organizing the house, part 3 - the laundry room

Oh hello.  Shall we move on to the laundry room?  Mine used to be in the garage so this is a step up for me. And even though this is the tiniest laundry room I've ever had it is my favorite.  It's got everything I need to satisfy my laundry addiction and room for all the other essentials that keep this place clean.  It is embarrassing to show all the nooks and crannies of this house and admit that I have a laundry addiction, but some of you are very interested in these things.  But I'm also fascinated by this kind of ordinary thing too. Fair warning, there are tons of links to products in this post but I know you like specifics so I was on it this time. And just for the record, no one is paying me to say these are the products I use and like.

Lets start with my favorite laundry products of the moment.  The Laundress Wash and Stain Bar.  If I were rich I'd buy every single product this company makes.  All I've tried so far is the stain bar and also their Wool and Cashmere Shampoo.  Both have convinced me that my life is better because I'm now using them.  I'm totally kidding but really they are good. The stain bar gets out pit stains like nobody's business and the wool shampoo makes my sweaters so soft and it is supposed to aid in the prevention of moths.  I purchased them before I got the bright idea to pay off our mortgage early but they should both last me about 4 years so I'm ok with it.  I use the Mrs. Myers Lavender Dryer Sheets to freshen drawers and musty old suitcases. I've never actually used them in the dryer but I bet they work well.  Mixing these rather high end products with my .99 store detergent seems to be doing the job.

The room is so small that I can't get far enough away from the wall I'm trying to photograph so you'll have to see this little wall in 3 parts.  This shelf area is what I use for all the linens and is also like a catch all closet.

When you lift the skirt you can see my iron.  I don't own an ironing board, I just use a towel and a counter top.  A basket of these type of cleaning cloths, there is a plastic tub that hold all the little tools you need inside like measuring tape, light bulbs, etc.  That old bread box holds gift wrap and ribbons, plain Epsom salts and a wire basket for dirty clothes. Pretty exciting, I know.

Next shelf up...toilet paper, bath and hand towels and 2 boxes.  One box contains medicine like aspirin and band aids and the other one holds thank you cards and greeting cards.

Then the very top shelf hold all the vases that will be getting filled with roses soon, very soon.  OMG, the rose garden is full of hundreds of buds ready to explode. (!)

Squeezed in between the shelves and washer/dryer is where I keep my broom and this Quickie floor duster.  I've had it for 6 years and it still works great.  After I sweep then I just mist the duster with water and go over the hardwood floors.  It catches all the dust and then I just toss it into the laundry.  We clean the tile floors on our hands and knees with those bar mop towels and plain hot water. I say we, because Larry isn't afraid of household chores and has always, always pitched in.

If you turn around this is the other side of the room.  That cabinet holds Larry's grooming accoutrement's.

I'm so so glad we were able to create a second bathroom for this house.  One bathroom, two people, no bueno.

Not bad considering this is what the room looked like when we started...

This photo is taken the day we took ownership while standing in the office facing what is the laundry room/bathroom.  It was originally a closet on the left and a teeny tiny room that held only a toilet.  You could barely close the door when you sat down, that's how small it was.  You can count 4 doors in this tiny space before we took down the wall separating them and created this room.

Oh and in case you were wondering, the washer and dryer are made by Frigidaire.  They are part of their gallery series.  The set is 6 years old now but are like brand new still.  I rarely use the dryer, preferring to line dry everything but when I do I'm always amazed that everything dries so fast.  It's all very energy efficient and I highly recommend them.  Plus they fit well in a really small space if that is an issue for you.

Okay, so what am I missing that I should be using?  Do you have any favorites?  Someone left a comment on the white slipcover post about a product called White Brite that I'm dying to try. Have you tried it? Lemme know.