Monday, January 28, 2013

Home Tour: Laundry Room

   {These posts may be more for family who live states away and are interested in seeing our home, but perhaps there may be some ideas here and there that could be useful or interesting to others as well. :) }

      I'm continuing to find ways to decorate and organize our townhome one room at a time. I previously shared our Entry, and now our Laundry Room Closet is complete.  Even though it's just a little closet, I wanted to add a few touches that add cohesiveness, organization and some fun. 
   Since this space is the first seen upon entering the living area of our home, keeping the cluttered look to a minimal was one of my goals. I'd rather not look up to see a mess when entering my home in the event I neglect to close the closet doors. 

     There's not a whole lot of fancy smancy decorating going on here. My goal, though, is to be able to add touches to each room without a lot of expense or permanence (ie wall painting). I didn't take a "Before Picture," but you can imagine bottles and other laundry supplies just sitting scattered along the shelf, no soap/softener dispensers, or wall art. It was the standard storage/laundry closet. 

 The Details


      I purchased two 2.5 gallon drink dispensers for my laundry soap and fabric softener. I make our laundry soap and use diluted apple cider vinegar as fabric softener, and these containers are perfect for the quantities made in each batch. (You can find the recipes and read more about this homemade approach to laundry on the "Laundry Management" post). 
     
     I've had a tendency to neglect to flip the pour spout back down (off) in the past and the result was a messy soapy floor. This time, I've learned my lesson and positioned the bottles directly over the washer so just in case my mind wanders mid-task the liquid(s) will simply go into the washer. Perhaps one day I'll catch onto the greater lesson of being a little more attentive and a lot less distractible...ohh..shiny. Oh yeah, so anyways. ;)
    On the left side of the shelf is all of the laundry supplies. Instead of a collection of bottles, mesh bags, stain remover and other supplies scattered along the shelf, I purchased two canvas storage bins to contain everything. The bins add some color and permit a more cohesive look by decreasing visible clutter.  
     The long shelf offers much more storage space than I have laundry supplies, and so I utilize the right side for some kitchen items. The kitchen is a step away from the laundry closet, and so it makes a great spot for storing large items like our juicer, ice cream maker and fondue pot. I also have all our reusable shopping bags (the black bag in the picture) stored here. This makes it convenient to grab some bags on our way out the door to the store. 
     
     The sides of the washer and dryer are great spots for storing slim items like the ironing board and drying rack.

     Finally, I wanted to add some kind of interest piece to the space at the top of the room. I saw the phrase "Laundry Today or Naked Tomorrow" in vinyl lettering online, and thought it was pretty cute. I had debated between this phrase and another one, and the responses I received on the Reviving Homemaking Facebook page indicated this one was the winner. I rather enjoy the comedic effect it has. However, to purchase the vinyl lettering in the size I needed I would have had to pay around $20-$25, which was not exactly what I had in mind in terms of budget for this space. Instead, I found some canvas at a local discount store and added some paint to create my own take on it for only $7. (yay!) I chose to use the colors of the canvas bins, and rather like how painting my own has brought additional color and fun to the space. 

    And so, room number two is complete! Now, on to the next room which will be the dining room. I have several DIY projects going on in that room, and am really excited about how it will all turn out. (It looks fantastic in my imagination! haha). 

Looking for more ideas?
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3 comments:

  1. You're so cute, Whitney! Love your ideas! :)

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  2. You did an awesome job with your laundry room. Glad you shared your ideas at WJIM.

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  3. Whitney, Your laundry room is super organized. Even retired Moms (like me) are still interested in prettying-up the laundry area. Thank you for the dispenser idea and the apple cider vinegar softener suggestion.

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