The hoarder, part 2

If you missed part 1, you can find it here.

And this is what it looked like the last time I showed this basement.


After several weeks of puttering around about an hour at a time,

I realized I had probably exceeded the maximum amount of weight for this shelving unit.

Luckily I had more shelves.  Remember what I said about one step forward, three steps back?  I honestly had not thought this reorganization through as well as I thought I had!

Horrible photos, aren't they?  Bet you'll be glad when I finally buy that camera I now love so much.  But until then, I was shooting away any time I went to the basement.

In fact, taking photos of my progress was the only thing that was keeping me from giving up.

It was about this time I thought I was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (tunnel of frustration).

At this point I had all three bottom shelves filled and stable.

It took another day to sort all the fabric that had fallen from the boxes I had so carefully sorted and segregated last November. But prior to that, I procrastinated for several days.  You can tell that I now have my new camera, so things might move a bit quicker now that I'm trying to be motivated.

I even found a container for the fabric that was at least one yard in length.  Note however, the sacks to the right of my small step stool.

These sacks, which were no longer in camera range, hold tissue paper, much like the tissue paper you see on the far shelf in the above photo.  Does anyone really need that much tissue?  And to think that all of it was either given me, or came with a package.

I'm not sure why I took this photo, but I think it was because the last ones I took of this area was too dark for you to see anything.

I think I was also procrastinating because I had no good idea what to do with all that tissue paper I had been given over the years.  And although I am glad I found all those file folders (I knew I had several in the basement), I had no idea I had that many until I had to account for them.  I am envisioning a few new books made from some in the near future. 

I finally found a large box that I could use to round up all that tissue into one place.  Let me walk you through the shelving and how my mind works.  On the top shelf (you can't see) of the left shelving unit are art pieces I have created that are finished.  If I ever decide to sell my art, that will be it.

On the top left shelf you can see are works in progress.  These are pieces I've already started, don't like and want to rework, or have gotten stuck on an idea for how to finish them.  I seem to have a lot of those projects, which are either wood or fabric.  Seems I don't start paper art unless I finish it.

Batting and pellon are next to the plastic bin of fabric on the above shelf on the left, while, at the time I took the photo, I was still sorting all my bed sheets I would use in my hand dyed fabric.

The two top shelves you see on the right shelving unit are my fabric swatches (those small pieces of fabric I simply won't let go, but are so small they must be used with other fabric), sorted by color.  Books and magazines are on both left and right bottom shelves.

Just two more shelves and a bit of straightening was all that was left.

I'm nearly finished, except for

cleaning the filthy floor.

Everything now has a place.

Ironically, all the shelves are completely filled, but there is still a bit of room on some of them.

I still need to clean and dust the small table (and its contents) on the left, but it now has a good home.

Because this shelving unit looks unstable to me, I plan to get a tie down to keep it from falling over.  But for now, this hallway is finished!!  And it only took me two months.  One month of procrastinating, two weeks of healing my back, and two weeks of actual work.

Now I'm off to find that silicon I originally planned to use when I found the nasty mess what seems like SO long ago.  And if you made it this far, all I can say is thanks for sticking with me through this nightmare.