Day Three :: Get Your Home Decluttered in 28 Days

 

Image courtesy of @Disney August 4th, 2014

 

“Find inspiration all around you from doorknobs to clocks to everything between” ~ @Disney

 

This is so true! You can find inspiration to redecorate (and declutter) your house just about anywhere!  I think that is why we all love Pinterest so much – there is so much to look at and get inspired by.  I have a board just for things I dream about having – like a Hans Wegner Wishbone Chair or Eames Lounge Chair!  A girl can dream!

Today let’s work on the room that we usually don’t like going into – probably because we do a “chore” in there most every day.  You guessed it – the laundry room.  My take on this – why does it need to be so blah?  Why not create a fun room that you at least like to go into?  This past year I redid our laundry room in this post but since then I have made some changes.  Your home should always be changing – keep it exciting and different so you don’t feel like you are stuck in one design style or color scheme.

Okay, let’s start on our laundry rooms!

 

 

 

Step One:  Declutter!  When I tackled this room we had just about everything under the sun collecting here.  For some reason it was a hedgehog of things like broken umbrella’s, so many plastic bags we couldn’t even think of using in our lifetime, old paint samples of colors I never used (I mean really?) and lots more.  So take some time, and get out of this room anything that doesn’t need to be there.  Find space in your cabinets if you have some or take some things out to the garage (this will be a whole decluttering day/week in itself so don’t worry we will get to it).  Bring toys, games, etc., back to the kids room.  Whew!  Once you have tackled this task, let’s move on to putting things that you need in cute containers.

 

 

Step Two: Look around your house for some cute and useful containers that you could place: cleaning towels/rags, plastic bags, cleaning supplies, etc.  I used my daughters old fabric containers from when she was a baby where we use to store her diapers and a million lotions/creams (because you know how we new moms need ALL the latest things for our kids).   I love the colors and stripes and they work perfect in this room.  I hold all of our rags and sponges inside of them.  Also, look for a container to place your detergent or spot remover.  I used an aluminium container I found at Marshalls that I use for parties occasionally to hold drinks.  To take it a step further, I purchased a glass container from Pier One for $10 to house our OxyClean.  It adds a lot to the room and helps keep this rather useful cleaning necessity housed in a fun jar!

Step Three:  Let’s Add Some Color!  We had painted this room back when we painted some some accent walls in the living room.  I toned down this color for the laundry room and bathroom and love it.  It is such a happy color and goes with our décor we use throughout the house.  If you want to take it a step further – pick up a gallon of a color you love and go for it!  Depending on the size of your laundry room it shouldn’t take more than a day to repaint it.  Make sure to check out my post here for some more ideas.

 

 

Step Four:  Look around for some things to add to the room.  Paintings (yes, a cool painting would look awesome in here), framed prints, or anything else you think would add some fun to the room. I brought down this picture from my daughters room because she wants to go with a bigger girl theme (think professional soccer player posters) and I figured this was just too cute to not showcase.  The artist is Gale Kaseguma and she is known for modern art/prints for children’s rooms.

 

 

And this unique art piece was one I picked up in a Santa Barbara store as a birthday gift.  Add things in this room that have special meaning for you! I also brought down my favorite stuffed animal from my daughter’s room as we always call her monkey.  Whenever I see this while doing laundry I can’t help but smile.

 

 

Also, add some pictures of the family.  I purchased this white shelf from IKEA for I think about $20 and had my husband put it up one weekend.  It is a great shelf to put family pictures (frames from Marshalls of course) and little knickknacks like the monkey and IT from blabla kids.

 

 

Another addition I have found really useful is a hook of some kind. I found this one on CB2 and we use it to put my daughter’s school backpack and this fun straw basket that is filled to the rim with plastic bags.  A great way to store something that isn’t very cute but necessary in most homes!

 

 

Step Five: Splurge and get a new laundry basket.  That is, only if you need one!  We were in dire need of a new basket and I found this awesome one at Marshalls (you can tell it is one of my favorite stores).  They have a great selection but I am sure Target, Walmart, TJMaxx all have good ones as well.  Why not add a little cute basket to put your Mt. Laundry?  It helps me stay on top of it for some reason. I think because I don’t like to see it filled to the top… but if your budget allows – get a fresh one for the room!

 

 

Take It A Step Further:

We painted one wall in this great teal color with chalkpaint.  They have a ton of colors to choose from so have fun with it!

Get a new and colorful rug.  I am tempted to get a rug for this area – a polka dotted one of course but on the lookout for a good one!

Add some polka dot decals to your washer and dryer.  I had these leftover from my daughter’s room and used them on the washer and dryer.  You could also paint them on if you wanted but the decals are fairly inexpensive and super easy to take on and off.

 

Good luck and keep decluttering and redecorating your lovely home!

 

Estimated Time:  About 1 1/2 hour total (minus the paint job that was done years ago).

Estimated Cost: $70 for laundry basket and glass jar.  The rest of the items I had throughout our house.

 

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