Organizing the Laundry Room on a Budget

I have been working to get different spaces of the our new house more organized this last month. We have plans to eventually add custom cabinets and a sink in the laundry room to the left of the washer and dryer, but for now I just needed to get the space functional. I spend way too much time in there for it to be a mess. I used some affordable organizers to help, you can find the details below. 

1. Wall Shelving: Creates a safe holding place for cleaning supplies, fabric softener, bleach, lint rollers, and more that is out of reach of little hands.

2. Mason Jar: Having a designated place for collecting items from pockets before going in the wash keeps those small items from piling up and cluttering the space. The jar can be emptied as it fills.

3. Iron Hanger: Keeping your ironing board in place and the iron and cord tucked away makes the space much tidier. 

4. Broom Holder: Holds mops, brooms, broom pans, and dusters in place. Keeps them from falling all over and also makes them much easier to grab when needed.

5. Glass Jars: I love the look of detergents stored in large glass jars. You can also get creative with creating a cute label for the jar. I used a vinyl chalkboard label. 

6. Small Basket or Tin: To hold fabric sheets.

7. Cabinet: Hidden storage is great for hiding away smaller items in the drawer and larger below. I store two laundry baskets stacked in the cabinet. Great for grabbing when I am unloading the dryer.

8. Hamper: It is nice to have a place to toss dirty clothes and rags, instead of on the floor.

9. Light: Letting in some natural light by opening blinds can really make the space feel cleaner and brighter.

10. Inspirational Verses or Quotes: There is something to having a bible verse or favorite quote written out and in front of you to read on a daily basis. Especially when it is in a space where you spend a lot of time. Decorate your walls with something that will encourage and inspire you throughout your day!

For those of you who are interested, I thought I would include a before and after picture of the laundry room when we bought the house to now. 

Even though we haven't finished the space exactly how we want it to be...it has come a very long way! We completely demoed what was already in place, including some walls! Put up new drywall, flat textured walls, new paint, new windows, new lighting, and new flooring. 

Fireplace Makeover

Here it is...the fireplace before in its awful messy condition and finally looking finished! The before picture is the condition it was in when we bought the home. Just want to make it clear, that is not my mess. :) We debated different options for remodeling the fireplace, like stucco, eliminating the bench, drywall, and others. However, we decided we wanted to keep it inexpensive so we stuck with mostly paint to update it. We (and by "we" I mean my wonderful brother-in-law) drywalled over the brick above mantel. We also drywalled over the brick to the right of the fireplace. The beams were removed from the ceiling in the family room to help the room feel open and the ceiling higher. That left us with holes in the brick above the mantel (shown below). This is what led us to the decision of drywalling over the top portion. We still need to place an outlet cover on and do some final paint touch ups, but for the most part it is done! My friend Alexis, with Design by Lexi,  did a great job staging it for me.

 Here is the fireplace in the in between stages, and my little helper.

We painted the fireplace brick in Benjamin Moore's Anchor Gray.

We painted the mantel and the tile on the bench in Benjamin Moore's White Dove.

Our wall color is Benjamin Moore Gray Owl.

We Bought a House...

We bought a house in February and I have been hesitant to post pictures because I wanted to have some 'after' pictures so everyone didn't think we were absolutely crazy! We have quite the project on our hands, and my VERY hardworking husband has been working all day and night to get this house ready for move-in. There's still so much to do, but SO MUCH progress made as well! This is the front of the house (pictured above), however we are focusing our time and money on the inside first. You will see why as you scroll down! The house was a foreclosure in poor condition and filled with junk! It is a basement home located in downtown Gilbert.

This is the huge side yard that the kids are going to love playing in. The yard has a garden that is already starting to come back... citrus trees, an apple tree, pomegranate tree, a vineyard, and 8 raised garden beds! There's also a chicken coup in the back corner.

This grapevine already has tons of blossoms coming back since I took this picture!

Here are the raised beds...Excited to start gardening!

Now are you ready to see a very dirty house???

Kitchen sink view

Kitchen sink view after demo

 Kitchen sink view

Cabinets are going in now!

This was a large hidden pantry that we removed to open the kitchen up to the family room. 

Kitchen view from where the hidden pantry was.

Family Room view to front door

Family Room view to front door

(Opened up the front room, which will become formal dining, to the family room)

View to family room and front door from the kitchen.

Canned lighting in and dry wall going up.

We have filled 4 dumpsters and are finally coming out of the messy demo stages. 

 My sister and I working in the basement.

 My brother-in-law, Kyle helping paint the basement.

My sister, Wesley removing wallpaper on the ceiling! 

View down hallway to bedrooms.

View down hallway to bedrooms.

New texture on walls, paint, and floors going in now!

Lots of progress happening everyday and we are so very grateful for all the help from our family that has gotten us this far! I will be posting more pictures soon. We are hoping to be moving in by the end of April with most major projects done.