Laundry Closet Make-Over

I would have to say that there are two chores I hate the most…washing dishes and doing laundry. It's not the actual putting clothes in and out of the washer and dryer that I don't like. I hate folding clothes and worse, putting them away. Why is such a simple task of placing my clothes in their correct drawer or shelf so hard? Hanging up my shirts takes minutes, yet I dread doing it. Oh, the simple house chores that we tend to be too lazy to do.

While I'm still trying to become a better "close putter upper" (lol!) I have no excuse to not LOVE my new laundry closet and somewhat enjoy laundry. In fact this little nook in our home makes me quite happy because it seems to be one of the only spaces that stays neat and organized all the time. We've done some small projects in our house here and there, but this is the first space we have given a complete make-over to!

Our washer and dryer are housed in a closet off of our kitchen. The size of the space is not what bothered me, but rather the lack of storage and organization. There was one dinky shelf that spanned the wall above the washer and dryer. It was on it's last leg and had begun pulling away from the wall. I was looking to add more functionality to our laundry closet!

Whenever I begin a project I always like to have a plan. Now, I'm no artist, but I sat down and sketched a quick drawing of the different components I'd like to add to this space. I definitely wanted a cabinet to put all our beach towels in. Shelves were also a must and could hold different storage bins and boxes to help keep the space organized.

While I was away on a weekend trip visiting my sister in San Francisco, my sweet hubby got started on the project without me knowing. He went ahead and cleared the space and painted the room a soft grey I had picked out. He's a keeper, and I should add that the majority of the stuff don't in this room was done by him. He took my ideas and drawing and made it reality.

The next step was to address the storage issue and come up with a good solution that would fit in the space available. At first I really wanted a big cabinet and then a space to hang items. After additional measurements, the hanging space didn't seem like the best option. Plus if we took that component out we could add a lot more shelves!

Craigslists has quickly become one of our favorite "places" to shop. I scored a large white cabinet (BRAND NEW, still in the box) for $30ish that normally is around $70-90 new from the store…I was super stoked about my find!

Next the shelves we purchased from IKEA were installed. The wire mesh basket is my favorite part and is perfect for storing extra toilet paper and paper towels. The color floral bins are from Thirty-One and the polka dot box on the top is a repurposed diaper box! (Check out one of my other hubs for the tutorial for this box!)

To add some texture and contrast we chose to tile the space between the cabinet/shelves and the washer and dryer. Since it was such a small space and we didn't want to spend a fortune on tile, nor a ton of time, we opted for the peel and stick, pre-grouted tile. I am so happy with how it turned out. and the best part is this tile was on sale so we only spent about $25 to "tile" this small space!

As with any project there's always one or two more things left to be complete. And how busy and crazy life is, if I waited until this project was totally complete I may never post about this makeover. The one thing I'd still like to add to this space is one more shelf that butts up to the bottom of the tile and runs the length of the washer and dryer.

I am so thrilled with how this turned out and that I actually have storage and a functional space! What rooms have you made over in your home…what rooms could use a bit more organization or a facelift?!