Friday, January 7, 2011

Five Minute Mess

We haven't been down to the basement together for a while, since nothing has really changed....we still need to shop for a media console (waiting for the man of the house to finalize what components are staying, what components are going...)...We have to hang art (posters)...I am debating whether we should install shelves above the corner where the big boy plays, or maybe along the far wall...or not at all...I plunked a poster on the desk under the stairs (for colour) but its not really working for me...yet there it has stayed...

Despite its design shortcomings, we do a lot of living in the basement...which means I spend many minutes each day cleaning the basement...I keep my sanity by "classifying" the task as a five minute mess (or longer/shorter - usually a five minute mess)...

While I am tidying I countdown the time remaining (this countdown has no relation to actual time...)....

How many times do you clean up the same mess everyday? How do you attack it?  Oh and of course, where would you put shelves?

ps...this also lets you see what 6 months of living with the kivik sofa can do to it...

12 comments:

  1. are you not happy with your sofa? I'm curious :) I'm drawn to Ikea for the price, but worried that they won't hold up in the long run. Are you happy with yours?

    I usually put toys in shallow Ikea clear plastic bins and set them out on the floor in the family room. Ideally they are sorted by activity, but that last for about 5 seconds.

    Baby C's favourite thing right now is to dump contents of every bin on the floor and run away.

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  2. The sofa is comfy...but the cushions are all losing shape, and I would say that's probably not what you want in a main living space! But the sofa is perfect for what we needed - something we can beat up and not have any regrets!


    The little one hasn't started the dump and run yet...but all of his cars are lined up in a row...the bins have balls and a few misc toys he doesn't play with as often...

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  3. Oh, yes, we have 5 minute messes here too... that I clean up at least 4x a day, when they get too chaotic.

    I'd do some cubby type shelving along the left wall of the play area, and then maybe some display shelving on the long wall. Are you hanging the TV eventually? If so, I'd try and keep the display shelving sort of symmetrical and sort of the same size as the TV.

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  4. The TV is hung! We have a row of DVDs under it...just turn out to be a perfect fit....besides, the large movie screen is often down...

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  5. I clean up way too many times a day to count. I am a neat freak and I hate mess and clutter!! I have one dog and I am dogsitting a pitbull for a friend for the next 2 months, so let's just say I clean up hourly!!!

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  6. The tidying is endless...but hey...gotta live right? Your basement feels like a home. Lived in. I hear you about cushions that lose shape. Have the same problem in my family room and it drives me nuts. Maybe I should tell the kiddies to stop jumping on it. Have a good weekend!

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  7. Your baasement looks fantastic. So much room and space! I can totally see past all the hubba poolooza...


    Mr. Goodwill Hunting.

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  8. what did you do to your floors? is that polished concrete. It looks great.

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  9. Man, I wish we had a basement for all of Henry's toys. We have the same mess but it is in the living room!!

    BTW - your concrete floors are great!

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  10. Hi Sharon!! The floors are tinted/stained concrete - with radiant heating! The BEST! I thought that they would get dusty because they are dark, but actually, they hide the dirt! BRILLIANT!

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  11. Man, I wish we had a basement for all of Henry's toys. We have the same mess but it is in the living room!!

    BTW - your concrete floors are great!

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  12. I clean up way too many times a day to count. I am a neat freak and I hate mess and clutter!! I have one dog and I am dogsitting a pitbull for a friend for the next 2 months, so let's just say I clean up hourly!!!

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