Our Laundry Room/Mud Room

Lately the laundry room has been a mess. I walked in there yesterday to switch what seemed like the millionth load of laundry that day and was simply fed up. Fed up of having hoodies lying on the floor when there are hooks right above them to hang them on; fed up of shoes being strewn right in the middle of my path; fed up of clutter and disarray!

So I made a few minor adjustments and I'm very pleased with them. Minor changes can make such a difference! It's a pleasure doing laundry now, well, sort of. I love our little house, but one of the down sides to renting is that I don't get to paint walls or change things to how I like them. Someday I will have my little English cottage nestled in the trees, but for now this cute little hodge-podge house will have to do. There's only so much you can do with it but I try to make it as cozy and cute as possible. Our poor little laundry room was an add-on and it kind of slopes downward. If I had my way with the laundry room I'd paint the wood paneling and ceiling a pale grey, put up some cream or natural roman shades, and put in wood plank flooring that I'd paint either pale grey or white. I'd put up some wood shelving, also painted pale grey. I'd put up some antique metal hooks for hanging coats and hoodies and I'd also put up a galvanized metal key/mail box. Oh, how it's fun to dream!

So to improve my laundry room I straightened things up a bit. I love my baskets that help organize. I got the "rag" tray on the bottom shelf from Tai Pan for approximately $5. The white metal tray on the bottom shelf used to be green. I got it ages ago from Ross and just recently dug it out of the garage and spray painted it white. I love the scalloped edges. The four bins on the top shelf are from Walmart and were also very inexpensive. I printed the kids names on them so they each have one for their stuff. I found a hook to hang my clothespin apron on. I also found a spot for the little mini brush and dustpan. Instead of nailing a nail in the wall to hang it on I simply used a suction cup hook and placed it on the inside window. I bought the large jar for the laundry detergent at Target for $7.00 and leave one of my stainless steel measuring cups in it to measure. The little wicker basket on the dryer is the perfect size to fit my dryer sheets in. One thing I've had for a while that I absolutely love is my laundry hamper/sorter from Target. It is so strong and sturdy and doesn't fall apart like ones I've had in the past. These are small things but they really help the atmosphere to be more pleasant and more user friendly.

Next up...a little project that involves something old from the DI, some white paint, some Osnaburg unbleached cotton fabric, some fabric paint, some packing tape, and a needle and thread. Can't wait to show you the results...when I can find the time to actually do it!

Before


After
View from laundry room
Perfect container to put Tide stain tablets in
Nice vintage touch that was here when we moved in

Doesn't it feel good to be organized?