DIY Laundry Room Organization

Hi there! I hope you enjoyed the long holiday weekend. Today I’m sharing part 1 of my laundry room organization project. This took much longer than I anticipated because of all the clutter that had accumulated from our renovations. This room seemed to become the “catch-all” space in the house as we were rearranging to allow for the updates. So, the bulk of the time was spent purging and relocating things that didn’t belong.

This already small space is shared with the pantry, which was relocated from the kitchen. This, being a long narrow space, meant taking advantage of vertical space was a must. After removing a coat/shoe rack from my front entryway to declutter that space, I decided that repurposing the rack would suit the laundry space perfectly.

Project goals:

1. Declutter, declutter, declutter! Did I say declutter?!

2. Create additional shoe storage

3. Create laundry drying rack

Step 1: Cleared everything out of the space! This was essential in the decluttering process. Deciding to paint the wall instantly brightened the space. Using leftover paint from the kitchen meant this update cost nothing!

Step 2: Disassembled the coat/shoe rack to create additional shoe storage. Of course, I couldn’t resist updating the shoe storage shelves by adding cardboard covered with vinyl contact paper for a cleaner look. By the way, the contact paper was the only added cost for this project at just $2 for the roll from Home Depot.

Step 3: Secured the upper portion of the coat rack to the wall to create a much-needed drying rack. This added piece means no more laying clothes on the dryer due to lack of hanging space.

Here’s the final product. After my front entry project, I was asked where all the extra coats and shoes went. Well here they are! I added these command hooks from my stash. And now we have a place for guests to hang their coats.

BEFORE / AFTER

Be sure to stop by next week to see part 2 of my diy laundry room organization. Go ahead and share if you liked this idea and leave me a comment to let me know your thoughts! Thanks, and God bless!

Living Simply,

Mindy 💮

DIY Diversion Storage

Hi there! I'm sure you've probably seen those diversion safes (books, cans, secret drawers, etc.) made to look like everyday items, for hiding valuables. But what if you just want to hide that video game system that is sitting on your TV stand but doesn't quite work with your décor?

My husband recently traded in an Xbox One system for a PlayStation 4, and while the new system has a slimmer profile, I didn't want it on the living room TV stand. So, instead of settling for moving it to the bedroom, I decided to cover it. This was a fun, easy project that took minutes to create and is easily customizable to fit in any space.

Project Goals:

1.     Cover up video game system

2.     Add to décor

Step 1: Gather supplies. I used this black and white floral print contact paper (from Dollar Tree) and a shoe box that is slightly larger than the game system (my box was the perfect size).

Step 2: Measure and cut contact paper to fit the box, then cover the box and lid. Here I cut one long strip that wrapped around the box. I placed the box upside down over the game system. I didn’t cover the bottom because it would not be seen.

 

Step 3: Cut an opening for the wires. This makes it so we can easily lift the box and move it when we need to access the game system.

And voila! It looks like a decorative storage box. It's pretty on its own, or it can be layered with other decorative pieces.  

Before

After

This only took about a half hour to create, and the cost was just $1 for the contact paper! I had the other supplies on hand.

Next week I will have completed part 1 of my laundry room organization project, in which you’ll see how I’m repurposing the coat/shoe rack from my front entryway. Thanks for stopping by, and God Bless!

Live Simply,

Mindy 💮

Small Entryway Organization

Hi, and welcome! I hope everyone had a terrific Mother's Day! Today I'm showing you my front entryway organization.

Before I start, I just want to preface with the fact that our home was built in 1925. Therefore, it came with a few quirks.

For the past three years, we've been dealing with an oddly placed heating vent directly in front of the door. We'd just been sliding an area rug over the vent in the warmer months and moving it forward for the winter, when using the heat. There's also the fact that the front door leads right in to the kitchen, thereby making clutter a huge problem.

Goals for this project:

1.     Address the vent problem

2.     Get rid of clutter

3.     Create a "command center"

Step 1: remove the bulky coat/shoe rack and replace with hooks. This hook rack cost $10 from Ocean State Job Lot (I love that place).

Step 2: address vent placement with a custom fit rug. I measured and cut out a hole to fit the vent. The rug was $4, also from Ocean State Job Lot. The vent cover was $19 at Lowes, a necessary splurge.

 

Step 3: relocate all paper organization systems to a central area to create a “command center”. We already had these systems in place, they were just in different spots in the kitchen.

At the last minute, I decided to paint the door yellow to match the outside. It really adds a nice balance with the gray walls. Can you tell I love yellow?

Before / After

I am so excited with how this space was transformed with some simple rearranging. The total cost for this project was $33. I now realize I need to replace the baseboard on the right, the weather strip at the base of the door, and the molding we took down to paint the walls. They’re on my to do list!

Let me know your thoughts on my front entryway organization project. Also leave a comment if you want more details about our "command center", which has saved our kitchen table from the imminent paper pile.

Thanks for stopping by and God Bless!

Mindy