Thursday, March 18, 2010

Wash Day Blues


I've mentioned before how in our old house we had a nice sized mudroom and how in this house we have no mudroom and no real laundry room, it's more of a laundry closet.  It's not a huge deal, except that I've always wanted a big open laundry area with a window and plenty of open shelves to store things on.  My parents had a laundry room like that, it had a door that led outside and a window right above the washing machine which made the room nice and bright and sort of made the chore of doing laundry almost enjoyable!

Well here comes the ugly truth about my laundry area.  It had gone from bad to worse in the last 2 years, with junk piled everywhere.  Dog toys, batteries, light bulbs, and enough extension cords to run a line from our house to Timbuktu!  I was so tired of running like a mad woman to close the bi-fold doors anytime the doorbell rang so that no one could see the disaster that lurked behind those doors, so last weekend was clean up day!

Before


Even the camera didn't want to focus on this huge mess!  Don't you love the laundry basket filled with dog toys, flashlights, and pretty much everything EXCEPT laundry?!


And see what I mean about not having much space?!  And how inefficiently we were using the space we did have?!  So I approached Mr. Tide and told him about my wonderful idea to transform the laundry area.  I wanted lots more shelving, maybe some cubbies, I wanted it to have shelving on the sides and the back.  He was totally on board with my great plan...ok that's a lie, but he did agree to help build whatever I designed.

So off we went to Lowes, Michaels, Target and anywhere else I could think of and guess what?  There were no ready made shelves in the right lengths, no pre-built cubbies, no wonderful hooks...nada, zip, zero!  So Mr. Tide being the wonderful hubby that he is, said that he would build me something and we could just paint it and install our own shelving, hooks, etc.  But I had already torn the place apart, stuff was sitting everywhere in our hallway and I had a busy week planned plus company coming this weekend!!  No no no, building, painting, and then installing was not in my plans!  Installation of ready made stuff would have been hectic enough, I did not need more work on my plate this week, so on to plan B!



Instead of reworking my entire laundry closet, I decided that I could make do with what shelving we already had if I could only find a way to contain the clutter!  Michaels and Lowes to the rescue with their cute little baskets and folding box thingies!  Needless to say Mr. Tide was lovin' this idea, it meant little or no work on his part, so it was the kind of project he loves!



These cute little containers now hold, and more importantly hide, all of the batteries, light bulbs, cleaners, and general junk we have in there. 



And they are so easy to grab and pull down to get whatever you need from them.  Maybe now we won't have a million batteries and bulbs that we can't find so we end up buying more at the store!!


And me being...well me...I had to pretty it up.  So I took some old valances that I had, wrinkles and all, and strung them up with some ribbon to help gussie up the place! 


And I found these cute little Martha Stewart tags on clearance at Michaels (the baskets and ribbon were on sale too!) and used my rudimentary art skills to label each container!


I even bought a basket to tuck the ginormous Tide box into so that it looks neat and pretty!

After


So there you have it!  My super cute new laundry closet!  It still isn't big enough or bright enough, but at least now it's pretty enough!  And my 17 year old son, who does do laundry every now and then, informed me that it's now super feminine and that I killed any possibility of him ever doing laundry again!  Oh well, you can't win 'em all!

Visit Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday!

It's time for Transformation Thursday over at The Shabby Chic Cottage.

Visit My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.

And visit The Inspired Room for Inspired by Friday.

48 comments:

  1. You did such a great job! I think the fabric from the bottom of the shelf to the top of the washer/dryer is such a great idea. The baskets are super cute and I love the tags, even the art work. Good job Mama.

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  2. OMgoodness, it's as pretty as a picture. What a transformation! I love before and afters! You should pat yourself on the back and put your feet up now. Job well done! A-M xx

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  3. Wow -- so much better. When a laundry room goes through such a transformation, I would actually hunt for dirty clothes in order to have an excuse to go in there!

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  4. What a wonderful result! Love the labels.

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  5. Great job! It is beautiful and functional...I hear you on the mudroom, we have a mud hallway. My husband did some built-ins, ceiling to floor with a bench in the middle, love it, now. It was a huge project and like you said not for a busy week with company. (We always seem to pick those times, it moves us to action!)

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  6. Super cute is right! Doesn't it make doing laundry a nicer experience when the laundry room looks good!

    hugs
    Sissie

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  7. Loving it. Using what you got. Think of the money and time you saved. The transformation is super cute.

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  8. Haha - your son's comment is great! I think it looks fabulously fresh and springy!

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  9. How truly inspiring! Your laundry room looks so fresh and springy now.

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  10. Looks gorgeous. What a great idea. Hugs, Marty

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  11. Okay--I'm inspired!! If you can take your before to that wonderful after than maybe I can too. And the valance with ribbons was the perfect touch!

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  12. WOW what a great transformation. So bright and pretty just in time for spring!! Martina

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  13. This turned out so great! It organizes everything neatly and looks just charming!

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  14. Wonderful improvement and great inspiration!

