*affiliate links used
We’re moving on to week two of our organizing challenge and kicking off laundry rooms! But first.. how did your bathrooms go last week? I still have a little to finish up this weekend but I’m feeling good about the progress I made! It definitely didn’t take as long to give my bathrooms a re-fresh vs. a complete overhaul like I’ve had to do in the past. Once you get spaces organized really well it’s a lot easier to keep them clean and just spend a little time wiping/vacuuming out drawers and cupboards every 6 months or so.
{tower art here & here/wild poppy art/dotted terra-cotta planter/seagrass woven tray/glass jars}
I’ve shared details on our upstairs laundry room before but here are some pics of how I have it decorated and organized for anyone new!
Last March when we were talking about laundry rooms during this organizing challenge I mentioned that I had never organized my main floor laundry room. (Not pictured here.) It was a mess for years! I finally took the time to deep clean and organize it during laundry week but then I got busy and never shared pics of it on my blog. It has been so nice having it all organized! It was one of those spaces that was on my to-do list for years. I’m going to share pics of that space sometime this week! Coming soon. :)
Hello Sunshine. :)
{similar white faux flowers here & here}
If you’re new here my pull out laundry hampers are how we store dirty clothes in this room. They are the first thing I sketched out for this house when I was in the planning stage and I can’t recommend them enough if you are building/re-modeling. If you don’t have the space for them I’ve seen so many cool ways to organize laundry with baskets! Type “laundry room hampers” in the Pinterest search bar and so many fun options will pop up.
You can’t see it in this picture, but I have each hamper labeled when you pull the drawer out – lights, darks and towels. My kids have hampers in their bedrooms but then separate their clothes in these hampers every couple of days or when they are about to do laundry.
We have a pull out ironing board in this room too but I rarely use it. Most of you know that I absolutely hate ironing and avoid it at all costs. It’s one of my least favorite chores (after cooking). ;) I try to buy wrinkle free clothes and when something really needs to be ironed.. I use a steamer. Anyone else with me on this one?
As far as tips for organizing laundry supplies.. I really don’t have much in this room! The few things I do use I keep in this cupboard above my washer and then I use the rest of the space in these cupboards to store my Christmas village! #priorities :) We display this village on the long table in our upstairs hallway each holiday season so I moved the village here a few years ago. It’s so much easier to set up and take down each year with it all stored right next to the table we set it up on. The rest of the drawers in this room are completely empty!
I use Tide Pods to wash our clothes and store them in these OXO good grips that are long time favorites. I keep them located right next to the washing machine. They are out of sight when you walk in the room but are close to the washer and easy for my kids to reach. The jars seal so tight and are perfect for laundry pods.
{LAUNDRY ROOM SOURCES}
When it comes to laundry I think it’s so important to have a routine in place! What that routine looks like doesn’t matter and it will be different for every family. The important thing (if you want to stay on top of your laundry and not let it get the best of you!) is just to have a routine. When my kids were little I cleaned my house in the late afternoon/evening and always did a load of laundry when my girls were playing together in their bathtub (their bathroom was next to my washer/dryer in our last house). When we moved into this house and my kids started getting older my evenings became a lot busier so I started doing laundry in the morning. I’ve shared my routine before but for those of you who might have missed it I do a load or two of laundry every morning. I wake up, splash some water on my face and put on my workout clothes and then start a load of laundry. Then I exercise (usually treadmill or walking with a friend but about to switch to my peloton bike). After I exercise I put the clothes in the dryer and then wake Kole up and start getting him ready for school (my girls are up earlier and get themselves ready and off to school). I used to toss in a load around this time in the upstairs laundry room for the kids (and sometimes still do) but my kids do most of their own laundry now. (The best!) I usually end up folding and putting away clothes later in the afternoon in-between my kids’ activities.
Now that my kids do their own laundry I don’t use this laundry room much other than to help with their sheets and towels. Tuesday is my main cleaning day so that’s the day that I always wash sheets and towels. I wash our sheets most weeks and I wash my kids’ sheets every other week (one week I wash Kole’s and the next week I wash the girls’ sheets). With this system I’m usually pretty caught up on laundry by Friday so I don’t have to do any over the weekend. For me it has always been so much easier to do a load or two of laundry a day vs. spending one whole day doing laundry, but I know for some families that might not be the case! I know one family who does their laundry together every Sunday. Try doing laundry a few different times/ways and see what works best. Set a reminder on your phone each day if you have to until it becomes a routine. I would love to hear about your laundry routine in the comments! If you’re really struggling to stay on top of laundry I would recommend doing a load or two a day at the same time every day. It’s so nice when you can stay on top of it all!
