What you store in basement storage?

[Trying2bFrugal]

We are on discussion on how big of storage we need to have in basement. House is 2022 built, currently laid interlocking mats for flooring for kids but will be doing framing and walls soon. Attached the drawing we planned so far. Open area,  one section for adults/media room/Bar and big piece for gym, kids, work station.

Got a 5 yo and planning another baby. We both fully agreed to not to keep gathering stuff and donate goodwill or give it away.

Still I know over period of time we accumulate stuff.

 I have a 2 car garage with 11ft ceiling and storage above ceiling.   My thought is to make over head shelves for non temperature sensitive storage items. Currently storing camping, my power tools, cooking utensils, Christmas decor on the small overhead shelves and standing shelf. Bikes are hanged overhead. Its basically very much packed leaving room for one 8x4ft and 3x8ft storage below ceiling.

 I stored paint, any fabric stuff in basement.

We arent fan of storing meat in freeze neither live on any frozen food.. most days we cook meals.  most likely may not even get a freezer down.

What do you guys store in basement? What is obvious vs absolute if I had to plan?

We started our lives together 8 years ago literally with 2 suitcase dress and two boxes kitchen and other stuff. Everything was accumulated in last 3 years. But doesnt mean the next person would live same way. So like to hear what others store. So I can think it through before I design walls.

edit: I would be hanging drywall a little up (ceiling height is 105" and 8 ft is 96") I would snap in a 6 or 8" baseboard. In case of flooding, atleast drywall work would be saved. I got this advice today from the water damage cleaning company I am working with, for the old house where sewage backed and making me nuts to spend 10k next week to fix the issue. Wont be making the company do that work, but just saying.

[Sanitary Stache]

We store paint and tools and other building supplies (no garage), decor options, plant pots, fermented foods and drinks, and animal feed.

If we had a water tight garage/barn space we would probably just store food in the basement and maybe home decor. And I’d probably want tools/shop area in the basement because I can’t imagine having a heated garage and always want to stare at my tools and daydream about projects. I would not enjoy that as much in a freezing garage (though that might limit my daydreaming).

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I only store stuff in the basement if I don't mind it getting wet. Anything I don't want getting wet but makes sense to store in the basement is put into plastic storage bins with lids.

Does your area have a high water table? Do you have a sump pump in your basement? Is there any history of flooding in your area? You might want to consider that before finishing your basement. If your basement floods and it is finished, it becomes exponentially more difficult and expensive to clean up and repair.

[Trying2bFrugal]

I only store stuff in the basement if I don't mind it getting wet. Anything I don't want getting wet but makes sense to store in the basement is put into plastic storage bins with lids.

Does your area have a high water table? Do you have a sump pump in your basement? Is there any history of flooding in your area? You might want to consider that before finishing your basement. If your basement floods and it is finished, it becomes exponentially more difficult and expensive to clean up and repair.

I have to find the answers on the water and flood questions after talking to my neighbor. I am in the house/area only for 15 months. The lake is 500 meter from home. The house is graded really slope towards water (like 6 ft at least from basement floor to rain drain (water egress?). But I agree if something breaks and flood, water is water. I have sump pump in basement (planning to get a battery backup too). We dont plan to keep any expensive things or sleep at basement. Just gym, kids, Media room and work table (laptop/monitor, not the tools workshop). But good points, i never thought of asking it to neighbor. Also thought LVP are inert ie., incase of flood, take them off, wipe, dry and put them back?

[aloevera1]

In addition to what is listed already, we store non-perishable foods that were bought on sale, etc. Think something like tomato paste or jams. I also make preserved foods so that also gets stored in the basement. We have arranged a part of the basement for food storage, temperature controlled, etc.

Other things that are stored in the basement

- suitcases
- sports gear (making a home gym there)
- equipment to grow seedlings for my garden, e.g. tomatoes

Hope this helps.

