3 Tips For Cleaning Out Your Basement
Our basements can sometimes get a little bit out of hand when it comes to cleaning. Many homeowners tend to use their basement as a place to store all their “junk,” and it can be very tempting to avoid cleaning the basement until the problem has become too big for one person to handle.
However, because they aren’t cleaned out very often, many might wonder how to clean a basement, especially if it’s their first time. Thankfully, countless others have cleaned out their basements successfully and have developed several methods to make the process easier. If your basement could use an extreme makeover, take our three tips to help clear everything out safely and as quickly as possible during a basement cleanout.
Wear Face Masks and Gloves
Wearing a mask isn’t just useful for staving off diseases and viruses! Face masks, sometimes referred to as “surgical masks,” can help you avoid breathing in harmful substances like mold, chemicals, or dust that may be lurking in your basement. Even if a little dust isn’t that harmful, high levels of it can create respiratory issues during your basement cleanout. Because our basements are not regularly vacuumed, it is likely that one or more dangerous substances may be hiding in the bottom level of your home.
Masks aren’t the only apparel you should wear when cleaning a basement. By wearing gloves, you’ll accomplish more than avoid touching moldy or dusty things; you’ll prevent bacteria and other harmful particles from contacting your skin. Protective gloves can also protect your nails from harm when handling sharp or heavy objects. Further, gloves offer better grip, allowing you to grasp and carry delicate objects more firmly.
Bring Out the Big Guns
If you have a large amount of stuff accumulating in your basement that you would like to dispose of, a dumpster service in Philadelphia, PA, can help you to safely remove all types of material without the need to run back and forth from your local garbage disposal area. A dumpster rental in Philadelphia, PA, also has the added benefit of taking care of waste removal for you, saving you time and money in the long run.
There are many other benefits to hiring a dumpster service for your basement cleanout. Should your cleaning take longer than you expected it to, then you’ll be able to extend the usage of your rental to last the length of your project! Additionally, some larger things you plan to throw out may be too big for a regular trash can. But with a dumpster rental, you’ll be able to contain junk of all sorts of shapes and sizes, saving you the hassle of sorting everything you want to discard by size.
Sort Your Things
If you find yourself asking others how to clean a basement and aren’t sure where to begin, then consider starting by sorting all of your belongings! First, you ought to take an inventory of everything you currently have in your basement to get a sense of what you own; that will make it easier to sort them later.
Next, you should find a method to sort everything downstairs that suits your needs the best. One means of doing so is to determine which you don’t use very often, such as seasonal decorations, and what items are frequently used in your day-to-day life. Anything that isn’t essential or commonly used can be packed up and stored in the back of your basement, whereas items used regularly can go in the front or on top so they are easily accessible.
The Benefits of Color-Coding Your Things
Another method of sorting your things during a basement cleanout is by color-coding them. This idea doesn’t mean placing all the red objects in one area or the blue ones in another but using color organization to signify whether you are keeping, discarding, or sending something to charity. While you might see everything in your basement as useless “stuff” that needs to go, the truth is that a large percentage of things cluttering up your basement can probably be donated to local charities to help families in need.
Make sure to sort your things into three separate piles when cleaning the basement: a “throwaway” pile for things like stained clothing and garbage, a “keep” pile for things that you need, and a “donate” pile for apparel, home appliances, children’s toys, and other household objects in good working order. If you find that throwing everything into a pile is too messy, consider utilizing labels, stickers, or post-it notes to make the color-coding easier.
If you are in need of a dumpster for your basement cleanout, turn to our friendly team here at WRS Dumpster Rental! We offer residential dumpster services in Maryland and numerous other locations to help you discard garbage, so whether you need a dumpster rental in Toms River, NJ, or any of our other service locations in the eastern United States, contact WRS Dumpster Rental for all of your dumpster needs!