Week 7: The place for cleaning isn't always clean

I've moved out of the kitchen.

Sounds like something I should shout at the end of the day when all the supper dishes are done.  It sometimes feels like that is where I spend the majority of my time.

But I digress.

I've moved out of the kitchen and into.....the laundry room. The other place where I spend a large portion of my time...

Doors can be a blessing....and a curse. They are so nice to be able shut and not have to look at the crazy on the other side.

But they can also be a curse because you can shut it and pretend you don't know about the crazy on the other side and then you open the door and BAM. There is it.

And I'm supposed to be able to sort and fold laundry in here?

I love this little room in that it can be closed off. I love that Paul converted our old kitchen table into a long counter. I love that there is a little nook for my sewing machine and crafting assortment.

Unfortunately I can hardly do much folding or sorting on that counter and there isn't a whole lot of space to work on my sewing either.

Things that are working in this room:

The stand that Paul built. I just have to shout out that he built that for me and it has helped my back so much. Side note: yes, our washer and dryer are two different colors. That's what happens when you get in on a Black Friday deal only to find out the only reason they are so cheap....is because they don't match.  Believe it or not, they work just as great as a matching pair! ;)

Baskets: I needed ones that are pretty, but also hold items for a specific purpose, not just catchalls.  So, one for cleaning rags, one for laundry items (Bleach, spot treatment, Goo-gone, etc), and one for socks without matches.  Side note: once the sock-without-matched basket fills up, I set the kids to work trying to find if any in the basket match....or if the mate is somewhere under their bed or couch. For some reason they enjoy the game. I've got them fooled for now....

Those hanging racks. I got them at IKEA a few years ago and use the ALL THE TIME.  They fold up against the wall when not in use, but can hold a decent amount of items that need to dry but can't go in the dryer.

Things that are NOT working in this room and what I did to deal with it:

I took a laundry basket and picked up everything that didn't really belong in here but landed here for one reason or another - you know, that whole close the door on it thing? After that was cleared out I evaluated what truly needed to stay (is it useful? do I use it on a regular basis?) and then organized things so that everything could be accessed with the one reach rule.

 A counter I can use! I would love to go elsewhere with those bins but currently they hold items that are accessed quite frequently:  water bottles, glass jars for homemade yogurt, and containers to pack school lunches. The three large Mason jars are individual candy jars for each kid.  It's helped cut down on the crazy amount of candy that comes into this house via holiday parties. Once the jar is filled, the remainder is given away.

 Ah, my sewing area! Plus a drying rack for dirty rags. I may be a bit over the top about it, but I loathe the smell of mildewy towels and washcloths. Once they are used, they go to this rack where they can dry until I have a load big enough to wash. I never have a problem with smelly rags because of it (victory!). Oh, and now that the spot is organized I can see my pile of mending that needs done....making this weekend.