I Finally Cleaned Out Our Basement

...and I'm sharing the whole messy process

Our craftsman bungalow was built in 1916, and while it doesn’t have a garage or an attic, it does have a tiny, unfinished basement. And by “basement,” I mean a dark, dusty space where you can’t fully stand up, and where we stash things like house paint, keepsakes, and—for some reason—the crutches I needed when I broke my foot on my fortieth birthday.

Our basement is the one part of our home that feels neglected and sad, so I decided to face it head-on using the simple 5-step process I outline in my book, Minimalista. This project feels oddly vulnerable to share, but hoping it might feel relatable, or even inspire you to tackle your own shove-and-pile zone.

Step One: Clarify

Every project needs a compelling why. Why does this matter? Why is it worth my time? Why now? For me, I didn’t like knowing there was a neglected, slightly shame-inducing part of our home—hidden or not. I wanted our basement to feel tidy, organized, and functional, even if I still planned to avoid it as much as possible. I also wanted to make it easier for my family to find the things we actually use, like extra glassware for parties and house paint for touch-ups.

Storage bins; a peek into our neglected basement as I found it

Step Two: Edit

In my book, editing is always the most impactful step. Since our basement is basically a tiny haunted house, I enlisted (okay, begged) my teens to help haul everything out onto our back deck for review. Once everything was in the daylight, sorting became so much easier, and I got to play my favorite family game - what-is-this-and-why-do-we-own-it?

A fun-filled round of what-is-this-and-why-do-we-own-it?

Here’s what made the cut:

• House paint for touch-ups

• Party supplies that don’t fit in our home (ice buckets and stacks of Duralex glasses - my unbreakable hosting hero)

• Summer camp gear my kids need once a year

• Tax documents we legally have to keep

• Jordan’s wine stockpile (we barely drink, but having this makes him happy)

• Air purifiers and backup filters for fire season

• Keepsakes, childhood mementos, and special letters and photos from my dad

Party supplies and kid art that made the cut

Everything else? Gone. It took 15 minutes to bundle up recycling and donations, and another 30 to drop off old paint at our closest hazardous waste disposal center (pro tip: just Google “paint disposal near me”). I cannot stress enough how deeply satisfying it feels to wrap up a project by getting your unwanted items out the door. Bye!

House paint so old it could be part of a time capsule

Step Three: Organize

Here’s the magic of decluttering: once you fully edit a space, organization becomes ridiculously easy. I grouped everything into broad categories—house paint, keepsakes, tax documents, wine, party supplies, and summer camp gear. Then, all we had to do was make sure everything was contained in clearly labeled bins and make a neat stack back in the basement.

Step Four: Elevate

I’m not about to style our basement (it will always just be a basement), but I did make a few small upgrades: airtight bins to corral stragglers and weatherproof labels so we can grab what we need fast. I used these sturdy airtight bins and my go-to deep storage labels—but if you’ve found a plastic-free option that actually works, I’m all ears. Pro tip: make sure your house paint is labeled by room (i.e. primary bedroom) so you can grab-and-go when you need to freshen up a wall.

All that remains; not pretty, but super organized and functional

Step Five: Maintain

Since we all avoid this space like it’s our job, I’m keeping maintenance simple: return things after use and do a quick annual clean-out. That’s it.

This turned out to be a surprisingly quick, satisfying project, and while I won’t be hanging out in the basement anytime soon, it feels so good to know that it’s no longer a cluttered mess of forgotten junk.

Your turn!

Do you have a space in your home that you’ve been avoiding? A closet, a junk drawer, an attic that fills you with dread? Tell me in the comments—which area is next on your decluttering list?

Just Published: My essay How to Declutter Your Home—and Headspace This Spring was published by goop - To the post.

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