Sherry is a laundry goddess. She likes her clothes separated and puts a lot of thought into how she does her laundry.
I love how these black laundry baskets are put UP out of the way so she can sort her clothes until it’s time to wash them without tripping over them.
These wall mounted hanging bars really help in line drying AND sorting clothes by person to be carried (BY THEM!) to their closets.
Thanks for sharing, Sherry!
Today’s spring cleaning and organization challenge is the laundry room. You know that room you shove everything in when “someone is coming over”. Or the room you put things that you don’t have another place for, but don’t want to get rid of. Or you may want to get rid of it, but not yet?
Yeah – the laundry room.
Today on Living Dayton I shared my top 5 ways to organize your laundry room.
I am taking Money Saving Mom’s spring cleaning challenge.
I have been spending every extra second I have de-cluttering, cleaning and organizing. I am a girl on a mission! So I thought it would be fun to join Money Saving Mom every weekday in April and post my progress.
Follow along and post your before and after pictures on the Organize 365 Facebook group!
Today’s challenge is to surface clean the laundry room.
I swear my house is organized! It seems like Money Saving Mom has a hidden camera in my house and knows just what room is out of control.
My kiddos just came home from grandmas last night – along with their “stuff”. AND I didn’t do any cleaning while they were gone because I worked – worked – worked.
As is evidenced by this mess:
The first thing I did was take a nap.
The second thing I did was make a yummy Caramel coffee. Hey, I’m good at procrastination, what can I say?!
Next I emptied out the kid’s bags and started a load of laundry.
Here’s how I do laundry:
Our washing machine broke at Christmas time and we got this awesome top loading non-agitator washer that holds a TON of laundry.
1. I wash all the light weight and smaller laundry in one huge load. Yes, I mix colors.
I wash on warm.
2. I wash all sweatshirts and jeans in another load.
3. I wash all towels and blankets in a final load.
Here’s why:
Our clothes don’t bleed, so there’s in need to wash separately and we have very few “all white” clothes.
I wash by weight and this determines how long I have to set the dryer.
The first load takes a while to dry because it is SO full. When it is dry this is the most labor intensive folding I need to do.
The second and third loads are a snap to fold when they are done drying.
I wash everything about every 4 days. So at the end of the day everything is dry, folded and ready to be put away, in theory!
The rest of the mess.
Is your laundry room a “catch all?” Mine is!
This basket of papers was started a few weeks ago in anticipation of my monthly night out with the girls to go scrap-booking Since we are going tomorrow night, I am putting this right in the car now!
{I can’t wait to show you what I’m doing!}
Now it’s a little easier to see the rest of my hot mess.
I had a couple of shirts for the dry cleaner. I put them in the car.
The black rack thingy is for tv next Tuesday {Wait until you see what that’s for!}
And the calendar is for a tv – home project.
In there were a few food donations. I added those to the food donations I had in garage and put them in the car too.
Ok a few more items. These are my daughter’s school gym clothes. She and I need to discuss them.
The headphones made their way into the house after our trip to North Carolina in FEBRUARY! What is really embarrassing is that the garage in right behind the laundry room! I was so close.
Well it does feel MUCH better to have tackled the laundry room. It is the toughest room for me to keep de-cluttered. I need to take a look inside the cabinets, but not today!
How about you? Did you do any spring cleaning today?
January will be here before you know it and with it an unquenchable desire to ORGANIZE all the blessings and gifts that come with the holidays. So while you are making memories and celebrating with family I will be sharing my 12 favorite Clever Container products – Christmas style.
On the sixth day of Christmas Organize 365 gave to me:
Six Tuff Totes
These totes live up to their name they are TUFF! They can hold up to 220 pounds!
Tuff Totes are made in the USA! They come in 3 sizes and 3 colors.
Here they are in relationto the clever bucket.
I had fun this week using my clever bucket and Tuff Tote to take a champagne toast to am meeting.
I am giving each of my kiddos a tuff tote for their laundry filled with new wrapped clothers for Christmas!
From little projects to big ones – these totes are up for the challenge!
All products are available for purchase on my personal Clever Container website and I have inventory too if you live in Cincinnati {shipping is free on items bought at my home.}
TuffTotes Small Pumpkin
Item #: 0523
One of the most useful containers for every room in the house, as well as outdoors! Whether you’re storing toys, dirty laundry, or washing the dog these colorful, useful containers will get the job done. Each size can hold over 225 pounds. Made in the USA! Small (3.5 Gallons) $13.95
Your Price: $13.95
TuffTotes Medium Pumpkin
Item #: 0524
One of the most useful containers for every room in the house, as well as outdoors! Whether you’re storing toys, dirty laundry, or washing the dog these colorful, useful containers will get the job done. Each size can hold over 225 pounds. Made in the USA! Medium (7 Gallons)
Your Price: $17.95
TuffTotes Large Pumpkin
Item #: 0525
One of the most useful containers for every room in the house, as well as outdoors! Whether you’re storing toys, dirty laundry, or washing the dog these colorful, useful containers will get the job done. Each size can hold over 225 pounds. Made in the USA!
Your Price: $20.95
Tip number 1: Start all your household machines first thing in the morning.
Tip number 2: Maximize your wallet!
Tip number 3: Have a spare key handy.
Tip number 4: Fold your laundry at night.
I am definately a morning person! By 7pm I am DONE.
It’s a standing joke that by 8pm I am in my hot bath. One night we had the family out a friends until 10 pm. Our neighbor was seriously going to call the police. We had NEVER been out past 8pm. You should all feel for my kiddos!
It’s true. We are home at night. It was a leap of faith for my to sign Abby up for dance that ends at 8:15. I am just cashed when the sun goes down.
