Laundered

It has been almost a year since I began my journey to update the laundry room and kitchen. Whoa. And I'm still not done! But I'm thisclose when it comes to the laundry room. Check out these progress pics to see how far it's come (you can see the Before {here}):

So much that I love here in this pic. The pedestal that {we built} for our washer and dryer.
The updated hardware on the cabinet doors. A peek at {the curtains I made}. 

View of mainly the same stuff, different angle. I love those bright, colorful curtains. I also love having our brooms/mops hung and having the vacuum cleaner live right there. It didn't really have a very good permanent home prior to updating this room. The doggie door is not new (Chris and his friend Jim installed it back in 2011), but I can't rave enough about the awesomeness of having a doggie door. 

The pocket door to the left goes into our kitchen. The door directly in front (with the chalkboard) goes into our garage. It's our main coming and going door. We hung hooks for bags, purses, brief cases. Some of them I bought new at Lowe's; some of them (like the big ones the brief cases are hanging on) were old planter hangers I found in our garage from the previous owners. They have been really helpful in keeping the room organized. 

A better view of the broom hanging station/cleaning supply shelf. You can also see just a few of the many hats that Chris has. We really needed that coat and hat hanger! Chris's friend from work, Hammer, made us the cowboy boot key holder. The green bar on the wall was an old towel bar that I found under the cabinets above the washer. It had been there from the previous owners. I removed it, cleaned it up, and spray painted it that green that I'm loving right now ({Valspar Apple Gloss}). Little baskets hang from it on S-hooks and keep extra sunglasses, cell phone arm bands, and gloves in the winter. 

I guess I maybe should have staged this better and taken most of this stuff off so that it was only sparsely filled, but I really wanted this reveal to be realistic. This is what we're using this stuff for! 

Oh, the command center. I love it. I talk more about creating it {here}, so I'll just point out that the fabric background matches the curtains, then reiterate how much I love it. And how cool dry erase crayons are.

The drying bar! How did we live without it before??? That alien-looking blue thing is the {Pressa drying rack} from Ikea. It's kind of awkward, but it's really nice for indoor drying of socks, tee shirts, etc. The space below the hanging bar is still waiting to be properly finished. I want to put some kind of clothes-folding table there. 

I really, really like this chalkboard. We had a ceiling light in our kitchen when we moved in; the leafy metal thing (at the time, it was finished in oil-rubbed bronze) was the decorative frame around the light fixture. Well, the fixture flat out died, no bringing it back from the dead. So we removed it and replaced it with a ceiling fan (I don't care what blog people say, when you live in the South, ceiling fans are the best!). But I knew this beautiful frame could be re-purposed  so I kept for a couple of years. Lo and behold, I decided I wanted a chalkboard on the door and this was the perfect frame. I spray painted it with Valspar Apple Gloss. The chalk board it just a circle of {Valspar chalkboard paint} applied directly to the door (three coats). 

I got these little mesh baskets at Tuesday Morning and the wooden letters at Hobby Lobby
(spray painted with {Rustoleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover in Satin Lagoon}). 

This is an {extra-large open-top L.L. Bean Boat and Tote bag} that I got years ago (the color is Marigold, but they don't appear to offer it anymore). We keep all of our clothes that need to be dry-cleaned in here. And they pretty much never leave because we rarely take things to be dry-cleaned. But the bag is pretty!

So.....here is a run-down of what we did to the laundry room:

• Added planking to top half of wall
• Trimmed out planking (with some family help)
• Added chair rail (with some family help)
• Painted planking, cabinets, and ceiling
• Painted drywall
• Painted trim
• Added new hardware
• Lined shelves
• Built washer dryer pedestal
• Built cleaning supply shelf/broom rack
• Added hat rack
• Added purse/bag hooks
• Created chalkboard on door
• Created command station
• Added baskets to hold everyday stuff
• Added drying/hanging rod
• Made and hung curtains

And here's what we still have to do:

• Fix cabinet clasps in a couple of cabinets
• Touch up some cabinet paint
• Clean up white paint lines around window mullions
• Build clothes folding shelf
• Prettify dog food container
• Spackle and paint mistake holes
• Get pretty rug
• Get pretty light fixture
• Bring light switch panels out so they're flush with walls (now that paneling has made walls thicker)
• Organize medicine et al in cabinets

And maybe eventually we'll:

• Build better/prettier cleaning supply shelf (something more like {this})
• Maybe re-paint walls a crisp white (??)
• Update doors on cabinets to something more architecturally interesting and newer/cleaner

So that's where we're at right now. Progress. Major progress. And our first real DIY project. It pretty much taught me that Chris is good at building stuff, but doesn't really enjoy it. And this is supposed to be fun, not a chore for him. So I'm trying to do projects that I can mainly complete on my own so he can use his very limited free time to do stuff that is fun and relaxing for him. But I'm so glad that we've learned that pretty early on and didn't rip out our kitchen or something. Learning on a relatively tiny project like the laundry room has been just fine!

