Do you *really* think you’ll be able to wrangle that blender back into the Styrofoam inserts / folded cardboard cushioning? When you move, you or your movers will wrap that sucker in blank newsprint, put it in a standard moving box, and be done with it.

Only exception: computer/printer/stereo boxes. When these things break (and they do), you’ll need to ship them in for repair, using the original boxes. Usually, the cushioning inserts are cleanly fashioned and easy to reposition on the equipment to get it in the box. So, you get a hall pass to keep these.

In the last ten years I have moved at least once every year which has made it very easy to deploy a ‘one-in-one-out’ rule – and I can’t imagine having a basement full of stuff. I was actually quite relieved that all my childhood dolls and dolls clothes had been stored in cardboard boxes because when clearing my mum’s attic a few years ago, it was very easy to toss all the things that had been chewed on by rodents. So the benefit of cardboard boxes (and floods) must be that they make it very easy to decide on which things to hold on to and which to toss!

1. Reserve thy plentiful basement space for messy projects (like re-finishing furniture).

2. Thou shalt store only hardware (hammers, drills, that kind of stuff), yard tools and implements of snow removal in thy basement.

3. That which serveth thou in thy house-proper shalt remain in thy house-proper. Maketh thou cozy, climate controlled homes for paperwork, christmas decorations etc in the main floors.

For verily shalt thou deprive creepy crawlies of hiding spaces when thou limiteth thy basement clutter.

1. Thou shalt pack items into smaller bins which can be thus easily moved and stored in smaller spaces under stairs and on closet shelves.

(Instead of one monster bin, why not use two smaller ones and save your back and search time? They take up the same space as a larger one, so no clutter from “extra” bins.)

2. Thou shalt paste a label on both the lid AND the side of yon rubber bin. Curse the evildoer who opens two bins and switches the lids with the labels on them.

3. Thou shalt not store items sensitive to moisture in the same room as ye olde washer and dryer, even when in a trusty rubber bin, sealed from the cursed humidity. No solution is impervious!

4. Thou shalt realize that well-organized storage bins can be pleasing to the eye when stacked neatly in an open area of yon basement, if no other place can be found. Pick a colour and style which shall complement your decor.

5. Though shalt not use wicker, cardboard, nor cloth storage baskets or file boxes to store important papers for the IRS. Furthermore, thou shalt find a storage place which is not in yon basement for any important doucmentation.

6. Thou shalt not use storage bins as coffee tables unless you are a college student, and then much rejoicing can be had, for you are exempt from furniture/storage bin laws. *wink*

My rule would be ‘thou shalt not carpet the basement.’ Cleanup would have been so much faster, easier and more thorough if we didn’t have carpet down here.

But the experience also turned me into a more aggressive unclutterer. Now when I’m tempted to hang onto something, I think, if a flood destroyed this object, would I be distraught? If so, it probably shouldn’t be in the basement; if not, it shouldn’t be in my home at all!

For example, I’d been holding onto my first musical instrument, which I hadn’t played in 7 years; I knew I should donate it but couldn’t seem to let it go. It was in the basement during the flood, and as I threw out the heavily mildewed instrument and case, I realized that I wasn’t going to miss it–but I did feel bad that it couldn’t have a second life with someone who really wanted to play it.

Rule #2: Some basements will never flood because the developers are on crack and build on land totally unsuitable for human habitation. (Our property is on a 36 degree angle and our soil is 90% shale. We can’t even get the ground to hold enough water to grow grass. Let me tell you about xeriscaping in the northeast.)

We have an outbuilding that was a brick “garage” for the riding lawnmower the previous owners had. We changed this building into a playhouse for the kids, and store quite a few toys out there. No need for a basement “playroom”, which I’ve heard is one justification for a basement.

The peace of mind that comes from having no basement is well worth “losing” that storage space.

“Yes” to all the rules and how I wish there had been some writing on the wall that I should ever think of following them.

Five weeks ago, the heaviest rains ever in my area have caused the canalization to flood the streets and eventually my basement appartment despite in-built, regularly checked non-return flaps or whatever they are called.

Here are some of my observations / lessons learnt:

When you leave your home, have someone “capable” check it, possibly on a daily basis. Someone who will only tell you that some water had entered does not really help you (In my case: I was away for another three weeks before I could take a look at the damage myself and was worried 24/7/3).

When your place was flooded and urgent measures like dehumidification or even demounting / destruction of furniture etc. need to be taken while you´re absent, make sure you have someone competent to handle it for you, don´t let the reconstruction company do whatever they want, they are there for the business ! (In my case: They not only took out the floors in all rooms and dehumidified but also wanted to take down all wallpapers and the put in new screed and cheep wallpapers at an exorbitant price).

If you have things in certain order like books, etc. put them in (plastic) boxes, label them yourself and keep them in shelves (In my case: I had wrapped some of my favourite books in plastic foil as they were yellowing and had packed them in cardboard boxes which I simply stored directly on the floor – I now consider myself lucky. Everything else, that company threw into boxes and not in an organized fashion, they simply don´t care -I have been home now for two weeks and still haven´t found certain important items).

When you leave your home, be prepared that a stranger to your household may enter your house for such legal purposes to help you in a crisis – therefore, don´t leave anything of value or importance lying around, relying on your housesitter to keep an eye on those people… I have found some of the tiniest items like a broken key from my laptop but not my USB-stick …

Check your insurance policy for flooding (In my case: flooding is covered with regards to the building and anything directly attached to it, anything else is not covered, i.e. not the ruined carpets, not the ruined bookcases, not the ruined appliances, not the ruined doors, you get the picture).

I am certain that other lessons still wait for me to be learnt from this but luckily, all I can say is that, after all, money can replace whatever is worth replacing, no one lost his/her life, no one got hurt but I have to help myself as there will be no financial aid from nobody.

“There are two types of basements: those that have flooded and those that have yet to flood.”

How true is that ! And how expensive to avoid or to repair.

I was visiting my parents one summer when they were renting a 100+ year old house and went downstairs to check the hot water heater setting and not only was the basement flooded, the boxes were actually floating, due to the amount of water!

My normally very calm father freaked out and ran down there to save whatever it was that was so important that he couldn’t put it in the house or even remember what it was.
In the process, he disturbed a group of bats that was roosting in the basement.

The pandomonium that ensued was something that still makes me chuckle.

I work in a library that gets lots of donated books that were stored in basements – that slight mold or mildew smell is killing your books and taking away any value at all. We often have to recycle them immediately to avoid introducing new mold into our collection.

If you’re relegating books to basements and attics with extremes of temp and humidity, just give them away now, for your sake (and theirs!)