Laundry Day: My cleaners and a printable

I must say, you all have quite an opinion when it comes to laundry after I posted about how I do laundry last week! I think it's fantastic that almost all of you have some sort of laundry routine. Today I'm going to talk about my laundry cleaning. I also thought it was funny how many of you commented on my "normal" laundry room and how you felt better knowing mine wasn't so fancy, either! 

Laundry Day with OMF

I have been wanting to talk about laundry for awhile. Laundry day for me is something I have done for my whole single to married life. I have changed how I DO {the way I clean} laundry quite a bit in the last couple of years, but I still enjoy having one day each week that I do my laundry.

OMF to the Rescue: A Laundry Room Dilemma

It's time for another OMF to the Rescue! I received this email a little while back and wanted to help her desperately! 

She says..."I can proudly say that I also LOVE having a clean, organized home. It gives me peace and makes me happy! Now my sister on the other hand is a different story! I have been trying to help my sister organize her home so that she can share in the same happiness that I feel. She has a beautiful home but {needs} help to organize her laundry/pantry duo room...This room opens out to her kitchen (all on the first floor that you walk into from the front door) so I think it is a great start to get her organized. She uses it obviously for laundry, but also some food/pantry storage on the shelves and other misc. items. All in all, it needs some MAJOR help! Because it opens out to the kitchen, it definitely needs some special attention."

So, let me show you some of the pictures she sent - the pictures help me a LOT to be able to visualize the size and space and what it's used for. As you can see, there are some things in there that just shouldn't be there - the bag of charcoal right next to the dryer {ummm, not a good idea} and baking rack of some sort behind that, etc. 

Also, on the other side of her laundry "room" {really more like a nook} is a rack she uses as a pantry. So, I've found many ideas via Pinterest and I think these will help you get an idea of what she could use to spruce up her tiny space.

laundry room design by houston media and blogs Casa Greer

First, I like this simple space. It's an open shelf with a rod for hanging your "just dried" laundry. There are bins on top to hide any unsightly things - but they can be labeled and organize light bulbs, etc. You could even add a second shelf to put stuff higher up that you don't use as often. I love the stripes in here because it makes the laundry room seem bigger than it is.

Source

The next one is simple, also. Notice there is a shelf right on top of the washer and dryer. Then, there are several more shelves and a curtain to hide it all! I did something similar to this in my first house. 

traditional porch design by toronto general contractor HARDROCK CONSTRUCTION

If you are daring enough, you could do more open shelving and place a large counter, should you have a front loading machine. The baskets are cute and can hide all kinds of stuff. There is a large laundry soap bin to store you soap. 

laundry room design

A similar space uses a regular cutting board on top of the dryer to help hold things. This owner has paired down her cleaning supplies to just a few things, placed clothes' pins in a jar and her laundry soap in a jar. I know you all wouldn't put flowers on your dryer while doing laundry....but you get the point!

eclectic laundry room design

I like this idea to put somewhere in the room to hang your things to air dry. It's up high and can be used only as needed.

Source

Now, to the other side of her tiny laundry room. It has door in it...and you know that I always recommend USING the back of the door whenever possibly.

Source

In this pantry, she put cardboard on the wire shelves. She used baskets to corral her bags of things and then stacked her cans on risers in the shelves. She also used the back of the door, again super smart! I am SURE that these inspirational pictures can help her get things organized now! It takes purging out the stuff that doesn't fall under "kitchen pantry" or "laundry room" and then using that small space to it's maximum. Make shelving go all the way up to the ceiling, get rid of duplicates that aren't necessary, find baskets to corral smaller items both in the pantry and over the laundry area. It's totally possible, but will take a little work! Anyone else have ideas for her?

 

 Like what you see here? Consider becoming a follower or subscribe via email!

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

 

Join me on Facebook - where we interact and have lots of great fun. You can also see behind the scenes pictures and fun stuff I do on my Instagram!

Parties:
Tip Junkie
Home Stories from A to Z
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Organize and Decorate Everything
Women Living Well
Delightful Order
House of Hepworths
Tidy Mom
The Shabby Nest

Organized Reader: Ashley's Laundry Room

I've got another GREAT organized reader for you today!

Ashley blogs at Design Build Love! 

