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 Regardless of whether you make your basement a DIY remodeling project, or hire a professional, one of the first things you'll need to do is clean out the junk.
The best solution would be to move everything out- ruthlessly throwing away what you don't need and moving everything else into the garage or other storage space.
Make sure you block a significant amount of time for this process. The longer you've lived in the house, and the more of a packrat you've become, the longer this process will take!
Chances are you won't be able to move everything out at once. One suggestion is to wall off and finish the storage area first. That way you have a place to keep at least some of your stuff while you finish the main part of the basement.
Remember remodeling is a dusty, messy process! No matter where you put things, or how covered you think they are, chances are they'll be covered with dust when you're done.
If you look at the project plan (.pdf), you'll notice the first several weekends were devoted to cleaning the junk out of our basement! Having a 'blank canvas' (i.e. empty basement) will make your life easier when you start construction.
It's amazing the stuff you'll realize you don't need when you know getting rid of it will make your life easier later! We hauled out several piles of stuff!
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Just one of several piles of garbage we cleaned out! I don't think our garbage men were very happy with us!
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