A Clean Basement

I might as well admit it, I am somewhat compulsive about my basement.  I suppose at least three times per year I will go on a campaign to rearrange things, throw away things, and generally clean things.  Usually this will take two full days and will end with a sense of satisfaction and my wife commenting, "that looks nice."  It is a lot of work, but it generally has a subtle psychological effect upon me that makes it worth the effort.  For some reason getting my basement all straightened up and in order helps me to reorder my life.  I don't know why that is, but I know that it works that way.

Maybe it is because my basement, like my life, slowly gets disorganized and dusty and sometimes needs a thorough rearrangement.  Perhaps it is because I sometimes rummage around for things in my basement, making a mess, and then retreat to use whatever I have found.  I can see a parallel to the way that I sometimes hit things hard and then leave them.  What's more, since I have such a large basement I have had times when people have asked if they could "store" things there.  While I resist that generally I have gotten trapped into keeping everything from boxes to a boat, from furniture to flea market sales items.  All of that, even when it is done for a friend, leaves me a bit anxious, wondering when I will have "my" basement back the way that I want it.

Ok, I know that all of this may have you wondering about my psychological state, but I assure you it is well within the "normal" range.  If anything it is tending toward the positive right now since I have slowly been working on reorganizing and cleaning things over the last few days.  Maybe you are thinking of the sign which reads, "A clean desk is a sign of a sick mind."  Well, if that is true, what does a clean basement mean?