CREATING A BUILDER’S BLANK NEIGHBORHOOD:
1. Go to your chosen EA neighborhood. Use Save As and call the save BuilderBlankSV (or use the initials that represent your chosen neighborhood at the end).
2. Use the bulldozer to delete all houses. If there is someone living in the house you want to bulldoze the game will ask you if you would like to evict the family, choose yes. Once you have deleted all the houses delete all the families sitting along the left side of your screen (this is the clipboard and you want it empty).
3. Save again.
4. If desired, you can also clear out the commercial lots, but I recommend leaving the Grocery Store, the Bookstore, the Consignment Shop, the Pet Shop, and the Elixir Shop (depending on which expansion packs you have some of these may not be available). I tend to leave any place that I might want to send my Sim to buy something that I will use in my build.
5. Save again.
6. If you want, you can find a convenient lot and place the spawners from buyDebug to put the gem, insect, and fish spawners on the lot so that you can send your Sim to gather these items for use on your lot. You also may want to add a lot with Sim-made paintings and/or photographs to your Builder's Blank world, then have your Tester Sim go in and load up her inventory with art on these lots before proceeding to the lot where you wish to build. This is optional but it is a time-saver.
RECOMMENDED PLAYER-MADE LOTS:
Joolster's Peaceful Gardens (all harvestables, Base Game thru University):
http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=7114188
Joolster's OM Gallery (lot's of Sim-made photographs, if used in your lots for upload, please include "photographs credit to Joolster" in the lot description):
http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=6770419
Joolster's All Possible Sim Paintings on Easels on 1 Lot (up to 12/16/11 when it was uploaded):
http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=4926775
Joolster's Serenity Aviary (all birds and small pets in cages on lot):
http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=6821187#
XOX1's Collector Island Park (all collectibles up to Pets EP):
http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=4923248
ZooProfessor3's Greenwood Gallery (some Sim paintings but mostly LOTS of Sim photographs, including some that look like famous paintings and you have my absolute permission to use my photographs in your builds even those for upload):
http://www.thesims3.com/assetDetail.html?assetId=7177890
7. Save Again.
8. IMPORTANT: Each time you start a new build and you use your Builder’s Blank Neighborhood, immediately use the Save As command and save the neighborhood with a new name related to whatever you are building. That will leave your original Builder’s Blank Neighborhood empty and ready to use the next time you want to start a fresh build.
9. If you make a mistake and choose "Save" just use "Save As" as instructed in the last step and finish your build. Later go back to your Builder's Blank and bulldoze the lot you had started and then save again. Your Builder's Blank is now blank (of residential spaces and most other stuff) again.
10. The directions here are for making a lot that you then intend to upload to the Exchange or save to your library or both. You won't PLAY the lot in this neighborhood, you will only build it here.
Note: Maybe no one else is bothered by the pesky neighbors and the constant phone calls while trying to build, but it annoys me and using an empty neighborhood really cuts down on these things AND as a nice bonus it shortens load times and save times.
