Everyone who owns a home knows that familiar feeling – you head down into your basement and see clutter from wall to wall. Musty boxes filled with receipts, broken exercise machines, torn up couches and unused toy chests are just a few examples of things people end up storing in their basement.

 Basements end up as junk heaps because everything that isn’t useful anymore ends up piled down there. You can’t decide if you want to throw something out and so it ends up sitting in your basement for years, collecting dust.

This common practice of mistaking a basement for a landfill prevents a homeowner from making the most of valuable space. Essentially, you are paying per square foot of your house, and not effectively making use of a large basement is simply a waste of money. There are a ton of fun, interesting, and practical things you can do with a basement if it is cleared of all that junk. I’d like to take this opportunity to provide you with a list of the top ten things you can do to make proper use of your basement.

1. Exercise Room: So you’ve wanted to get in shape but don’t want to pay for a gym membership, or simply can’t get the motivation to pack up and drive to the gym every day. Your basement is the perfect place to set up your personal, customized exercise room. You can pick the equipment to your liking, whether you are into lifting weights, running on a treadmill, hitting a heavy bag or working out on a Bowflex. You can even invite some friends or family members down there to join you on your fitness crusade.
2. Guest Room: Often times when guests stay over for an extended period of time they can become a burden on your home, constantly getting in the way and popping out at the most awkward moments. A basement is a great place to install a guest room, not only because it gives your visitor a bit of privacy, but also because it will keep them out of your hair.
3. Movie Theatre: Nowadays, with the proper HD TV equipment, you can get the picture and sound quality of a Cineplex from the comfort of your home. Throw in some comfy couches and a popcorn machine, and you’ll never want to leave home on those rainy Saturdays again.
4. Art Studio: You’ve always wanted to take up drawing, ceramics, sculpting, or a number of other arts, but just don’t have a place to do it. Your basement is the perfect place to pick up that hobby or art form.
5. Pool Hall: Pool halls are often crowded, smoky, and filled with people that you don’t really like. That’s why getting a pool table in your basement can make it the perfect place to have friends over to play some billiards. Emulate the real thing by installing a few small TVs in high places and a mini-fridge down low.
6. Small Business: If you are a budding entrepreneur who is about to launch a home business, considering using your basement as an office. It will provide more of a separation between your home and work life than the other rooms in your house, and also can be a great, quiet place to focus on your business goals.
7. Mini Zoo / Aquarium: Your house is overflowing with fish tanks, lizard terrariums, hamster cages and who knows what else. Your basement is the perfect place to establish as a ‘pet zone,’ where animals can be taken care of and enjoyed, but not be in your face every second of every day.
8. Ping Pong Center: Ping Pong (or Table Tennis) requires a good amount of space that can’t often be found within the interiors of most homes. Basements are the perfect place to set down a ping pong table and start playing. Place a whiteboard on the wall and you can keep track of scores and tournaments and install a rack someplace to hold your ping pong paraphernalia.
9. Arcade: Your basement can fulfill your children’s dreams (or yours) of having your own personal arcade. Whether it is old school Pac-Man style machines or modern gaming consoles, your basement can become the place to escape to a fantastic world of gaming.
10. Children’s Fun Zone: If you have kids, the basement can be a place where they can play and make a mess, but not cause a hassle. Given you keep an eye on them, children love to have their own space to run around and create those little imaginative games. If you have some sleeping bags on hand, the basement is also a great place for your kids and their friends to have an adventuresome but safe sleep over.

No matter what you plan to use your basement for, it needs to be cleared of all that junk before you can transform it. Sometimes that junk can be heavy and troublesome – hauling it yourself can prove a daunting project. That’s why Junk-King offers affordable and efficient junk hauling services so that you can reclaim your basement from the clutter. If you book an appointment today, Junk-King’s professional movers will even give you a free on-site basement clearing estimate.