The room had become a HUGE catch-all space. Storage items always seemed to find there way into the space, as did some other things that didn’t belong. If it’s hard to tell what is in the before photos, here is a quick break down. First, a workout bike took up a bunch of space. This actually belongs in the room when it’s not in use in the adjacent family room. Second, items that actually belong in the kitchen that are hanging out until our kitchen is done. Third, a desk and table that never get used. And that big brown thing? It’s our broken foot board from our master bedroom.

Here are the afters:

I decided to go with the flow… this room seemed to want to be a storage space, so why fight it? I purchased two shelves, and put everything on them. Luckily I already had a few fabric cubes and two fun bags that could store loose items. The top shelves are now holding all the things that will return to the kitchen. The white wicker chest of drawers in the corner keeps linens inside.

The second shot shows the wall where the bike can now easily come in and out of the room. And now that there is a place to store extra laundry supplies, the chest of drawers near the washer has a much neater top.

The desk, table, and the foot board have been moved to the basement where the long term storage is. The foot board will be re-purposed when we rebuild our bed frame which is why we are holding on to it. My husband wanted to keep the other two items because he has a future use for them (or so he promises, lol).  It’s amazing the difference this transformation makes! With more space and no clutter to contend with, I may actually find myself wanting to do laundry!

Edit: I just saw a post that said we need to answer these questions for the Organization Challenge (there are prizes as stake)! So here we go, though this is mostly covered above, I want to make sure I don’t disqualify myself.

1. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it? The hardest part was figuring out what to do with the space. It had been so many things, and kept getting cluttered. We have had many ideas for the space in the past as well, but I overcame the challenge by giving in. I decided to just go with the flow and let it be a storage space, since that is what ended up happening all the time anyway.

2. Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order? Now that I have actual places to store items, being able to put things away and keep it in order is going to be easy. The main problem before was everything ended up on the floor, or piled on one table. Now everything has a place to be.

3. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space? What could be donated went to a local charity. The bigger items were taken to our basement for long term storage, and future use. The bike, which was taking up most of the space, comes in and out of the room when not in use in the adjacent family room.

4. What creative storage solutions were you able to introduce in order to create additional space as well as establish some limits and boundaries? I purchased two storage shelves, and everything else were things we already had. I was lucky enough to have two fabric cubes, and two fun totes to use as storage. The cubes hold painting supplies and soap making molds. One tote holds gift bags, while the other holds more crafting items. The chest of drawers in the corner holds extra linens, while the one next to the laundry holds household items like hammers, as well as laundry related items.

5. Why do you think you should win this challenge? It was a big challenge, with a lot to do. Though I would love to win, I feel like I have won already just by getting this space done!

So, now that I am caught up in my online history class (oh how I slacked during the whole kitchen reno/hubby surgery/family visiting month), and the laundry, dishes and other household chores are back to a good place, I am thinking of joining in a fun challenge that is taking place over on I’m an Organizing Junkie. Sure I will be a bit late to the party, but it’s better late than never, right? I do after all have a room I am dying to tackle with gusto.

The laundry room! The pesky, tricky laundry room. Here is a break down of what I am thinking for the space.

• First and foremost, it does have to function as a laundry. Washer and dryer, and a place to easily hang freshly done clothing all have to remain in the room.
• Because it is a larger room, it can also function as something else. What the best option for that would be is anyone’s guess.
• It’s the coldest room in the house, even in the summer.
• Until recently we had a queen mattress set in the room, with the thought that it could be a guest room. It took up almost the entire space. However, we don’t have guests (most family all lives nearby), the mattress had to be right up against one wall, meaning someone would have to climb over the other person to get out if needed, and again, it’s the coldest room in the house.
• The room tends to attract all the things in our house that don’t have another home. It’s a bit of a storage area, even though that is not what we want. Like a junk drawer, but a junk room.
• It has been a crafting, mad scientist lab, in the past, but rarely got used as such because, once again, it is the coldest room in the house. Also, it only has one plug (other than the plug for the washer/dryer), so it does have limits for where certain furniture can be placed.
• We have often dreamt of it becoming a huge walk in closet/laundry. Not the most convenient though, since our master bedroom is up two floors from this room. Cool thought though.
• It’s not really large enough to house workout gear (that is in the basement now), but it could possibly be a nice spot for something like yoga or aerobics if we could set up a television/dvd player in the room.

