Organizing the fruit cellar

I don't think this post will translate well to the blog and to you, my readers.
I didn't take a lot of photos because there wasn't a lot to show, but the feeling of satisfaction I had after completing the task is incredible.

First off, does everyone know what a fruit cellar is?

It's that cold little room in the basement that's usually housed underneath your front porch.  It's a cement room with no heat or insulation - and I have to be honest and say that I never use ours.
I think the purpose of a fruit cellar is to house canned/jarred goods.  It keeps them cold, but without freezing them.
In my part of Canada, fruit cellars are also the go-to hiding spot in the event of a tornado.

Given that I don't put down preserves or cure meat, and the threat of a tornado is slim (knock wood), ours sits unused.

In fact, Hubby is the only one that ever goes in there, and it's just to check on the sump pump.

I went in last week to find the missing Hallowe'en decorations that go in our front yard and saw the mess above.

Maybe not so much mess, as just a complete misuse and waste of space.

Bee in my bonnet, it was time to clean house.

I removed everything from the room and gave it a good sweep.  I'm not kidding when I tell you that I jumped at every little piece of lint that was drawn up - I was convinced it was crawling with spiders.  (fortunately it was just my overactive imagination)

While in there, I found a case and a bit of our wedding wine - which I don't think was that stellar when we served it 10 years ago - so would that make it red wine vinegar now?

I found 7 boxes of mason jars that I didn't even know I had, my missing ice scrapers and Hubby's skis - which he hasn't worn in at least 12 years.

Time to make the space usable - bring in more storage and more items (that can be stored in a cool damp room without worry of mold or rust).

Of course!  
Outdoor decorations!

I purged a thing or two then grabbed our outdoor Christmas decorations and brought them in, freeing up some space in my furnace room.
The empty shelf on the bottom will house our outdoor Hallowe'en decor once we take it down.

It feels like I've created square footage by bringing the items up off of the floor in this room, and more footage in the furnace room by storing things in here.

I'm so pleased!

Now just to make sure I have a small tornado kit tucked away in there and I will be up-to-code!

It's small, but it has impact.

 Have a great one!