She has some amazing spaces she shared with me. They have completed several no-cost organization projects including a junk drawer reorganization, pantry overhaul, backed-up filing blowout, and a bathroom vanity clean-up.  All of their organization projects can be found here.

"If you visit my blog, you might notice that I often refer to my blog as 'our' blog and that's because I have an amazing husband named Eric, who's always by my side to join in on each and every project I dream up!  DBL was originally started to be a creative outlet for me while I hammered my way through full-time work, law school, and life, but I never imagined it would become such an insatiable passion- I'm addicted!  Now, we're just a couple of newlywed professionals who moonlight as designers/home-improvement-DIYers! We’re busy, we’re frugal, and we love to do-it-ourselves!  And recently, I've embarked on a get-this-home-organized rampage!"  

"Of all my projects, my proudest moment might have come at the completion of our Laundry Room makeover for less than $125!  Yes, it did cost some money, but the amount of usability and function we got in return was priceless!  I hope you enjoy, and all of the tutorials can now be found here! :)  BTW... don't you think for one second that this No/Low-Cost Organization Train is stopping any time soon... we've got at least five more projects in progress right now and they will be revealed on the blog as soon as possible, so please stop by for a visit!

Ashley and her hubby, Eric, have done an amazing job at organizing so many places in their home - and for cheap! Didn't they do a great job?

 

 Like what you see here? Consider becoming a follower or subscribe via email!

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

 

Having trouble seeing the pictures? Try THIS.

Are you an Organized Reader? I'd love to see your organized space. Email me HERE and show me your space to possibly be featured as one of my Organized Readers.

Laundry Room finished up!

Project laundry room: Under the stairs

My basement is so wonderful, honestly.  How many Southern Californians can even say the HAVE a basement? Not many, trust me.  Ours is used for laundry, pantry overflow, and lots of TOOLS!  My hubby's workshop is down there in that 300 square feet of wonderfulness.  

Before, table in the way and no color!

How YOU organize: Laundry

I recently received an email from Krista, from Life with Both Hands Full. She told me about her great way of organizing her laundry.  

We're dating...

So, a few years ago I discovered something.  I started writing the dates on most anything that I opened.  I wrote the date I opened or started using it.  You're probably thinking...why in the world would you do that?  Well, I'll tell you why.  I would wonder, "How long did this last me?"  "When did I last buy this?"  And that's when it donned on me...marking the date on things.  Like...

Laundry soap, fabric softener, and all that stuff.

Vitamins

Vacuum cleaner bag

Make up

Well, you get the picture, right?  To make it even easier...I bought several sharpies to keep nearby {I even keep one in my vanity drawer} so that I don't forget to mark my make up {I even mark my mascara}. I keep one in the laundry room right near all the laundry products.

I've figured out now about how long I can go until buying more stuff.  It's really neat.  I know I can go about six weeks with the laundry detergent - I never knew that before!  I can go about two months with the kids' vitamins...and so forth.  It's great if you want to cut expenses for yourself and can't decide if you really need to buy more of something or if you want to wait until it's on sale.

I think it's a great idea...I only wish I'd thought of it sooner!

Like what you see here? Consider becoming a follower or subscribe via email!

Join me on Facebook - where we interact and have lots of great fun. You can also see behind the scenes pictures and fun stuff I do on my Instagram!

There are some products that are linked to my Amazon affiliate link.

 

Weekend Project: Laundry Room Skirted sink

Here is a great project that I did on our ugly basement utility sink.  I was inspired recently by THIS blog on laundry room inspirations and noticed all the sinks with their pretty skirts!  This was my laundry room sink - pretty ugly!  I have to be careful because my husband's workshop is in this basement along with my laundry area - and it's not quite as beautiful as the laundry rooms in that blog, but I'm working on getting it looking a little more pleasant to do my laundry down there. 

Sink before

Summer Schedules...

 Our summer officially starts today!  I have compiled a summer schedule for the kids and I...to keep us on track, but to also keep us from getting bored or unmotivated.  Here's a glimpse at what we've got for the weekdays:

Monday is Runday - This is our weekly day to run errands all over the place.  So, over the weekend I sit down and make out my lists - grocery list, Costco list, or drugstore lists -this is also the time I plan my menu for the next two weeks....ummm, we'll go over that organizing at another time!