CELLAR MADNESS CHONICLES

 Ohhhh, here we go again.  This time it's the cellar.   The basement is divided into 4 spaces.  The entire space is the footprint of our home and for the most part an open space with a 1/2 bath, laundry room, and an enclosed wine cellar under our sunroom at the front of the house.  It is subterranean and amazing how steady the temperature stays down there.   Of course, the drawback to most basements is they can get water from to time which mine did recently when we got a hurricane and tropical storm back to back.  I'm a few hundred yards from the bay, so the water table can rise quickly, but my basement is geared to handle water as long as it's not more than an inch or so.  Double tile floor on top of concrete and a sump pump. Also, everything is off the floor by at least an inch. 

The wine cellar is my focus because even though it has 4 large wine racks, it's also a great storage area because of the steady temperature.  Candles, paint, dishware, etc., are safe because there is little temperature fluctuation.  

Much neglected, the cellar became a disorganized mess, so I finally got the bug to clean it out.  In doing so, I had to clean up the walls which were in need of a new coat of DryLok.  Whew!  That stuff has a strong odor!  I woke up this morning feeling woozy, so I'm taking a little break today until this dizziness goes away.

Meanwhile, I drug all the "stuff" out of the cellar so I could organize, clean, and paint when I ran across this cute Baileys Irish Coffee Cup.  It was my MIL's and now I have it.   It's quirky and I love using it around Halloween.

I've been working away on the cellar and making great progress. I had wine racks on 1 and 1/2 walls, so I removed the 1/2 wall which left me with one wall for wine storage.  When I removed the unwanted racks, I was left with a nice framework of shelves.  It looks so much better, and the shelves will be much more functional.  The rear wall has wine storage which is plenty.

 I've got one more area on a wall that needs cleaning up and a coat of DryLok. I dread doing it, but it must be done.  The dust and fumes are killer, but I'll wear a mask and use the vacuum.  Ugh!

Now it's time to weed out.  Absolutely the hardest part of any purge.  I tend to hang on to things, but I am determined to toss, toss, toss.