Show Us Your Life: My Laundry Room

Now that I am a SAHM, I spend a lot of time in the laundry room during the small amount of time I am home.  I drive a kid taxi for a living now!.  When we built our house, I thought I was getting a big laundry room but quickly realized once the washer and dryer were installed, my space wasn't so big after all.  If I were building a house again, I would make a huge mud room at the garage.  When you walk into the garage, you walk in to a massively huge mudroom with a sink, folding table, place to hang wet clothes, and nice built ins for storage of backpacks, etc.  We will not be building anytime soon, so I will keep what I have!

My laundry room used to be a catch all from the garage.  It was terrible.  We've been in our house seven years and the laundry room has been neglected.  I started my laundry decorating project back in the spring.  I did a little bit at a time and I still have several things to do.

This was my inspiration and color pallet.

I loved the reds and turquoise.  I bought this mat at Lowe's.  It is very squishy so it feels good on my feet while I am loading and unloading laundry!

We bought this bench at Target and originally had it out in our hallway.  I moved it into the laundry room and squealed a little when I realized it was a perfect fit in our small room.  This is where I would love to have built ins but this works for us.  I use the red fabric bins from Target to store seasonal supplies and my microfiber cloths for cleaning.  We also store Caylee's ballet bag and random pairs of shoes here too!  The hooks are used for backpacks and coats.

 I purchased the curtain from Target.  It hides cleaning supplies, laundry baskets and other random stuff.  Oh, and the closet also houses one of my favorite things in the house- a laundry chute from the kids' bathroom. If you are building a house or considering building, the laundry chute is the greatest thing ever!  The kids' bathroom is above the laundry room so their dirty clothes come directly to the laundry room (most of the time!).

 This is the area behind the door.  Not pretty but necessary.  I would love to hide my ironing board (or get rid of it.  I hate ironing!).

 These are the finishing touches.  I covered cork in solid red fabric and will use the area to hang special things- like my friend's baby shower invitation!  I never thought of adding a lamp in the laundry room, but it gives it a relaxing feel.  I need to relax in the laundry room I guess!

 I got the idea of hanging pictures over the machines on Pinterest.  A mom had taken pictures of her dirty kiddies and printed them in black and white and displayed them above her washer and dryer.  I loved the idea so I did it too.  They make me smile while I am doing laundry!  I am not crazy about the white basket but it does corral my Purex crystals (MUST. TRY) and other things.

 Finally, my laundry organizer.  Before we purchased this, I would sort my laundry in the kitchen and hallway.  It was just plain ol embarassing when someone came over and would step over the laundry.  Nothing says welcome to our home like a pair of dirty underroos!    I  consulted Pinterest again and with some modification, Chad bought and built me this.  Thank you Closetmaid!  The top drawer is for lost socks, the middle is lights and darks (with a cute label!), and the bottom is towels and whites.  Now, our dirties are hidden and no  one steps on my Victoria Secrets as they enter my house!

 This has nothing to do with my laundry room but Caylee's kindergarten teacher bought her class canvas bags this year.  She is amazing.  She felt like backpacks were too tough for kindergarteners to maneuver up stairs.  These are much easier for them to carry.  She let them decorate them on the first day.  Her class is the only ones that does this so you know which children are koalas!  Great idea!

I still have some things I want to add to this room including Subway Art that needs to be framed then some more accents for the walls, maybe letters that spell out wash or laundry, and maybe even cover the cushion on the bench in fabric?  I am open to suggestions!

Thanks for stopping by!