Abandon Shame (Not Hope)

One thing I determined before beginning this project blog was that I would have to abandon shame. What is, is. The mess, the disorganization, the stuff that is normally hidden from view is now front and center. Most of my family believes me to be a neat person. The rooms in which we live may need some face lifting, and may need some selectivity in the tchotchkes, but all in all those living spaces are neat and organized. The hidden spaces? not so much.

I blame some of it on the old house appointments - small closets, odd angles, dusty, grimey, and a little the worse for wear. But that's just an excuse, the primary problem is laziness. A tool picked up is put down where we finish using it. An unseen corner of the basement that is the "workbench" is dark and around a corner we rarely turn so who's to pay attention to the mess.

So, here I go....transparent as I can be. Introducing you to the shame that is our "workbench" area in our dingy dark old basement.



This is the view into the work area. It is a small little alley space cut in behind the sub-level garage we have. Lighting is a challenge...right now a very ancient two prong extension cord runs through a hole in the ceiling to a plug in the garage.





An old lamp missing its shade that came with the previous owners (and maybe the original owner) stands in the back corner - as ugly as it is old...all of the cords are connected to a 6 outlet device that seems similarly ancient....not even Penny Cat can believe we use this lamp.

Currently to turn on the lighting I have to open the door into the garage and click on the light switch to power up the outlet. Needless to say, part of the project is safe and reliable lighting!

Turn your back on the bench and peek backwards into the other part of the utility/basement area where we have put up shelves, but somehow stuff keeps piling up in front of them rather than on them. In this view alone there is our outdoor hammock, a beer brewing container, spare and broken chairs, and ash vacuum for the firepit (which belongs to my in-laws), summer fans, bags of clothes for charity, etc, etc, etc....

This is the surface of the workbench, which should be...well...a surface! Note the peg board on the left...nearly empty...not to mention the bent long screwdriver in back that Hubby bent driving to put holes in frozen ground last year for the driveway reflectors to avoid plow damage to the lawn.

A view of the floor - oy! old paint, empty bottles, tools, dust, mess, etc.....

Anybody have some empty jars that fit these lids? If so I can take advantage of previous owner's attempt to organize nails and screws and keep them off the bench.

Another pegboard with more empty hangers than tools. Imagine this board in a few hours (or days) with outlines of our tools in place so when a tool is missing, we'll always know which one.

So...I begin. The after pictures will come shortly....and I'll account for any money I may spend on storage solutions, although my goal here is to use what we already have...just smartly.