[Trying2bFrugal]

In addition to what is listed already, we store non-perishable foods that were bought on sale, etc. Think something like tomato paste or jams. I also make preserved foods so that also gets stored in the basement. We have arranged a part of the basement for food storage, temperature controlled, etc.

Other things that are stored in the basement

- suitcases
- sports gear (making a home gym there)
- equipment to grow seedlings for my garden, e.g. tomatoes

Hope this helps.

Thanks! I thought of using attic space for suitcase. Since mostly they are plastic, do they need to be stored on air conditioned room? Basement is air conditioned by central ac if thats what you meant.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

I only store stuff in the basement if I don't mind it getting wet. Anything I don't want getting wet but makes sense to store in the basement is put into plastic storage bins with lids.

Does your area have a high water table? Do you have a sump pump in your basement? Is there any history of flooding in your area? You might want to consider that before finishing your basement. If your basement floods and it is finished, it becomes exponentially more difficult and expensive to clean up and repair.

I have to find the answers on the water and flood questions after talking to my neighbor. I am in the house/area only for 15 months. The lake is 500 meter from home. The house is graded really slope towards water (like 6 ft at least from basement floor to rain drain (water egress?). But I agree if something breaks and flood, water is water. I have sump pump in basement (planning to get a battery backup too). We dont plan to keep any expensive things or sleep at basement. Just gym, kids, Media room and work table (laptop/monitor, not the tools workshop). But good points, i never thought of asking it to neighbor. Also thought LVP are inert ie., incase of flood, take them off, wipe, dry and put them back?

The flooring can probably be cleaned up easily. I would be more concerned about any drywall and wood framing getting soaked in a flood. It can get moldy pretty fast.

[aloevera1]

In addition to what is listed already, we store non-perishable foods that were bought on sale, etc. Think something like tomato paste or jams. I also make preserved foods so that also gets stored in the basement. We have arranged a part of the basement for food storage, temperature controlled, etc.

Other things that are stored in the basement

- suitcases
- sports gear (making a home gym there)
- equipment to grow seedlings for my garden, e.g. tomatoes

Hope this helps.

Thanks! I thought of using attic space for suitcase. Since mostly they are plastic, do they need to be stored on air conditioned room? Basement is air conditioned by central ac if thats what you meant.

I think it depends how hot your attic gets. I can imagine that at certain temperatures plastic in the attic would begin to deteriorate. But also... how cold would it get? Some plastic pieces become brittle in the cold.

I would probably just avoid **Extreme** temperatures for them lol

[reeshau]

I so miss having a basement.  The only unfinished space (I.e. not competing for other purposes) that we have gets to 110F in the summer, so is brutal on seasonal decorations and other delicate items.  A lot of our drawer space is not for clothes, or the anything about the room it is in.

[Dicey]

Sigh...I've never had a basement, as they're not done much in CA. I'd love to have all that storage space,  but it's probably for the best that I don't.  We "compensate" by having a 1050sf garage, which doesn't suck.

Our kids on CO are in the process of buying a house with a full basement. They're excited out of their minds. They are hoping we will come visit over the summer to convert it to whatever they dream up. We will, after we update the kitchen, of course.

[Trying2bFrugal]

Sigh...I've never had a basement, as they're not done much in CA. I'd love to have all that storage space,  but it's probably for the best that I don't.  We "compensate" by having a 1050sf garage, which doesn't suck.

Our kids on CO are in the process of buying a house with a full basement. They're excited out of their minds. They are hoping we will come visit over the summer to convert it to whatever they dream up. We will, after we update the kitchen, of course.

Nice to have more hands on project. We have a 18" queen air mattress that we use for camping and another regular queen mattress. So if at all my cousins come visit us, we could have 3beds+ 2 queen air beds + 2 full beds can accommodate at least 10 adults.

Basement has its own issues, but got some breathing space too. Friends who moved to Florida from Michigan doesnt miss so much, but definitely miss their space on basement.

