White appliances and robins-egg-blue walls. Natural wicker baskets would look nice with that. Cheerier, will not show lint, and you don't have to paint the appliances (which I don't think would turn out well in any case).
Overall Rating: 1 vote
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Posted 1 year ago #
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i've been thinking about the clutter-attracting nature of this space.
as the first point of entry, it is naturally going to attract "stuff".
i see two options:
1. retrain everyone to keep their gear in their hands until they hit an appropriate place to drop the stuff.
2. make it impossible to leave stuff in the laundry1. can be done, for sure, but requires everyone to be conscious and on board
2. might be easier.if you were to somehow block off the washer and dryer and just leave a path through, it would force everyone to just pass through the space without leaving stuff.
i am thinking sliding doors....curtains.....something like that.if that is impossible and retraining isn't working....then how about making a designated space for hanging keys and bags etc?
we've got a small landing strip in our kitchen.....it is basically a wooden shelf with hooks for keys.
i have a couple of small textile baskets (capacity about the same as two cupped hands together) hanging from a couple of hooks and they are for: sunglasses, wallets, receipts, notes, phones.
keys hang beside them.
i have my basket and the husband has his.Posted 1 year ago # -
@bandi, I have hung curtains there before!! Funny you mentioned that!! It REALLY closed in the area, made it a small hallway!! LOL
OK....I just had an idea....follow me here. I measured last night. The dryer is 40" across. There is 13" additional beside the dryer. SO, what if I made/purchased a 53" "countertop" and set it/installed it, on top of the dryer (but to where I could still get to the dials)?? I mean, it'd give me 13 more inches to fold and stack clothes. I was thinking of hanging a rod between the dryer and the wall - but what's 13" of rod to hang clothes on? Plus I have 13" on the other side, by the washer, I could hang a rod on that side instead.
Yeah! MAybe this would work....hhhmmm...now to look at how to make a countertop, on the cheap!
Posted 1 year ago # -
BevAnn, you might consider a fold down counter top that is mounted on the wall.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have in the past purchased "excess" or "remainder" countertops at a discount building supply place (here there is one called Builders' Bargains). These are all made up countertops that were the wrong length, color, etc. I used one as a desktop for years. You might even find one from someone remodeling their kitchen. Nice thing about these is the laminate top - easy to clean and smooth, vs. making one out of plywood.
Posted 1 year ago # -
@pkilmain - yep, I'm looking into just that idea. We have a place like that in town, I plan to call them later today. I'd love to find someone remodeling and throwing one out. I wonder if I could ask on Craigslist?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Very interesting conundrum. :-) I like the idea of installing a countertop over the dryer. Especially if you do not need to access the storage above the dryer very often (i.e. less than once a week) using this space as a clean-clothes staging area might save you some headaches.
For the "rod" part of the equation, you might consider a swing-arm rod; it can fold back against the wall when not in use, fold out across the washer and/or dryer space for use. OR ... simply mount wood blocks with a U cut out on each side of each space, cut 1" dowel to length, and place the dowels in the blocks only when you have something to hang dry.
For any rod solution, you'll have to train your family to take empty hangers to the laundry area along with the dirty clothes so that shirts etc that are to hang dry can be hung immediately after they come out of the washer.
Oh ... and I love the idea of rusty red. Black, I agree, would be a bit dark and a bit lint-friendly. But you might consider a warm, medium-tone grey? Like a mushroom color? Paint the backs of the spaces in the grey and put the red on the side walls. :-) Natural wicker accessories/baskets would look great.
Posted 1 year ago # -
BevAnn, your solution sounds like a good one, craigslist or freecycle would be a good place to start. Oh, another thought to put into the mix, how about one of those pull-out laundry racks? Presumably there's stuff which can't be tumble-dried? Or one of those pull-down wooden racks on a pulley? I have one at the top of my stairs, all our family's washing is dried there. Have you checked out Ikea? I hate Ikea but they have some excellent laundry ideas you could steal. I think if you have a countertop you need to make clear where everything else goes though :) If you make homes for the 'entryway' stuff then you can keep the countertop clear, otherwise it'll just be a magnet for the family's stuff. I recently redid our horrible hallway and so far it's working well. I put up lots of hooks for coats, hats, gloves, scarves etc (though dh has FIVE hooks and keeps straying into MY five hook territory!! I told him I would throw out anything found on my hooks! I use 3 of them and keep the rest clear for guests). I put a small shelf above the radiator which is home to a lamp and the phone and broadband box, music thingy and a photo. The post goes there till it's opened and then gets moved elsewhere (we need to work on the journey, but I'm impressed how dh moves it off that shelf!). And a mirror above. My keys go elsewhere but I'm contemplating more hooks for dh's keys. If you could find a wall-hung solution that people would actually use then you could keep your surfaces clear for folding washing. Personally I think the idea of separate laundry baskets is a good one, you could stack them easily and colour-code them so everyone knows exactly whose is whose. But involve your dh in all this if he's the one who actually does most laundry!
Posted 1 year ago # -
here's some laundry room porn for you:
http://thefarmchicks.typepad.com/farmchicks/2009/10/the-laundry-room.html
http://chezlarsson.com/myblog/2009/10/leslies-laundry-room-before-after.html
http://www.saucysprinkles.com/2008/07/my-laundry-room.html
http://www.home-designing.com/2009/06/laundry-room-storage-organization-and-inspiration
Um, a chandelier may be a bit OTT for your house, but who knows! There are some good ideas for prettifying things there, given it's your entrance-way. My laundry area is a nook behind a door in between the bathroom and kitchen next to the back door, so it's tiny but it's hidden behind a door so organisation is not that big a deal. Nevertheless, I'm thinking if it was a bit prettier I would enjoy the washing more :)Posted 1 year ago # -
I just wanted to share a 'habit' change that I've introduced (only for myself). Unless it's raining, I never take in washing without folding as a I go. And off the line, I take all of someones first, then the next's. It takes a little longer, but it means it's done 'quicker' (there's no second task of 'folding' and THEN delivering). It took a mental shift, to think, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right. But now I really appreciate that little outlay of energy. Not sure if your DH will be up for taking this on though!
Posted 1 year ago #
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