Big Daddy List of Organization Projects

Semi-Unrelated Note: I've got some good thisclose-to-being-done laundry room pics, I just need to get them up here. Hoping to get that done today or tomorrow. 

I was reading {Ducks In A Row} last week and {the post} (excellent by the way; all about keeping reality in mind while organizing) referenced Laurel's 52 Weeks of Organizing project. That project struck me as brilliant. She shared her list and the items on it were really manageable (clean shower heads, hang pin board in closet, organize medicine cabinet, etc.), and she allotted one week during the year to get each organizing project done.

Since I've been feeling really overwhelmed and under-confident about DIY lately, this whole thing seemed like something I really need right now; tasks that I can actually tackle and complete by myself (for the most part) that don't involve a table saw. 

I didn't come up with 52 since we're already a third of the way through the year. I think I came up with close to 30 though. I may add some as I think of them. 

Here ya go:

Clean out and organize coat closet. Something like this. Sigh.

via

Clean out and organize Chris's closet

Maximize space and organization in blue bathroom closet

Completely organize under kitchen sink. Just like Jen.

via

Totally organize all table linens

Organize and functionalize Man Cave closet

Organize Man Cave desk

Create jewelry organizer

via

Organize jewelry and get rid of unworn stuff

Get bedroom tv cords organized

Organize and functionalize guest room closet

Organize and functionalize guest room dresser and night stand

Organize all spices in spice drawer

via

Organize screws

Organize drill bits

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Organize screw drivers

 

Better organize sandpaper binder

 

Organize auto care stuff 

Go through camping and fishing stuff, organize, and throw away unused stuff.

Organize travel items (suitcases, etc) 

Make completely organized and grab-and-go travel toiletries kits for me and Chris

via

  Itemize and take pictures of everything for insurance

Organize all 2012 photos and move onto cd

Organize and backup computer harddrive

Make hanging organizational items in master closets for belts, robes, etc.

Create easy and functional storage for all hand power tools

Organize dremel accessories

Welcome February!!

Stunning weather this weekend means extra-long Saturday walk with the puppies.
We walked down to the trail and then all the way down and back. 

That resulted in lots of steps! Big accomplishment!

The spoils of my trip to the Goodwill. I got that woven chevron blanket for $1.99! And Hilary's autobiography for $1.29, which turned out to be a very apropos purchase because apparently she retired as Secretary of State?!? What rock have I been living under that I just found out about that this evening!

Got some good lovey-snuggles in with the puppies, very important stuff. 

Oh, and I finally finished the "command center" in our laundry room. My board was inspired by {this design}, but I used foam board covered in fabric
and mounted into a $1.99 frame from Goodwill instead of plywood. 

{McKenzie} provided a couple of printables with her tutorial,
which I gratefully used on my board. 

Did you know that you can write on glass with dry erase markers (and {dry erase crayons}) and it wipes right off when you need it to? These frames were a dollar each from Dollar Tree. 

One of the snacks I made for the Super Bowl were these {PB&J Thumbprint cookies} from Emma at A Beautiful Mess.
She used blackberry jam in hers; these ones are made with strawberry. Delish. 

Got some good Parcheesi playing in before the Super Bowl.
These crazy Texans call it something else, but it's the same game ;-)
And this particular version is home-made and vintage-y, and I love it. 

Clydus needs a mani-pedi.

Getting My Brain Straight: What I Want Out of the Laundry Room

The laundry room project is on like donkey kong; I am conquering my fear and tackling it! As I was determining the levelness of the walls and marking out lines in 4-inch increments, I realized I needed one last soul-searching, inspiration list for exactly what I want out of this laundry room. Once the paneling and painting are done, I need to get going on the details that will make this room worth all the work that is going into it!

What do we use it for?

• Laundry (duh)
• Our washer and dryer
• Ironing board
• Laundry baskets
• Laundry soaps, etc.
• Clothes that need to hang dry
• Cleaning products
• Household product storage
• Light bulbs
• Paper towels
• Batteries
• Extra Soap
• Recycling
• Plastic
• Paper
• Aluminum
• Plastic bags
• Dog stuff
• Dog food container
• Dog bowls
• Miscellaneous dog accouterments
• Informal entryway (it opens to the garage, which is where we always come into and leave the house)
• Keys
• Sunglasses
• Spare change
• Purse/Bags
• Coats (in the winter)
• Shoes (I shouldn't keep my shoes here, but sometimes I just can't help kicking them off as soon as I walk in...)