[SunnyDays]

Frankly, I have way too much crap down there.  A small sitting area for summer tornado threats, washer and dryer, freezer, patio furniture (no garage) and just junk that has no other home.
Beware of storing paint if it’s at all damp - the lids get rusty and then it falls into the paint.  I lost a few gallons of otherwise good paint due to this.

[ChickenStash]

My basement is primarily used for HVAC, water heater, networking, and washer/dryer. I don't store much down there simply because I don't have the stuff to store. I do use it as a workshop for home projects. Right now I have a miter and table saw setup along with some saw horses while I install wood flooring upstairs. I do have two shelves of house paint, cleaning supplies, and a few things that I normally have in the garage that I don't want frozen.

I'm not a big fan of finishing basements, at least not with drywall. There's just too many ways for water to cause trouble that won't be seen until it's a big problem. Water heaters leak, sewers backup, unusual storms make new foundation leaks, sump pumps fail, etc. Suspended ceiling, tile, and paint the concrete walls would be about as far as I would want to go.

[Sanitary Stache]

The first thing we did when we moved into our house was demo the moldy drywall and 2x4s in the basement.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

My basement is primarily used for HVAC, water heater, networking, and washer/dryer. I don't store much down there simply because I don't have the stuff to store. I do use it as a workshop for home projects. Right now I have a miter and table saw setup along with some saw horses while I install wood flooring upstairs. I do have two shelves of house paint, cleaning supplies, and a few things that I normally have in the garage that I don't want frozen.

I'm not a big fan of finishing basements, at least not with drywall. There's just too many ways for water to cause trouble that won't be seen until it's a big problem. Water heaters leak, sewers backup, unusual storms make new foundation leaks, sump pumps fail, etc. Suspended ceiling, tile, and paint the concrete walls would be about as far as I would want to go.

This is how I feel about basements too. They should remain mechanical rooms and places to put stuff that needs to be sheltered but doesn't belong in the garage. It's ok to see your plumbing, HVAC, and electrical systems in your basement. If you ever need to have someone work on them, you will be happy they are exposed. It will reduce the amount of labor you have to pay for the repair.

I wouldn't even paint the walls. If moisture starts wicking through the concrete or block walls, it can make the paint fall off.

I live in an area that used to be swamp forest before it was developed. There's drainage ditches everywhere. It's still not enough to overcome a spring snow thaw plus heavy rains for multiple days. Every spring when we get heavy rains, people's tree lawns get filled with ruined carpet, wood paneling, and soaked furniture from their basements flooding.

Our basement half bathroom was destroyed in 2012 when super storm Sandy came through and we lost power for 5 days. Our bathroom was right next to the sump pits which promptly overflowed after our battery backup died. The only way I would ever finish a basement in my part of the world is if the house was at the top of a hill and I was convinced it had good foundation drainage.

[seattlecyclone]

In our basement we store camping equipment, non-perishable food items that don't fit in the kitchen (Costco), a number of kid books/toys (limiting what's in their bedrooms at any given time keeps messes to a more reasonable level), tools, gift wrap, holiday decorations, spare light bulbs and electronic cables, a few musical instruments, and some other odds and ends.

[Trying2bFrugal]

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 The only way I would ever finish a basement in my part of the world is if the house was at the top of a hill and I was convinced it had good foundation drainage.

 I thought of getting the water sensor which send alarms, a battery backup on sump pump, drywall 6"up from floor and pvc baseboard. And riders on insurance. If we think everything would fail and we always end up in worst scenario, I have nothing to say but to think a different perspective of life.

There are few things in life where the thin line of need vs comfort vs luxury varies. Shit would happen with 50/50 chance. Prepare for worst buy enjoy the present is what my current thought.

Even though we could get CRT. Plasma TV for free or it was working fine, most of us would have still got a led tv if not Oled tv.

Our house is 2100 sq ft, the extra sq ft in basement would help us in get together meeting with atleast 10 adults and 7 kids once in a month. Handy during Michigan winter.

If shit happens, tear them, build. If nothing happens, joy on things.