Basement Reform

Before: The huge basement floor is covered with unrestrained, unstored and unorganized clutter, including toys, exercise and electronic equipment. No wonder no one wants to spend time in this mess!

What the Verbits need is a plan. That's where professional organizer Crystal Sabalaske comes into the picture. Her first step to end the chaos is to assign a zone in the basement to each family member.

Toys, tapes and projects are sorted, and once they have been assigned to a zone, Sabalaske suggests that they share the wealth and donate toys that have been outgrown. Let's see the results of her other suggestions:

After: Here is the same space, only painted white, picked up and organized. The screen hides the exercise equipment, and once the toys were picked up, space was found for a table for homework and projects.

Before: The exercise equipment, scattered around the room, is hard to find under the layers of toys.

After: Neatly lined up and ready to use, the exercise equipment can be hidden behind a movable screen.

Before: The dark paneling and poorly used wall shelves make this basement space uninviting and disorganized.

After: Now the shelves and cabinets, which are painted white and frame the TV, have become an integral part of the family gathering area. The fresh blue paint is a fun accent color.

A family entertainment area was a must for this space, for Sabalaske. She decided to bring couches from the back of the room into the front area and angle them for easy TV watching. New brown slipcovers update the couch inexpensively, while a colorful area rug and pillows bring a coordinated look to the new family gathering area.

A Murphy bed descends from the wall for overnight guests.

The bed transforms into a game table with mirror, making this end of the basement multifunctional.

Products from The Container Store:

storage cube
Space Bags
Portofino letterboxes, one navy and one cappuccino
Cotton 20-Pocket Overdoor Shoe Bag
square Pandan wastebasket
eight-drawer storage chest
Short Small Akro Bin, Blue
Long Small Akro Bin, White
Wide Medium Akro Bin, White
Calypso Toy Trolly, Truberry
Shantung photo box, Red
Shantung photo box, Blue
five-drawer storage chest
Busy Box, Clear
medium tote
Gameboard Box
mesh cubes
EVA storage stool
stacking storage box and lid
stacking storage casters
half stowaway boxes, one Blue and one Red
Elfa desk legs, Platinum
Elfa veneer desktop, Beech

Products from Stacks and Stacks:

four-panel fabric floor screen
Medusa floor light
Medusa table light, Iris
74-quart storage box
cherry magazine rack

Product from Levenger:

Natural Cherry Connect the Dots Tables

Products from Lillian Vernon:

handwoven fern trunks
canisters and scoops
fabric-lined baskets

Products from Rubbermaid:

four-drawer tower with casters
three-drawer mini chests
18-gallon containers
DVD/VHS organizers
16-gallon tub with handles
slim single drawers
three-gallon containers
1.5-gallon containers
16.5-gallon container

Products from Sure Fit:

Simply Suede sofa cover, Saddle
Simply Suede loveseat cover, Saddle
Denim sofa cover, Indigo
23" cotton Duck Floor pillow, Red
4'10" x 7'10" Inca rug
17" Knife Edge Visions pillow, Mocha
Simply Suede 17" box pillow

Product from Smart Furniture:

maple bookshelf

Product from Inova:

TableBed