I typically have not shared any of my ways of organizing. I usually leave that inspiration to bloggers like Amy over at 20minutemom and other neat and tidy Martha Stuart like women, who do it ever so gracefully. But with any styled home, all the clutter and household must haves need a place to be out of sight and out of mind, so that the rest of the fun decor can really pop. As you've taken some tours of my home via blogging, you may have wondered where the laundry room was. Or where the linen closet is. You must be asking yourself, "That girl lives in Denver, where do they keep winter coats, blankets, mountain gear, and hiking boots? She has a dog and a husband too, where does she hide all of their toys and hobby items, and the things she uses to clean up after them [and herself]?"
To answer the first two questions, I will give you a simple response: My once linen closet is in fact my laundry room.
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| Before: A seriously mundane laundry situation. |
Before we moved in, this house was completely gutted. Part of the remodel moved walls, expanding the kitchen, but removing a hallway and laundry space. SO now, the washer and dryer along with the water heater are in what would have been the linen and coat closet. (Hence why we made over the door bathroom storage and a coat rack). I have not given the "laundry room" much attention and reached my point of no return when my Shout and Wrinkle Remover continually fell off the top during the spin cycle and I was always making trips into the back bedroom in times of paper towel necessity. I wanted all my laundry needs in one place, organized, and pretty to the eye with a "No more Tears!" stamp of approval from Johnson & Johnson.
I had to get creative if I wanted to fit paper goods, cleaning supplies, stain removers, detergent, hand towels, ect. all in this little closet. I had the top of the dryer space as well as a potential small door hanging space to work with. First, to eliminate items falling off the top of the dryer, I utilized the inside of the door to hang a bin filled with all my stain removers, lint rollers, wrinkle release, and wash bags. The blue bin is from Target's dollar spot and I made a label using brown paper bag, sharpie, and yarn. With an over the door hanger, I was able to fit my ironing board and my organized bin. When I am doing laundry, I can easily lift the bin off the hook and get to my supplies.
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| Getting closer to no more tears when doing laundry. |
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| {this one is for my mom, because I know she's reading} |
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| Tag supplies. Next, I put paper goods in a large basket and made a brown bag label. It fit just right on top of the dryer, wedged against the wall (perfectly snug and moving nowhere when the washer is in full spin). |
Using a shelf insert from Ikea to create another level of space saving storage, I organized the rest of my laundry goods and cleaning items next to the paper goods basket.
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| Getting giddy because I love 'neat' in cramed spaces. |
There is just enough space on the top of the dryer, in front of the stored items, so that the bin hanging on the door has room to fit once the door is closed.
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After: A cheery little laundry closet. |
Finally, a space I can work with and that looks good too! Now you no longer have to wonder about where I wash my clothing. I have more hidden storage (not much) in our home. If you like this post and want to see other ways I have organized, or will soon organize, I'd love a comment so I know whether I should continue sharing on the topic. Happy Friday!
