Don't complain about the mess -- do something about it.

Don't complain about the mess -- do something about it.
By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
"What a mess!"
If that's the sentiment you utter every time you venture into your home's basement, you're not alone.
"The basement is the place where everything gets tossed. As a result, it's typically one of the messiest areas in the house," said professional home organizer Ron Donofrio, of Organized Space in Youngstown.
Donofrio will put your cluttered basement in order for as little as $200, but for folks who want to do the job themselves, he offered a few tricks of the trade.
Make a floor plan
The first thing you need to do is develop a floor plan.
Scrutinize every nook and cranny of your basement and decide where you will put things.
For example, you can designate areas for tools, for holiday decorations, for sports equipment and for craft items.
Or, if you have a finished basement, you might decide to leave an area open to use as a home gym or a hobby room.
Once you've developed your floor plan, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty and sort your junk.
Be prepared to take a trip down memory lane as you rummage through boxes that haven't seen the light of day for years.
Don't get overwhelmed during the sorting process and don't be afraid to toss some items in the trash.
"Remember the steps of organization: sorting objects, taking stock of objects and then arranging them in an orderly fashion and keeping them that way," Donofrio said.
Once you've sorted your stuff, it's time to get into the nuts and bolts of the job.
Shelving
Donofrio's advice at this stage of the game is to install some shelves -- lots of shelves.
"There are several reasons shelves work well in basements," Donofrio said. "Shelves allow you to get items off the floor and make use of wasted space around the walls. If your basement tends to flood, shelves can be installed a few inches off the floor either by anchoring them to mortar joints in the walls or hanging them from the floor joists."
In fact, Donofrio does not recommend installing basement shelves unless they are attached to either the wall or the basement ceiling.
"Self-standing shelving units that are placed against the wall tend to lean forward and be unstable," Donofrio explained. "If you load them up with too much stuff, they might topple over."
Besides being sturdy, shelves should also be deep enough to hold a bevy of basement items.
Donofrio recommends shelves 16- to 20-inch deep that are made of heavy-duty wire or wood.
Track-mount shelving or bracket shelving often work well.
Plastic containers
Plastic containers score points as another essential item for a tidy basement.
"Plastic containers protect items against water damage in case of flooding, and if the container is clear plastic, it allows you to see exactly what you have in storage," Donofrio said.
Donofrio recommends buying different sized plastic containers for different items.
Long, narrow containers work well for holiday wrapping paper, and small divided containers work well for miscellaneous odds and ends.
If your basement is damp, however, be selective about what you store in plastic containers, because mold or mildew can become a problem.
Hanging around
Instead of storing clothing in plastic containers, why not install some hooks and hang them from basement ceiling floor joists?
"If your basement ceiling is high enough, make use of the space. Choose one section of the basement and hang up your clothes," Donofrio said.
If you do choose this route, invest in some garment bags to protect clothing from dust.
Hooks attached to floor joists are also handy for hanging items such as Christmas wreaths or lawn and garden equipment.
Just make sure to hang items far away from the hot water heater and furnace.
"Putting items too close to the hot water heater or furnace can be a fire hazard," Donofrio said.
Laundry area
If your washer and dryer are in your basement, install shelves or cupboards nearby to store detergent and cleaning agents.
The laundry area is also an ideal place to keep dust mops, sponge mops, brooms and other long-handled cleaning tools.
Home improvement centers sell wall brackets made especially for holding items such as these.
Lighten up
Once you've got your act together, how will you stay organized?
Donofrio suggests making your basement as aesthetically pleasing as possible so you'll be less likely to toss things down the stairs and walk away.
If your basement is particularly dark and dingy, install some additional lights and paint the basement walls and ceiling a light color.
"If you make your basement brighter and cleaner, you're more likely to keep it that way," Donofrio said.
He recommends mixing powdered cement into paint before applying paint to basement walls if walls are made of stone or block.
"This will make the paint less porous and you won't have to put on as many coats for decent coverage," he said.