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Hi, Everyone, hope you are staying SAFE!
In 1984, when we bought a 12 year-old, 1400 sq.ft., modest builder grade Ranch House on a bit more than a quarter of an acre. We thought we had gone to heaven after living in a congested townhouse area.
Our unincorporated community had a lake, parks, un-congested lanes and streets, what we from Wisconsin, call a 'townie bar' on the lake, clean air, critters, bull frogs, raccoons, pheasants, deer, etc. Perfect for two pre-teen boys to grow up in.
The minus-was no garage (we built one, years later), plus a big empty 1400 sq. foot basement, some of which today is this
DUNGEON!
The basement, gave me a clay shop for my pottery business---us, a family room, hubby an office, and a huge storage room shop
that I shared with my husband.
Over the years we remodeled upstairs, put the washer-dryer upstairs, added a mini-master bath in a walk-in closet, reconfigured the other bath, added exterior water service to all sides of the house and piece-meal'd the plumbing, ourselves. You can see the cobbled plumbing by all the different types of drain pipes, and the extra heat runs. We had a metal pipe failure from the kitchen, which is 50 some feet away from the kitchen, two years ago, so that had to be replaced. It was filled with sand from the sump pumps. Sigh.
Anyway, now the house is 46 years old. We need to update/replace the bathrooms to walk-in showers, improve our water flow, and retackle the tangle of sewer pipes that adding-on eventually taxed.
Hubby will totally replace and redo all the plumbing on this side of the house.
But before we could do that-we added a new floor over the concrete. First we had to go through this room and the 30 some years of storage.
Behind all those bins is a run of kitchen cabinetry gleaned from a remodeler in the area.
These ARE the AFTER Photos....YIKES!
Behind this mound of bins of antiques and craft supplies, lurks a 1900 record player, furniture, and the doorway to the other doll/craft room.
The finished, doll craft room, and I also have a shipping room! Bins here also hide family treasures. Flowers are just plopped in a vase, not designed. I hope to have friends here for projects, when I have water-another reason for the plumbing debacle.
This sink has water, but not drainage. Originally the sink in the clay room ran to the sump pumps. We have purchased a pump/well for draining directly to the sewer from here, that will be installed to the left through the wall into the DUNGEON.
Oh, and I use LOTS of picnic baskets, woven and metal!
I can't believe how full this room is now---hopefully the dungeon will alleviate the excess.
This was my first photos of the completed craft room.
I use picnic baskets for current projects or groupings of items with labels, so I can keep track.
My goal is to have this Dungeon
look and work as well as the doll craftroom! We
have a long way to go!
I say this is an AFTER photo now in the dungeon, because every container has been gone through. Ninety-five percent have been sorted, ALL are labeled. I also keep our household seasonal items in here.
I have 8 huge bins of flowers, and probably 3 more just full of greens, and grapevine. I still have a penchant for expensive, quality flowers, which I mixed in with 'good' ones and gorgeous greens.
In the past, I did weddings, parties, home-decorating, as well as commercial work. NOW, the prices of floral product are insane, and while I have cut my stock to less than half, I still have a ton.
There are the bins of 4 generations of stuff, good and bad, antiques and photos inherited from my family. PLUS, I've collected also-I know I have at least 2 dozen blue mason jars---
but, can I let them go now, or will I use them for mini's storage?
Many bins are marked SELL. I don't really need to do garage sales, flea markets, antique stores to buy...I just need to go to this basement room. I will be posting some of all this in my Etsy store.
January through March during the dreary winter, we went through this room-slowly, and hubby redid the floor. We will seal the floor with some roll on floor paint as we work from the plumbing back to the entrance. Right now, he was laying out all the pieces of the new drainage/sewer reconfiguration.
Eventually we will paint walls and put up pegboard in places, as we start that after the plumbing is done. As I move into the room ---I'll start with storage on that wall of the plumbing, I will consolidate and eliminate the contents of all those totes.
I can only get into this one wall cabinet which holds my paints, all stored upside down. They will have to be sorted, because paint doesn't last 20 years, even stored upside down. I taught craft painting, art theory, color mixing, and floral classes through a local craft store for 10 years or so. My classes were always full,
which really helped with the kids' college bills.
Do you remember when there were tons of craft/art classes and people who actually knew about the products available in craft stores? When someone could answer a question about how to USE the product...???
I do need to CULL so many bins of holiday supplies, and will probably try and sell some of the more interesting things on Etsy. I commonly purchased items wholesale in dozens to grosses. YES, I purchased wreaths by 72's and 144's. Ornament makings were also bought in huge quantities. I toted off the last of my pine swags and small wreaths to Goodwill, since I no longer mass produce anything.
Craft materials have gotten very expensive. I can sell my 20-year new-old-stock stuff at cost, and make myself and customers happy. Surprisingly, I remember what I paid for everything and who my suppliers were. Tons of things I have already sent to GoodWill included lots of glass, and almost all my baskets. I'll let GoodWill store my baskets, because I can re-purchase just about anything I may actually need for very little.
Upscale merchandise I donate to a wonderful thrift shop---that supports families in need.
My worst horde is fabric---antique linens, antique fabric, decor, display fabrics I used for my shop. Lots of rugs, pillows, bits and pieces for projects. Somewhere I have maybe ten vintage needlepoint stockings all backed in velvet.
Containers for floral designs is another category I have to let go. I've already sent lots of brass--gone! Usable flower pots went to the greenhouse for planting.
Then there are the wood projects---I really do need to get at those. I see some serious redo's in the future, maybe even some creative craft painting.
ANYWAY,
with nice weather now, we are going outside and working on yard projects, the greenhouse, and planting, eventually some fishing.
But, rainy days will be spent here in the Dungeon.
Do you have a DUNGEON?
Thank you for any and all comments.
Finally I am able to reply to comments by using Chrome. So all you Mac users who have upgraded to Catalina---this might help the glitches on Safari and Blogger!
Thank you for your cooperation,