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  15. I have a similar laundry room except I do have cabinets above the washer and dryer. We have an exterior door, which I would LOVE to replace with an exterior door with a window in it. CUTE color scheme - LOVE the containers and especially the little tags!

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  16. What a wonderful burst of spring in there!! I love those colors and the ribbons you added to that valance. What a great feeling having all that new organization, I bet it gave your energy level an instant boost. Your artwork on those little labels is so clever! Ahhhhh Spring! ~Lili

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  17. Your tags are the best, and your laundry looks so neat! I suppose you could add a shelf later, if you need it: you know the theory that you should always have one empty shelf in your house for Possibilities?

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  18. Thanks everyone! And I like that concept Tricia, an empty shelf for possibilities...perfect!

    Kat :)

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  19. Very clever! You have made it look soo simple, but I'm sure you put a great deal of time and hard work and it sure was well worth it all!! Judi

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  20. I love it! You have managed to create a space that is pretty, functional and fun. When can I schedule you to come over to redo my laundry area??

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  21. I love the color combinations, makes you happy everytime you have to do laundy. Anything to make it better is good for me, I do at least a load a day. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

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  22. Great job! It is super cute! Love the cheerful color combinations. Makes me want to leave work right now and go get the supplies and redo my laundry room! Better yet, can you come do it for me?

    ~ Tracy

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  23. Beautiful - so fresh, and I love the colors. Did you try mixing up the solid colored baskets with the white ones? I'm curious how that would look.

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  24. Wow! What a transformation!! Great job...

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  25. I am crazy about this transformation! I love the colors that you chose. They just, for some reason, just feel like fresh, clean laundry to me. I LOVE that you did all of this with no major rebuilding.

    I guarantee that you will be able to keep this clean. It's too pretty to mess up!

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  26. So much nicer now! I'm really glad you posted this. I'm also in the midst of a laundry room re-do. I thought my before was somewhat organized until I looked a the picture! I'm not done yet, but I guess I'll be brave and post the before pic too.

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  27. Oh kat, your laundry room looks great!! i love the baskets and those cute little MS tags are just fantastic! Enjoy such an organised laundry area, I wish mine looked like that!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend ~ Tina xx

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  28. What a fabulous transformation. It even makes me want to do laundry. I love the baskets with the tags for your organization, and the colors are perfect.
    Karen

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  29. It looks so great and I love the valance idea.You did a wonderful job with the colors and I the art work gives it such a cute touch!!

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  30. Wow...I don't have a laundry room at all. I am relegated to the garage and I hate it...NOW I REALLY HATE IT! :) Your laundry area looks just wonderful..neat AND cute!
    You did good!

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  31. Is there anything better in the world than a clean up and re-organise? Love what you've done - your laundry looks gorgeous! Leigh

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  32. What a difference! Your laundry room now looks ready for a photo shoot!
    Great job!

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  33. Just awesome girl...It's now cheerful and looks bright to me...Hugs and smiles Gl?ria

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  34. What an amazing job on the shelf in your laundry room. I had to laugh...a lot...about the dog toys in your laundry room, that's where I've thrown all my grand dogs toys also! This shelf is just beautiful now!
    xoxo!

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  35. I luv luv it, can you come do mine?

    Maggie
    http://cuttlebugchallenge.blogspot.com
    http://cuttingabove.blogspot.com

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  36. Kat, those are so cute and such a great storage solution. Now I need to do something in mine.

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  37. Love your makeover - especially the little tags with the drawings on them. Those are my favourite colours you used.

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  38. Terrific and I love the colors you chose !
    Kammy

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  39. Too cute! I'm in the process of re-doing my laundry room, so I totally get the need for organization. Like the color choices. I think we have the same washer.

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  40. What great colors - I need to show this to DD2. Her last laundry closet looked exactly like your before. Maybe you will inspire her to keep her new laundry room clean and organized.

    Be sure to stop by AtticMag and see what Jane has come up with for Met Monday.

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  41. Sooo cute! And I love that the labels have pictures on them instead of words. Adorable!

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  42. Great orgainization in the laundry room. I love how utilized baskets and labled them.

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  43. Very pretty and efficient!!! And I'm impressed that you were able to say "no" to a huge transformation that would have dragged on and on and just made do with what you had time for. It's great!

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  44. That is so pretty! I love your little tags. :)

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  45. Absolutely darling! Thanks for the wonderful ideas...now you have me thinking a laundry room revamp is in order! :)

    www.monkeyshinebusiness.blogspot.com

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  46. I am just now finding the time to visit the Met Monday posts this week. It's surprising to see we ended up doing much the same thing. Mine is very different than yours, but my big project this weekend was the laundry room too. Your baskets, the fabrics and colors you chose are so attractive and fresh looking. It makes a huge differnce in how you feel going into the room to work doesnt it? Congratulations on a job well done.

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  47. My favorite colors! And the blue and green with the pretty little curtian certainly brighten it up! No luck adding a window huh? lol. Just kidding. I have a laundry closet much like this one! You've inspired me to clean mine up!

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