Progress!

On Saturday I couldn't take the pantry/laundry room anymore. I HAD to get it tidied up & more organized! I recruited the girls to help. I did get hands on a couple of things but for the most part I was able to direct while they did the heavy work & bending.

Boo sweeping the floor.

I will never understand how so many small odds & ends flock to this little room.

I love the cabinets above the washer & dryer but they are rather difficult to reach. Being pregnant they are nearly impossible! =) I asked Sweet Pea to put a wrapped blanket on the top shelf for me. For some reason she had me in stitches watching her try different antics to get that blanket to stay!


She tried the stool, she tried to use the mop to catch it, and finally she climbed up on the dryer. Success! LOL!

I should have taken a before picture. There was a giant pile of laundry going up the wall and spilling all over the floor. There was also the trash I mentioned & odds and ends mixed in on the floor. The garbage can was overflowing and other things were all out of order. The washer & dryer were piled up with various things as well. Can you see the improvement?

I am thrilled with all the walking space now. The mountain of laundry is no more, (it was sorted into 2 upright baskets & being whittled down), my empty laundry baskets have a place, the water bottles & soda are all together and the plastic bags all have a bin. With the exception of the pillow & blanket awaiting their turn in the washer you can see the tops of the appliances!

Here are my new shelves! They are rapidly filling up. I need to organize them with a little more detail but that's another day. For now it's enough to have the stuff within reach and off of the floor & counter tops.

Remember the closets I mentioned? Or did I? Anyway, here they are in their finished glory! Again I should have taken before pictures. Just try to imagine a full, overflowing closet stuffed with boxes, coats scattered all over the floor and junk on top of that. Now open your eyes! Ta-dah!

I love how deep this closet is! Storage, baby!

Closet #2

This is my linen closet & many of the items I used to keep in my buffet & porch/side closet. We are also using it for every day street shoes until the place in the garage is finished. Again, imagine the same closet with things stuffed on every shelf. You can't even tell what is ON the shelf b/c things are so crammed. Their are no cubbies below and the entire floor to the back of the closet is full of shoes, games and other junk that has spilled everywhere. You can' see the floor. Now, open your eyes!

I have some extra blankets on top; some fragile items next shelf; table cloths, curtains & pillow cases third shelf down and then some bins with candles, fun napkins & special cards. Below the regular shelves Sweet Pea crammed in two sets of cubbies (you should have seen the work that went into that!) which I am using for Christmas napkins & tablecloths, dresser scarves & shoes for now. I like to make the most of my storage space.

Another view

Who does this look like?