Leslie's Laundry Area Before & After

I'm baaaack! Arrived at 5.45 am today after an uncomfortable night on the flight from Guanzhou via Bangkok. I'm soooooo glad to back home. Wille got up as soon as I arrived by taxi so we had a really nice breakfast & tv morning. My Sweet boy, he is on fall break this week and still got up at 6.30. Awww!

Now I'm trying to catch up on unpacking, cleaning, laundry and e-mails. I just got this great one and couldn't wait to show you right away. My own before and afters continue tomorrow or later this week.

Before

After

Remember Leslie who wrote in needing help with her laundry area which she felt was too cluttered? I gave her my two cents in this post and just look at the before, my suggestion and after! Here's the e-mail:

I'm sorry it took me so long to re-do my laundry area, but I couldn't find any nice white pails that I liked, so I ordered some square ones with lids and they didn't arrive until last Thursday.

I love these square pails with lids--the cleaners etc. fit better in the square pails as opposed to the round ones.  These are food-grade so the cat crunchies are safe!  I did find new homes for some of the items outside of the laundry area, and downsized some of my cleaning supplies into smaller plastic squeeze bottles and spray bottles.  I printed the labels on my printer and punched them out with a round punch and attached to the bins and pails with twine. 

I still may tweak a few items on the lowershelf but overall I love the uncluttered laundry nook now... So much better, don't you think?!!

Before

 

Suggestion

After

Wow! Isn't that the greatest transformation with just a few new additions and a bit of decluttering?!

I love the way Leslie took the ideas I had for her space and adapted them to work for her. Those pails are great! Adore the diy labels! Love the new detergent jar, the addtion of the flowers and the overall white, clean look! Actually I think I'm having her laundry room now! Hand it over Leslie!
 

Comments

[lisa h.]

Wow, she did a great job! It's alsmost exactly like the drawing. I like the tag labels on the containers, and also the powdered detergent (I assume that's what it is) kept well within reach in a vintage-style glass cookie jar.

I'm curious: do the tall pails have lids, or are they open?

Well done, Leslie - inspiring!

[judith b]

One more little tweak and this will be perfection itself: how about painting the little cupboard betweeen the two machines white, and bringing it forward flush with the machines? Of course you will need a hubby like Benita's to fill in the empty space at the back! I just think it would look really streamlined and wonderful if you could add at least the lick of paint!

NB Pure reverie from one who has to have her washer in her tiny French kitchen that is not streamlined at all!!

[Leslie]

Hi Lisa, yes they are lidded. The pails and lids were priced separately, however. I like the lids to hide everything and keep the dust out and also store cat crunchies. In the jar is powdered detergent and also have some liquid detergent in a smaller squeeze bottle in one of the white pails.

[Leslie]

Hi Judith, I agree the cabinet would look better as white, especially since everything else in there is white so the woodgrain kind of throws off the "look." However, it matches the rest of the kitchen cabinets so I'm leaving it alone for now. I hope sometime in the near future to have a combo office/laundry room built into a garage addition onto our house. Of course, I've been here 10 years and it hasn't happened yet :) I could look for a small white cabinet to replace the wood one though. For now, the curtains are closed except when I do the laundry so not many people see it except me and the hubby. I can live with the woodgrain for a while since the rest of the area looks so much better now. Thank you so much for your comments!

[Sara]

WOW! Leslie, it looks amazing. Benita, I'll fight you for that laundry room. :) I'd love to know where you got those buckets and would love to see a closeup of the labels. I'd take off those curtains... You don't need them at all anymore!

[Juliette R.]

This looks fantastic! Way to go! I really wish I could get my window project up and going. I'm having the darndest time finding the right fabric I want to use. Sigh. I'm hoping to find what I need when I'm in the States for the holidays.

[Sara]

Juliette: I'm with you... Haven't done a thing with my locker cubby yet either. I need Benita to come over even just for an afternoon. :)

[cynthia]

now you have given me inspiration to organize my laundry room. by the way, unless i missed it, but did you mention where you got the square pails at??

[Vicki K]

It is so fresh and restful and charming!!!! I like the curtains - even if they are to the sides - fabric always softens and in this case, give a warm feel.

What is the round thing at the top? Is it a light or a fan or vent? Maybe you could paint the rim a soft white to at least tone down the shiny?

Love the small touches of bright color and this whole makeover... Well done Benita and Leslie!

[Suzette]

Great Job Leslie! It really looks great. It makes me want to do something with the dark corner in my garage that is me own "laundry room." Glad your home Betina!

[saom]

What a difference! It doesn't even look like the same space!

[Leslie]

Hi Sara, I got the pails at a site called Bay Tec:
http://www.bayteccontainers.com/ez-stor--square-plastic-containers-and-lids.html

They are called EZ-stor pails and lots of places on the web carry them.

If I knew how to insert a photo into this blog reply I'd take a photo of the label for you, but alas I don't :)

[gina]

OK, that has totally inspired me and given me some ideas to tweak my own dysfunctional laundry space. Love it!

[Inspirera Mera]

What a wounderful difference!

[mette]

wow!
well done..both of you!
what a great collaboration!

[azaleastudio.blogspot.com]

Wow, amazing! I have a few of the same white plastic bins. I think I will buy more to organize my areas. Thanks for the inspiration. I love that she followed your advice so well!

[Cassie]

Oh wow, she pretty much did exactly what you suggested. It looks great! I'd love for my laundry area to look that neat and tidy.

Oh and the detergent container - LOVE IT! So cute. Who knew a laundry room could be cute? :P

[Sara]

Thanks Leslie! I'm on my way right now to check them out. :) Could you send a picture to my e-mail? It's [email protected]. I lovelovelove labels! :)

[carol k]

Oh, this looks so wonderful! Leslie did a great job of following your design! The white buckets are awesome and so perfect for the laundry room. I love the stripey basket. Where did it come from?

[A Thrifty Mrs]

Fantastic! I just love it. Great suggestions and well carried out at the other end. I'd love a dedicated laundry area, I may just have to lust after these pictures instead.

[April]

Wow, this looks so good! I'm jealous!

[Leslie]

Hi Carol, the striped canvas bins (they were a nested set of 3 when I bought them) -- I think I got at Walmart or Target several years ago. I saw some at both Target and Walmart last week, but the canvas was in solid colors. On mine and the ones I saw at Walmart, the canvas velcroes around the frame so you could actually buy any material you like and make different covers!! Very cool. I think you can also get these in most closet organizing places, like Bed Bath & Beyond, maybe Lowe's as well. I see them around alot, just not in the stripes. But like I say, if you're willing to do a little sewing you could make any pattern you like!

[Liz]

Leslie,
What a beautiful space! So clean and clutter free. I found the tubs online, but was curious what size you used? They look like 2 gallon, but it's hard to tell from the photo. I'm measuring all my stuff to see if they will fit in the tubs. Height is the biggest concern so far. Thanks for the inspiration!