Ok, here's my second attempt at obliterating someone's organizing obstacle. Again we have Leslie who sent in the barnwood brainstorm request a while ago. She was so awesome and quickly sent in afters so I thought I'd return the favor by helping her out with her laundry nook.
Here's what Leslie wrote:
This is my current "laundry room," located off my kitchen. It needs to stay "as is" (no construction work, just organizing), at least until hubby builds our garage with my laundry room/home office in it :) It is closet sized and I made curtains to hide the mess. It measures 6 feet wide. The wire shelves are 12 inches deep and there is a 6" ledge in back of the washer/dryer. It is way too junky looking as I'm sure you'll agree. Part of my problem is that I have too many items of the same thing, like 5 furniture polishes, etc. I'm working to use things up a bit so my products won't be so numerous. As you can see, I tried to neaten things by buying some white plastic tubs. Anyway, here's what's behind there now (maybe too much stuff??):
top shelf: bleach, cat crunchies, lunch tote, water bottle, [round thing is a light fixture mounted on back wall], tub of sponges, cleaning tote, rags, wash basin
2nd shelf: laundry cleaners (two tubs), detergent, garbage bags, cleaners, empty bin for now, and pet and houseplant supplies
ledge: more cleaners, big box of garbage bags, enamel cup, rag, jar of plastic bags (that I put my kitchen compost in), spray cleaner, striped box is for our household receipts. (With all of this cleaning stuff, you'd think my house would be spotless, but it's not!!)
As you can see--too much clutter and U G L Y!!!
I think the curtain a great way to hide it all but I do agree there's a bit to much going on in there when the curtain's not drawn so here's what I suggest and check out more details below. Leslie should definitely keep the white tubs she already started using. I suggest place them all on the top shelf. As far as I can see they should fit. Buy a bunch of white pails and corral all bottled products etc in them. They will all go on the lower shelf, being bigger than the tubs. Try and keep the ledge behind the washer and dryer clear of clutter and leave some space for something nice to rest the eyes on. I would also get a strip of wood painted white and attach that over the uneven space just under the ledge to stop the eye from being drawn there.
Here's what I suggest goes in each spot based on Leslie's list.
1. Sponges
2. Rags
3. Garbage bags
4. Wash basin (I'd get a white one...)
5. Empty :)
6. Pet supplies
7. House plant supplies
8-10. Laundry cleaners and bleach
11. Detergent and measuring cup
12. Cleaning supplies
13. Cleaning tote items
14. Cat crunchies. Get a lid for this pail and make sure it's food safe.
15. Lunch tote and water bottle.
16. Enamel cup with rag, spray cleaner and jar of plastic bags
17-18. Art and a plant
19. Striped box for receipts
Here are some product suggestions for Leslie. Of course there are other similar items that can be found in local stores or on-line or on your shelves at home.
1 + 6. I like the idea of adding some art to a space even if it's a utility area. The washing line measures 5x10" and would look cute in the space on the wall between the washer and dryer. The clothes pegs print is to big for this space but it's to give you another idea for laundry room art. AND it's by one of my favorite artists.
2. Leslie keeps her laundry detergent in a red dispenser with a spigot. I love this measuring cup which would be both practical and fun to dispense the detergent into before pouring it into the machine.
3 + 7. I use metal rim labels in a lot of places around the house to label containers. They look good and last longer than regular paper ones. Leslie could use them to label her bins and pails (se below). Sometimes the key ring is too small to fit but then remove the ring and attach a string or buy the one's that come on strings. Another option would be to use adhesive labels such as these which come in loads of fun colors and several sizes.
4. The Ribba frame is a fave of mine and most other bloggers out there it seems. No wonder, it's pretty good quality considering the price and its nice and chunky. Would look lovely with some little piece of art (post card?) next to the bigger one.
5. I'm a sucker for corralling stuff, I don't like when things are trailing all over the place. I suggest these interlocking bins for the thin 6" ledge just behind Leslie's washer and dryer. Two on either side to keep the clutter contained.
8. Last but not least. These white plastic pails are actually the core of this organizing project. I couldn't find any great ones on-line but these which come in packs of 16... but you get the idea. The pails corral the different cleaners, and groups of items that Leslie has and she can just grab a pail and bring it to wherever she need it. Because they are taller than her regular tubs they hide all the bottles which instantly tidies the space up.
Leslie and others with similar problems I hope this helps.
~
Ok, before you get too excited and start sending in submission, here's what I've decided regarding the organizing obstacles. Unfortunately I've decided not to do them on a regular basis for now. It's simply because I have too little time. I'm still on my day job four days a week and the Friday "off" simply isn't enough to do everything in. I did this second test run to double check and although it was only to tweak a small area it still took quite a lot of time for it to be presentable. Time I don't really have at the moment unless I work 24/7. Sorry guys!
Thank you so much for your support on this, I hope to be the bearer of better news on the subject in the future. Please do still feel free to send me questions and I'll be happy to answer them and help you out, just not in this particular format.
