Org Junkie's Round-Up: Laundry Room Edition!

Disclaimer: No one was harmed in the organizing of this laundry room!

My laundry room has a wonderful set of shelves that I have not maximized at all. When I'm in a mad dash to clean the living room, I basically throw everything on those shelves. My goal for this month was to make them practical for all family members.

BEFORE:


AFTER:

And now for the close up. These are the 3 shelves that concerned me the most. The top shelf is for storing all those bulk items I need throughout the house. The 2nd shelf is to house all the office supplies & tools I need. Thankfully, I already had these drawers (again, not being utilized), so I didn't have to spend any money. The 3rd shelf is for all the kids games/puzzles. I can't tell you how many games of Lucky Ducks and Uno I've played since I organized the laundry room!

I labeled each drawer very specifically, so I won't forget!!

The bottom shelf I've left open for craft supplies (I still need to bring them from another room), and the box on the floor is for clothes the kids have outgrown. I'm ashamed to say that I've had the box there for a while. ALL THREE BAGS right there are full of clothes that were overflowing from this box. It was a nightmare, but thankfully it's all organized. Now to get those clothes out of my house once and for all!!!

I've needed a "lone sock" bag for a while, and I finally put one right above the dryer. It's already full of unmatched socks!!

And you would think I picked this cute baseball bag because of the Red "Sox", but I really just picked it because it was one of the many things cluttering up my shelves!

I was so excited to organize those little drawers that I thought I could leave 2 clean pieces on the dryer, organize the drawers, AND drink a DP. This is what happens when you get cocky:

Thanks again, Org Junkie! My family owes you (especially my son, who is LOVING the game shelf). For more organized laundry rooms, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Org Junkie's Rounding Up Entryways!

Org Junkie's Monthly Organizing Round-Up is so inspiring! As I prepared for school to start soon, I knew my mudroom needed to be lassoed in! Yes, I'm cheesy, but accomplishing this has made me feel great! Our "mudroom" (as much of a mudroom as San Diegans have) is at the backdoor which leads to the garage. This is the door we exit to go anywhere by car.

Before:

First, I had to take out the trash!!!

I put jackets in the coat closet, and hung backpacks, lunch box, and caps on hooks. There is a lightweight jacket in a small pocket of Timothy's backpack, waiting for October. And the shoes needed a new home...

Bought this shoe rack for the front door a month ago in preparation for this roundup. What happened OFTEN was the kids and I would come in from the car (back door), but they would make it all the way to the living room before taking off their shoes. So now the shoes are to be placed at the front door which opens directly into the living room. Everyone wants the top rack, and today I made a final decision it would be Samantha's since she has the least amount of dexterity (being the youngest):

Here are the baskets on the outside...


Now closeup and on the inside...

Seasonal items because it will eventually get cold (and I will keep sunscreen in there as well):



I never have the books or dvds at the back door when I'll be driving by the library. Now as soon as we've watched them, they go in here:

For bills, thank you notes, and all things "letter":

Mom's shoes (2 of the baskets are for this):

Things to be given away:

I decided to put my purse in this middle slot because the outlet is right there. I can keep my phone in my purse and charge it at the same time:

After:

Thanks, Org Junkie!!!

Org Junkie's Monthly Organizing Round-Up!

Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie is hosting a Monthly Organizing Round-Up, and she selected the dining room to focus on for the month of March. I just barely missed February when I learned about this great idea, so my kitchen will have to be disorganized until next year! Just kidding (sort of)! I actually was so inspired by the Feb posts that I've done several things in my kitchen (medicines, pantry, and drawers). It was so nice to be "invited" into someone's home to view their steps of organization that I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to do it myself. And my dining room needed it!!! Problem issues you can see in the before picture:

1. Children table & chairs that are beyond being able to clean. They're nasty!
2. Unused highchair acting as a storage unit.
3. Recycle center needs different home.
4. Art supplies need new (but close) home because we use them in the dining room.
   

Here's a close up of the recycling center/kid's art station. And I didn't stage that for the picture-we have actually been living like that! My husband had his half (recycling) and I had my half (supplies that I needed to get to in a moment's notice).

Here's the after shot:

I didn't even stage the flowers either! My dear friend, Christi, sent them to me this week because she loves me and knew I would feel loved every time I saw them! I'm so glad I hadn't taken my "after" pictures yet. Let's go through my changes:

1. The kid table and chairs went in the trash. I was going to replace it with this one from IKEA. But in the 4 days since I threw it away, my daughter asked for it 1 time (my son not at all) because they know they can do anything at our dining table that they could do at their table. Plus, this put us together for little things, not juts meals. Timothy sat by Dan while he read the paper. It was cool!
2. Unused highchair is in the garage in a designated area of things to give away. A charity is coming this Friday to take them. The highchair has not been used (as a highchair) for a while since I bought the Kaboost. This is my favorite product! You can see it in the picture under the chair on the far right. This product boosts the chair up, and now my little 2 year old is at eye level with us. It is so awesome!!! The KABOOST website is quite informative.
3. Paper, bottle, and can recycling center has been delegated to my husband. I'm not going to worry about it, but removing the highchair prevents him from being able to use the dining room!
4. I never really know what to put on the ground in the pantry. It seems weird to put food there. So as I was organizing that, I put my art supplies and play-doh (the items needed at the dining table) there. I also printed off clip art of what is in each box so the kids know what they're looking for. The kitchen (and pantry within) is just to the left of the dining room. Here is the before and after of that:

My long term hope is that I can put a buffet right under the window and house the art supplies, play-doh, and everything else for the dining room. That was not in the budget this month, but it's cool that I've already made the space for it when the opportunity arises. The ficus has been sitting in the garage (kicked out there due to a different living room arrangement), and I'm glad I brought it back inside.

Thank you, Org Junkie, this was so fun, and I look forward to many more months of organizing!