A few tips for the week while we get our laundry space organized!
– add flowers/decorate (make it a happy space!)
In other fun news for all of my decor lovers, Nordstrom is having a huge sale on HOME items right now! I rounded up favorites below – most of these items I have and love.
Barefoot dreams blankets are all on sale! They are pricey so these sales are the best time to pick one up if you’ve been wanting one! Once you try one you’ll wonder where it has been all your life.
I’ve slowly had to buy one for every person in our family so that they don’t steal mine! I got this brown blanket for Kenny for his birthday. Then a navy one for Ad for Christmas (she kept stealing ours!). Then when my parents were here for Christmas my dad hinted he might need one for Father’s Day. (Thank you N sale.. got that covered!) :) They really are a dream to wrap up in! Barefoot Dreams Cardigans are on sale too!
My white comforter and shams set is on sale!
These beautiful petal plates and napkins are also marked down! Perfect for Valentine’s Day and all things Spring/Summer. I rounded up other favorites below like the white towels in my girls’ bathroom and a wood bowl that’s one of my favorites! I have and love the clock too.
1-wall clock 2- flow medium bowl 3- large cushion 4- chunky accent pillow
5- bliss throw 6- comforter & sham set 7- bath towel 8- wood lazy susan
1- petal cake stand 2- wood serving bowl 3- velvet pillow 4- throw blanket
I’m slowly starting to decorate and warm up my home for a new year but organizing is taking top priority! Let’s get our laundry spaces whipped into shape and finish up bathrooms this week! Who’s with me!?
I’m tricky like that. ;)
Oh goondess, Erin, what a pretty room! I know you’ve shown it before, but I don’t remember the peach accents. I love them! That one framed floral picture is gorgeous. I certainly wouldn’t mind doing laundry in this space! It’s so nice, bright and airy. My laundry area is in a closet with bifold doors in our hallway. I do laundry twice a week. As you say, this works for us. And usually my husband does laundry on one of the two days. Thanks for the inspiration to work on this space this next week! :) Have fun shopping at the home sale.
Thank you Jeanne! Sounds like you have a good system set up! I love that. And I love that your husband helps! Keep him around. ;) Enjoy your week sweet friend!
Beautiful laundry room! I’m jealous. My laundry space is in the corner of our garage. Any easy storage suggestions there? I have 3 step down from my kitchen to the garage so nothing with wheels would be helpful. Especially, to keep clean from dust and such.
Thank you Carol! Do you have space for a shelf/cabinet next to your washer/dryer?
I have joined your 9 Week Challenge and mostly finished the clean up of the Bathrooms. My master bathroom cabinets haven’t been cleaned since I moved in 5 years ago, so it felt so good to purge, clean and put stuff back inside. Even if I am the only one who knows it’s clean, I feel clean inside. =) Thanks for the helpful tips to tackle these overwhelming projects!
Cecilia that made my day! That’s amazing! I know exactly what you mean. Even if you are the only once who notices, it makes such a difference mentally when cabinets/drawers are clean. Those are the spaces we are in and out of every day. Thank you for letting me know! YEA! Feels so good! :)
I have to admit, I have a slight envy of anyone who has a dedicated laundry room. I live in an apartment, and my washing machine is in the kitchen. On the plus side, I have one less room to clean. :-D My husband and I separate laundry directly into lights, darks, and towels in the bedroom, and when we have enough of one category, we wash a load. That’s the extent of my routine, but it works for us. Laundry soap and stain remover are stored under the kitchen sink. We don’t have space for a dryer, so we have a drying rack that we store folded in the living room to place either on the balcony if the weather permits or in the living room otherwise. Even though I don’t have a room to organize, thanks for the reminder that I need to clean the filters in my washer! Haven’t done that in a while. Have a lovely day!
Alicia your comment took me right back to our apartment when we were married and going to school.. it had the exact same laundry set up! We had a dryer but it was always broken so I had a drying rack that we folded up and stored in the kitchen pantry to use every time I did laundry. :) I always dreamed of having my own large laundry room but now that I have that they are definitely more work to keep clean! And I miss those days of having so little laundry before kids. Ha. ;) You have an easy week! Clean the filters and relax! :)
Looks like you have a corner cabinet in your laundry room that is difficult to get to like I do. Any suggestions for storage in there. I keep my seasonal hand towels in there but it is such a pain to get to.