Here is what the room looked like when the mattress was still set up (you can barely see it!), and sadly it has become much worse since! There is now a workout bike, our broken footboard, and many displaced kitchen items (those will return to the kitchen when the backsplash is done though).

Now that I have to hide in embarrassment from showing you this photo, I would love to know what you would do! Please comment with your suggestions and ideas, no matter how simple, complex, or wacky they may be!

One thing that I have always wanted is a library. In our home right now, we don’t have space for a true library, complete with large table for really researching and of course, a ladder to reach all the way to the top shelf! I have envisioned making our over sized laundry room into a laundry/library. I even found this great corner shelving that would be perfect for the space (if only I had the money to buy it).

Right now our books are spread between floors, in two bookshelves. Clearing out books is a constant struggle, but something that I have to do often as new books come in. Luckily the local library is just down the road, and the books that won’t fit into our bookshelves make their way to the library. It’s good to know that if we ever did want to read a book again, we could check it out from the library.

What about your home? Do you have library space? What do you do when your book collection begins to take over?

They came with blank tags for the front, which is great because then you don’t have to wonder what it inside. As you can see, it is a sleek way to store things that otherwise would be loose and cluttered.

Also while we were at Costco we saw a great deal on a dual flush toilet. We didn’t buy it (having just replaced our toilet), but for under $200 it is a real find. If you are looking for a new toilet, check out your local Costco!

And of course, right now our Costco store is offering perennials and bulbs for fall planting. I have found that they are always the best price, and that the quality is very good. They offer huge plants, which is great if you are trying to add color quickly to your garden.

What about you? Where do you find your best deals for home and garden items?

The first step in getting this drawer organized was to remove all the items that didn’t belong there. In our drawer I found that we had a lot of tools and building supplies that had found their way into the drawer instead of back into the tool box where they belong. Another item that I found a lot of was paper. Paper in almost any form you could imagine, including an origami frog. Usually it was scraps of paper with old lists, expired coupons, and even just flat out junk paper that should never have been in the drawer to begin with.

After removing all the items that didn’t belong, throwing out the trash, and pulling everything else out of the drawer, it was time to access how much space was actually in there. It was also time to decide what would go back into the drawer, and then add some organizers to hold it.

Luckily we had one organizer already in place, and it was very easy to find two more (sold in a set of two at Target). I suggest that you get your organizers and have them on hand before you start clearing out the drawer, as it will make the job go quickly and with less mess. Also, it is very important to measure the depth of the drawer that you are organizing, as some drawers are very shallow and may not hold the standard size organizer. Your drawer may even be extra deep and need something that is much deeper. To save yourself time, and money, a quick measurement is always helpful.

Here is our after photo:

Everything now has a place to be, and most importantly, everything is easy to find. With the new and improved organization bins in place, there is no more riffling around through a sea of junk to find the scissors or a piece of gum. Everything is visible, which is a key to keeping things organized. And with the use of the bins, the items don’t travel around the drawer, which also helps in making everything easier to locate. There is even still a bit of “free space” in the drawer which will come in handy in the future when new items find their way into the drawer.

The real key in keeping any space (especially a drawer) clean and organized, is to check on it often. I tend to go through drawers in our home about once a month to make sure that they aren’t getting disorganized. Most of what I find when I do go through the drawers is actual garbage that somehow got lost on it’s way to the trash bin. The other most common find? Items that belong other places. Checking in regularly goes a long way to keeping things organized.

What about you? Do you have a junk drawer confession?