This is not a large room we're talking about. We're lucky in that it's not a tiny closet, but it's pretty small and it wears a lot of hats. So I really want to maximize space and  squeeze every last inch out of the room. Oh, and I want it to be pretty. :-)

Here are some inspirational ways to deal with the above requirements: 

Ana White Homemaker

This takes care of both the washer/dryer issue and the laundry baskets. Bam!

Trends and Traditions

I love the idea of using an old dresser and turning the top into an ironing board. I'd have to find one that fit in the space next to our dryer pretty snugly, or think of a really good way to use the gap space. 

Piccsy

If we go with the ironing dresser route, I'd like to do something like this with the bottom drawer (but with three food bowls, instead of one food and one water bowl). 

Martha Stewart

Super easy solution for clothes that can't go in the dryer. I'll hang this below the small, high cabinets above the ironing board space (see current pics here). 

Martha Stewart

I don't really want to make this recycling center in the laundry room, but I think it would be perfect right outside the door on the garage wall. 

Martha Stewart

Love this simple idea for organizing coats and accessories. Smaller baskets would be great for sunglasses and other smallish things like hats, mittens, and purses. 

Martha Stewart

What about an ironing table instead of an ironing dresser? I'd be giving up storage space in the drawers, but I love the shoe tray underneath the table. Hmmm...


Gotta get the paneling and painting done, then I can get to this fun stuff! Ok, I'm going, I'm going...

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul Update 5: Drawer Liner

Number five on The List is "Install pretty drawer liner." I crossed it off, but I have to warn you: I'm using the word pretty extremely liberally. Let's take a moment to talk about Contact paper. You can buy very pretty drawer liner online or even at Target. But it's expensive! So I went to Wal-Mart (I know, I know...). It was there that I learned that someone is still living in the late 90s; I'm guessing it's their drawer liner buyer. She needs a ride in a time machine stat. Of all the choices, this was the best I could find:

Yes, it's pebbly

So, after spending 30 minutes in the aisle, hemming and hawing over 4 ugly options, I chose the blue pebbles. I just bit the bullet and reminded myself that this is d r a w e r  l i n e r. No matter how ugly, everything's gonna be ok. 

Silverware drawer with the "pretty" drawer liner

It's in all of my kitchen drawers now and the world hasn't ended...yet. Once I put it in, I actually kind of liked it. Shhhhh....

What do you think?

~Liz

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul Update 4: Design Boards

Creating design boards was item four on The List. Until two nights ago, I had never made a design board. Now I'm an addict! They are so fun!! I made one for the laundry room and one for the kitchen. The laundry room design board was more fun because we're actually making some big visual changes in there. Most of the changes in the kitchen are happening behind the cabinet doors. 

Laundry Room Design Board

1. The Aesthetic Writer 2. The Quaint Cottage 3. Things That Inspire 4. Lowe's
5. Anthropologie 6. Southern Living 7. Sweet Pickins and Ana White Homemaker

Kitchen Design Board

1. Storage Glee 2. Family Handyman 3. Ask Anna... 4. Remodelaholic.com 5. Real Simple 6. Good Housekeeping
7. I Heart Organizing 8. Breakfast for Dinner 9. Coupon Connections 10. Pinterest :-/ 11. Delightful Order

I'm sorry about the couple of photos that don't have great sources. Lesson learned from this exercise: make sure there's an actual, clickable source associated with a pin before using a pic in a design board. Duly noted.

~Liz

Major Kitchen Overhaul Update 3: Cabinet Re-Assignment

Number three on my list is to re-assign the cabinets in the kitchen/laundry room to make food, dishes, and cleaning products storage make more sense. Here's a look at what each cabinet was being used for Before:

When I rearranged the cabinets, I had a couple goals in mind. First, I wanted to keep like things together. Previously, I had cleaning supplies in at least two different places and food being stored in both the kitchen and the laundry room. Secondly, I wanted to improve the flow of our open-but-smallish kitchen. The dishes were conveniently located above the dishwasher. Except it wasn't all that conveneint because it was hard to reach the cabinets to get the dishes in them when the dishwasher was open. And the person setting the table (me) was always in the way of the cook (Big Tex) when trying to gather plates and silverware. Spices were nowhere near the stove or counter.

Below, check out the new arrangement. It's still not perfect, but it's getting there. Over time, I'll be able to get a real feel for what kind of arrangement we need, and then we can tweak it.  

That's it! I know I'll be changing things up slightly in the near future because I'm not crazy about how tightly packed my canned goods are in their new home. I need to find a better place for them. But, overall, I'm happier with the new arrangement than I was before. 

I'll be back in a few days with another update!

~Liz