Monday, August 16, 2010

Gotta Love Organization!

If you live in Minnesota than you have noticed that our weather cooled down over the weekend.... and boy was it lovely!
There is nothing better than opening up all the windows in your house and letting in the wonderful fresh air. Something about it just makes a home feel fresh and lived in. Usually the only time you can open up all your windows for days at a time is when a season is about to change.... and this is my favorite time!
I love when one season is done and you are slowly transitioning into the next. There is something exciting about it, isn't there?!

Well, over the weekend all the lovely weather and fresh air got me stirring. I worked my second job and we had some other small things on the list like mow the lawn, go to church, etc. So I didn't have a ton of time to tackle a big project but I was a little stir crazy and had to do something! And that's when my laundry room shelf area hit me!

Just look at it... it's a giant MESS!

(part of me can't believe I am showing you this. please don't judge! lol)

It has been like this for months and months, maybe even a whole year! Just a big ole' pile of crap with a tiny little space for us to actually let the shelf serve it's purpose.... to hold laundry room stuff!
I guess I hadn't tackled this random little nook of crap... ahh I mean stuff... because I felt intimidated by it! I felt like it would consume me and take forever and once I pulled everything off the shelf where would I put all the garbage that accumulated and made those piles? I guess my biggest thing was... what would I do with all the stuff???

Well the answer was pretty simple..... throw half of it away and put the other half where it belonged in the first place!

It was mostly random garbage I could part with mixed with some tools, sand paper, paint trays, aldi bags, laundry soaps and detergents, etc.
So, I buckled down and tackled it!

First I cleared everything off the shelf!

To truly tackle a project you have to start with a clean slate don't you agree?! So everything came off and once it did I saw how beat up the cabinet and paint was. So I rolled out some of that cabinet liner (sorry no picture, I was busy people!) and there was my blank slate.

From there I just started going through all the stuff! Making piles of stuff that should have been in the garage. Piles that needed to go in the garbage or in the office. - And after about 20 minutes my piles were done and put in their proper spots. All I was left with was the stuff that really needed to be on that shelf. Stuff that really belonged in the laundry room and needed proper access.

I put the necessities back up on the shelf and this is what I was left with...


BETTER! - but something about it didn't have me smiling and jumping for joy! I didn't like the "lost sock" bin where it was and all that empty space above it looked sad. Honestly... it didn't look pretty to me!

I know, I know, it's just a laundry room some may say! But wait a second! This is where I stand and fold the better half of our million loads of laundry that are washed every week. This is where I stand and spend a decent amount of MY time! So why can't the area I stare at while questioning what better I could be doing with my time, or day dreaming about running away with my hubby look appealing and make me smile?!

Well, it can! - So I started tweaking and came up with this...


See, the difference? Nooooow are you smiling and jumping for joy?! Well I am!

I moved some things around and made the left side of the shelf (the side I stare at while folding) much prettier! The tin cans are just from canned pears... washed and rinsed after Tuck has eaten all the pears! Then I filled one with clothes pins and the other with dryer sheets. Than above it is that new, super cute, little magnetic board!


It started out as an old tin tray! ... I picked a pack of 5 up at the Goodwill awhile back. Marked at $5.00 but since I went on a 50% off day I only paid $2.50 for the pack of five! SCORE!



Pretty huh?! Than I just grabbed some adorable scrapbook paper from my stash, traced it to fit, cut it out, and hot glued it into the center. - covering up those hideous - I mean adorable - roses!

Than I grabbed a roll of jute from my ribbon box and hot glued that onto the back so I could hang the tray.

It doesn't have to be perfect! No one can see the back! And the great thing about a big ole' glob of hot glue.... it can be pealed off when you are done with it!

And so... this little cutie was born!

(click on the picture to enlarge it and see her in all her adorable glory!)

Now I can put pictures of my babes up there or key scriptures handed out at church that week to uplift and inspire me while I am folding the never ending loads of laundry! - and all with the change of a magnet!

So we went from this...


To this...


Nooooow the laundry room looks happy! (well besides the terrible blue and floral paneling which will one day come down!)


Speaking of that? Does anyone have a money tree I could come pick from?! lol

Oh well, you gotta live with what ya' got! And now I can stand being in the laundry room much better!

How about you gals? Did you tackle any projects over the weekend or have you been putting one off because you think it is too big?

Well, hop to it! And here's to finding that extra boost of energy.

Rule of Life #9: "Cleanliness is next to Godliness!"

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Chat later,

Jen

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