But my to do list is never ending, so… I put off until the evening mindless tasks I can do while vegging in from to of the tv.
Folding laundry is one of those tasks.
I can get 4-5 loads of laundry folded during the Big Bang Theory or The Good Wife.
When do you fold laundry?
Laundry Days
I LOVE my laundry room. I spend a lot of time in there. But It needed a serious overhaul.
I wasn’t even really sure where to start, or what I wanted my outcome to be, but I knew what I had wasn’t working.
Over the years I have added storage to this room until two summers ago I added all these cabinets. Which I quickly filled!
I have been working on the laundry room in 20 minute increments during this WHOLE challenge!
Straightening, PURGING, and cleaning. But I kept ending up with too much stuff and not enough space.
So I started analyzing “what” was ending up on the laundry room counter.
#1 – Donations. I do not have a donation station yet, but I have had my garage sale and spent 3 days running errands. I finally have all my donations – donated.
#2 – Dry Cleaning. When I “remodeled” my back hall, I added a hook and drawstring bag for dry cleaning.
#3 – Wrapping ribbon, etc. Once I finally got the counter cleared off, I realized I did not need the big ribbon-wrapping paper organization station anymore.
I re-purposed the curtain rod from my son’s room to hold the remaining ribbon. I love to add curly ribbon to packages. But we buy mostly gift cards now and a “wrapping station” is just not needed.
#4 Clever Container Where to put my business supplies is always a quandary. In the past I have tried the kitchen, front hall and basement.
I decided that the laundry room was the place, but it was too messy!
So here’s how I reorganized each zone.
after
Light bulbs, empty bags and rags stayed right were they were. I just straightened them up.
But I gained the top shelf by moving the vacuum bags and cat products over to the previous cabinet. That made room for my baby wipes stockpile and my “Treats” box.
Treats Box
I like being able to buy little items for the kids as rewards, or for when they are “bored”. Unfortunately the the kids know I hide these items in the laundry room. So, I shifted the cabinet I use over one, and am storing the treasures in that green box on the top.
Cabinet #3 – Art/ Household
before
after
I decided much of what was in this cabinet was really trash. So I PURGED heavily and added our camera because… I needed to empty the next cabinet to become my business cabinet.
Cabinet #4 Clever Container Home Office
before
after
This cabinet used to house electronic cords, the camera and extra school supplies. Once I decided that I could use this cabinet for my Clever Container business, I set about to reassign the other items to new homes.
The extra school supplies went downstairs to my basement project closet. The camera moved over one cabinet. The electronic cords, etc moved in to my new over the door electronic clutter storage solution.
I LOVE this cabinet! I have been using it for about 2 weeks and it is working very well. My Sophistacated file tote sits nicely on the counter for business papers and receipts.
So there you have it. How do you use your laundry room?
These bathrooms just needed a good cleaning and straightening.
I like how I have been able to incorporate my husband’s sports in these baths.
The main floor bath is a tribute to hubby’s love of fishing and Florida.
These fish on the wall were made by his grandfather. He would freeze the fish and push them into a soft mold.
Then he filled the mold with plaster of paris and painted the fish.
The same grandfather made this fish painting. Some of these paintings were hanging in a restaurant in Sarasota for years.
A few years ago I collected the best fishing pictures that have been taken over the year and framed them in matching frames. I love how it turned out!
The shells in this vase were brought back by hubby’s mom from her yearly trip to Florida.
{I am especially proud of the new light I put in myself a few years ago!}
The basement bath highlights hubby’s love of golf.
He has collected golf balls from various trips and courses he has played.
This is his hole in one!
How do you decorate your spare bathrooms?
I’m entering the home stretch! Today I am tackling the kid’s bathroom.
This room gets dirty quick wit a 10 and 12 year old! Luckily for me Lizzie likes to take her baths in the morning and Job is our night owl.
Mostly this room just needed a deep cleaning. {It needs it more than it gets it!} I love it when it’s clean.
I cleaned out under the sink and all 4 drawers. I am so grateful for these drawers!! Each child has a “teeth and hygiene” drawer. Lizzie has a hair and make up drawer and Mommy gets the bottom for unopened medicine.
A shared bathroom is the breeding ground for sibling rivalry. Do your kids share a bathroom? What tricks have you used to maximize the space and reduce the bickering?
I PURGE and organize our bathroom twice a year.
Even so, I found plenty of cold an flu remedies that we OWNED and could have used last week when the family had the flu!
This whole PURGING challenge has really made me think. For example, I am glad I did not PURGE our coolers from 4 to 1 because we needed them all when the fridge died 4 days ago.
But we do not need all these flu remedies. We use the same 3-4 over the counter reminder for just about everything. Why do I buy and “stock pile” the rest?
I am hoping that this 40 day challenge will help make me a smarter shopper for our family in the end.
Well, on the to the bathroom. I PURGED the cabinets, drawers and cleaned like a mad woman.
When I was done I felt like I had walked into a hotel.
The Linen closet is really the hub of my master bath. I really analyzed our medicinal and toiletry usage and moved the “stock” around.
Last year I realized that these 2 blue drawer units would fit perfectly in the bottom of the closet.
Here’s my closet from top to bottom.
And the door organizer.
I know I pack A LOT of stuff in here. Back in the day when I was stockpiling like crazy, I had boxes of razors under the bed, stashes of teeth products in the basement and toilet paper everywhere!
Now I am limiting myself to this closet for all things bathroom. It gives me enough “stock” to feel comfortable, but not so much we are in debt to it!
What about you? How much “stock” do you keep on hand?
