in my mudding and taping job (there were many...).  I painted it the same green as the opposite wall which took a bit of getting used to but I decided that there is no "design crime" in loving a certain shade of green!  Back me up on that please!  The only thing is that the camera battery died before I could take a picture of that so you will just have to imagine it until I get a picture posted.  

The last major project before the yard is the laundry room...luckily it's quite small and doable.  Thank goodness!!  Amazingly, our marriage is still intact and wonderful after nonstop renovations...:0)