Two weekends ago on our facebook page, I mentioned that we had a little mishap with our septic system.
Not little, kinda big. As in it needed to be emptied and we had septic poo water back up into our washing machine and into our basement. Gross.
In our defense, there was an issue with the pipe leading to the septic field, but it’s fixed now! And the area was ready for cleaning, decluttering, and a tiny makeover.
We started with quite a few “tub clean” and “sanitary” cycles in the washer, and a whole lot of cleaning and scrubbing and mopping (thanks, Doug). Trust me when I say that you don’t want me to confirm what those little tiny bits of white paper are on the floor...
Scrubbed the floor, let it dry, moved the washer and dryer, swept it, and scrubbed again. It was a pain, but was good to get clean anyway. I mean, have you ever scrubbed your basement floor? I know we hadn’t.
I took a lamp that I couldn’t sell in our garage sale (lamp = Goodwill find, shade = Target clearance find), a little bit of greenery and added it to our glass jars filled with detergent.
Kinda makes our pipes a little less... pipey? Hey, the industrial look is big right now...
That room and floor look cleaner than some other rooms upstairs! 😉
I cleaned off the clutter on the old drafting table (Goodwill find – $10!), so we could, you know, actually FOLD LAUNDRY ON IT.
I’ve been meaning to get in a laundry routine once we moved out of our apartment and had our own washer and dryer. One load a day. Not overwhelming myself with more than one, not making excuses on why I can’t throw one in. Wash it, dry it, fold it, put it away. Our couch doesn’t need to be used as a laundry holding spot! 😉
Although I’ve been trying to get in this routine for 2.5 years now, I’m proud (could say embarrassed, but won’t) to say that I’m finally getting there. It’s been a full week now, I’m all caught up, and I’ve done a load a day! It feels almost like a routine and I do it first thing in the morning to get it out of the way.
Here’s the system that’s been working so far:
I have a basket of whites and a basket of delicates (Doug’s work shirts and pants, my delicates) in kinda of a holding station underneath the table. The wicker basket is the hamper we keep upstairs, and we use it for everyone’s clothes. The tiny white garbage can is for lint, dryer sheets, tags, or garbage.
From failed “laundry system” attempts, I’ve found that with more than one hamper or larger ones, the clothes pile up. This keeps me from doing it often. With our small family and tiny kid clothes, it works!
I’ve been bringing the basket down every morning and either empty it into a basket down there, or into the washer. If one of the white baskets is getting full, I’ll throw that in for the day. If we don’t have enough of the whites, delicates, or regular clothes, I’ll do towels and bathroom rugs. I want to do those once a week when I do a deep clean of the bathroom!
When folding down here, I like to bring my computer down to listen to Pandora. It makes things go by so much faster! The kids will also play in their play area, and I like that I can easily peek in on them,
or they can come peek in on me. That’s another thing that’s kept me from doing daily laundry down here! It’s hard to sneak down to fold laundry when you have two busy toddlers.
and can I just say real quick that if you don’t have a carrier of some sort – get a carrier of some sort. Mine is a mei tei, it makes life so much easier! I can hold Adam while doing laundry, heck I’ll say it, I can even nurse him while doing it. 🙂
Here’s a before and after!
I got rid of the rugs down here since we get a bit of seepage and I was tired of the soggy wet sock surprise when I stepped on it. The lamp was updated, the detergent is all pretty now, and hey look! We’ve got a new dryer since then. It was a Craigslist find, it’s a Fisher and Paykel and was $40.
Overall, a little less cluttered.
Here’s the really old before, a pic we took while originally looking at the house. Wow!! I’d never do laundry if I had to do it there – ha!
Do you have any tips or tricks when it comes to laundry?
Do you rock a basement laundry room?
sharing this with:
A. Dyer
Love the layout. What kind of table are you using for folding?
Ann Marie Heasley
Thanks! This was a drafting table we found at the thrift store. We added a countertop from a kitchen island a family member was replacing.
Lydia
Family of five. Three boys(6, 8, & 11), two of which wear almost the same size. So to keep my sanity, I stopped sorting clothes by color(unless it's something new and really dark). Each boy gets a day they have to bring their clothes down, put them in the washer, and start the washer. I finish the load. That way I don't have to figure out who has the Star Wars underwear and which socks are who's.
Kristin
Just a word of warning. Never put or keep a computer near a running major appliance such as a washer or dryer. These appliances put out electro-magnetic fields that can erase hard drives. These fields can travel through interior walls and can cause errors or missing files.
Kristie
I loved reading about your laundry room clean up! I'm getting ready to clean up my own basement laundry room. Just wondering- do you have any dirt & grime drop down from the unfinished ceiling in your basement? And have you done anything to help with that? That is probably my biggest issue with my laundry room because it's impossible to keep the floors clean. Someone recommended I drape sheets from the ceiling to catch anything that falls, but I can't imagine how that might look. Just thought I'd check to see if you had any experience with this or if you might have any ideas... 🙂
Connie@Connie Nikiforoff Designs
Hi there! Saw your laundry room make over on Thrifty Decor Chick. Nice work....I know how difficult laundry rooms are! Check out what I did at our other house...and then we moved...Oh well, I'm planning to recreate it again in our new house 🙂
http://cndesigns.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/our-laundry-room-reveal-part-1/
Ann Marie
wow! Beautiful transformation, Connie! Thanks for visiting and leaving a link so I could check it out. 🙂 Have a great day!
Margo
Great job, I really need to scrub our basement floor too!
Ann Marie
thanks, Margo! It's a pain, but I promise you'll love the space even more when you do it. Have a great day!
Cassie
Ann Marie you are too adorable!! AMEN to a baby carrier. We have the Moby Wrap and like you, I can pretty much do anything with that thing on. Plus i think my baby Elia likes being that close to Mommy and Daddy!! Our laundry room is in our basement too and it totally needs a remodel. I only wash and dry down there but I wouldn't mind having a clean workspace for folding, That way I wouldn't have to take over where ever i do it!!! Thanks for keeping it real and showing us what your house and life are like with three little ones. I couldn't imagine!!!!
Sarah
It looks amazing Ann Marie!! I LOVE the new lamp! We have a walk through laundry "room" but I have big plans for it - if only I could get to working on it!
Rachel@ Life in the Moment
I'm good about doing the laundry it's the folding and putting away that trips me up!
Your bambinos are so cute!
Catherine
We have a dark, unfinished laundry room, and I'm trying to make ours a little prettier and cleaner too. So it is good to see your progress 🙂 Sorry about your nasty disaster, but at least it is nice and clean now 🙂
Gwenalyn
I have the same carrier for my kiddos! I love it! It was a totally life saver when my daughter couldn't crawl yet. http://randomrantingsofaramblingredhead.blogspot.com/2010/09/once-again-carrier-saves-day.html (picture at the bottom of the post). I already have it cleaned and ready for the next one. 🙂 I also was able to nurse my daughter in it (in public no less - and I'm usually too nervous to do that) and no one ever knew! I need to make my laundry room look nicer like yours. I hate doing laundry. :p
Megan
I am too embarrassed to show before pics. Maybe when I have awesome after pics you can all see the basement.
Ann Marie
I feel the same way about our attic 😉