Tis the season to organize-Tips to help your house when get down to it.

Basement clutter-but at least on a metal wheeled rack using plastic bins.

New year and new resolutions.  Lose weight, don’t repeat the mistakes of last year, organize and stay organized!  If you are digging into your attic, basement or garage to finally get it organized and under control, please follow a few simple guidelines to help your house.

1)  Don’t store items in cardboard boxes or on unpainted wood shelves.  In New England the humid air we have 9 months a year will quickly create an environment where fungus will grow on cardboard and wood leading to odors and pests in your basement, attic or garage.

2)  Don’t store items against the wall of your basement.  Many home have a path from the bottom of the basement stairs to the laundry and hopefully the bulkhead or basement door.  This is because items are stored against the basement wall, then other items are stored in front of it, eventually filling the space with items you can’t get rid of.  Hopefully you have the courage to move on from what you don’t need and let Goodwill sell the stuff you don’t need to people who do.  If you don’t, or for what you have left, store those items off the ground, on metal racks with wheels (find them at ULINE) and – most importantly – away from the walls.  Make sure you can walk around the perimeter of your basement.  Leave enough space to walk around the basement walls.  This is important to allow air to flow around your stored items.  This allows you to inspect the perimeter for leaks that might occur such as from ice dams.  It keeps your stored items away from the cool foundation wall.  Your stone or concrete foundation wall stays cool even in the summer, causing condensation as warm humid air meets the cool wall, which will get moisture and fungus on your stored items leading to damage, odors and pests.

3)  When you are done take the time to add a fiberglass, weather tight exterior grade door to the bottom of your bulkhead stairs and a dehumidifier-both of which we can sell and install for you.