Laundry Room Clean Up

I decided that I needed to do at least one clean up project for the New Year, but I also knew that it couldn't be too involved or I'd lose interest and never get it done. Traci over at Beneath My Heart inspired me to tackle my laundry room. About 6 months ago, I decided to paint this room since it looked like it hadn't been painted since the house had been built back in '92 (Really, I don't think it had.). I stuck with a neutral color and painted all of the cabinets white. Believe it or not, the cabinet boxes were still bare wood. No one had ever bothered painting them. The door just had primer on it and the casing was a bright yellow. The space had just never been loved.

This room also is the only bathroom on the main floor, and partially serves as a mudroom because you walk into it from the garage. What I'm trying to say is that this really is a multipurpose room and tends to have a multipurpose mess to go with it. Stay with me, there are a ton of pictures in this post.

My little shadow Max way down in the corner loves to go through the drawers and spread their contents e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e!

The kids hang their backpacks up in this room, and homework folders tend to end up wherever they get tossed.

Isn't this space under the sink GROSS! My son flooded the bathroom a few months back and the contact paper peeled right up, since it was sopping wet, and I've never gotten around to replacing it. Yes, those are my dirty cleaning rags that are tossed under there until I get around to washing them. Ooooh the embarassment! Hahaha!

Just a bit of clutter doncha think? I love the piles of mismatched socks. Is it just me, or does someone else have a little gremlin who loves to steal socks so that you ALWAYS have a mismatched pile?

Aaaah! I'm getting there, everything is cleared off and wiped down in this area.

All of the towels and cleaning supplies are back in their place and the toys and stuff Max pulled out for me are where they should be.

I straightened out this cupboard by putting all of the socks that I'm hoping will eventually find their match in the nice little white pail I got for a buck at the DI. The gold metal container still holds all the spare change that turns up. I organized all of the light bulbs that were on the top shelf. Can you believe I threw away 4 boxes of light bulbs that don't fit ANY of the light fixtures in my house? What a pack rat!

I laid down shelf liner in the space under the sink. It doesn't gross me out so much now. I also washed my dirty rags. I still have to find a small container to put those rags in so they don't just sit in the bottom of the cabinet. I'm waiting until I find a good deal though. Cheap could be my middle name!

I also hung up all of the extra jackets that aren't worn everyday to decrease the volume of stuff sticking out from the wall. This looks great now, but I know it won't stay that way once the boys are home with their coats and backpacks. Any suggestions? As you can see, my space is narrow but I don't really have anything better. Also, what do you think, should I paint this mirror white or leave it with the finish it has? I'm debating it.

This is one of my favorite things in this space! It is bright and fun and makes me smile. Something that doesn't happen very often when I'm in this space doing laundry (smile that is). Laundry that is coming out my ears ALL-OF-THE-TIME! That's about it, not really exciting but I feel better with just a bit of organization in one area of my house! Let's hope it stays this way for a bit.

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