Hi Ann! What looks like a corner cabinet in this space is actually flat in line with the washer/dryer and it’s a pull out trash can. But I know those cabinets well and they are so hard to utilize! I’ve seen a lot of people put turn tables (lazy susans) on them and use them to hold products. I’m not sure if that’s as helpful in a laundry room?
Ugh. I would LOVE to join you on “laundry week” but my LR needs a complete overhaul. I’ve been dreaming about it for years (have no desire to take everything out, scrub it down, then put it all back in the same dingy, not-well-utilized space right now. I was out of town for your bathroom week, though, so will go through those this week. The master bath is also a project that is coming up in the queue but I’m sure there is plenty of purging I can do in there prior ;). I did tackle under my kitchen sink on the random day I WAS home last week so that is done :)
Looking forward to seeing your other laundry room — I love your beautiful, thought-out spaces in your home.
Thank you Jenni! I so get that. Definitely catch up on bathrooms.. getting those cleaned feels so good! A big impact which is why I like to hit those first. And YEA for finishing under the kitchen sink! We’re making progress! One space at a time. :)
Hi Erin,
Just for Reff. I am still in the Hall guest Bath w/this challenge. I am slow ;-D ALSO, AVOIDING the “Laundry room”.
, MY laundry room sparks absolutely NO joy. None at all. I would like to come and do laundry in one of your beautiful, laundry rooms! Either my laundry or yours! Ha does not matter ;D One could do anyone’s laundry there! More of a “retreat” than a laundry room.
I think I remember from quite a while back what your 1st floor laundry looks like. Your set up is the BEST I have seen except for one other house of someone I knew. She had a beautiful main laundry room AND small stackables in dedicated closets in MOST the bedrooms except the guest room and in THAT room, there was stackable “minis” in the attached bath. Two bedrooms shared a Jack ‘N Jill bath so they also shared stackables. So, there was 3 sets of stackables plus a mini set in guest bath along w/the FULL laundry on main level which was NOT as GOOD as yours! Anyway, she apparently drove her contractor to the NUT house…….
As nice as my home is my laundry sadly is in the room that leads to an added attached garage. It is combo mudroom/laundry room/utility room. I HATE it. Too many things in ONE. Marie K. would just PASS out. I avoid the room like the plague. Anyway, with all the charm a New England federal offers it is a small issue. I get the laundry done and LEAVE the room. No lingering. I do ALL laundry in this house inc. pool towels, etc. My husband experienced a serious condition as soon as we were married. Its lasting effects include an inability to understand washing machine/dryer buttons, dials/levers of any sort regardless of brand and inability to see dirty dishes ANYWHERE. There is NO cure, medication or telethon for this condition, so I am left to cope ;-O
Sadly, the “condition” proved to be contagious. The now grown kids and small grands using pool, etc. are now afflicted.
My plan is to treat myself once the kitchen is updated. The treat will be a laundry room overhaul. I may be seeking your advice then as to how to make a MULTI function room FUNCTIONAL!
Sharon this made me laugh out loud! You are too funny! I think my husband and kids have that same condition! Ha ha.. clearly it’s fairly common. Especially among the male species! Oh my word.. that house you described has the best set up! Can you imagine a laundry set in every bedroom!? No excuses for dirty clothes in that situation. What a dream! xo
How do you wash your barefoot dreams blankets? Any tips? Feel scary with such an expensive blanket.
I felt the same Sarah so I looked up how to wash them the first time! Wash them on a delicate cycle (cold water and I put mine in alone with no other laundry). Then air dry. No heat and don’t use fabric softener!
How do the Barefoot dreams blankets wash up? I bought an Ugg blanket and it is mess-fuzz everywhere!
Oh no.. what a mess Kelly! They wash great! I put wash them on a delicate cycle and no fuzz! :)
Also don’t use fabric softener and I air dry them!
Hi Erin! What size is your “Hello Sunshine” framed art?
Hi Cathy! It’s 12×15! :)
Thanks!
Great room! Where did you get the hampers for your laundry drawers?
Hi Trudy! Thank you! I designed those and my cabinet guy bought the materials for them and installed them when we built our house so I’m not sure to be honest! Sorry that’s not more help!