The last additions to the my laundry room are functional and pretty (well...one is anyway). We needed a new lighting fixture because the old one broke. Husband installed this one we got from the big blue home improvement store as opposed to the big orange one (just in case you really like it and your old one breaks too).
The other addition is something I have wanted for a while but was hesitant to get until I saw it on sale here (same price in the store as online!Love that!) only because I am always skeptical of anything that looks like it should have AS SEEN ON TV stamped on the box. Never fear... it works great!
Every laundry guru I have ever come across says that the really efficient laundry goddesses always hang up their iron-able clothes fresh out of the dryer. Now, maybe you do this, but not in the laundry room. Maybe you take yours over to the master bedroom and hang them up there but I have discovered that for me, the master bedroom is the black hole of clean clothes. They get sucked in (along with lots of other junk) and then stay there until the density of the room is so thick that you can't see them anymore. It's true in my house!
So I knew that I needed to heed the warnings of the gurus and find a way to hang clothes up in the laundry room making my husband's morning ironing as easy as possible. Yes, you read that right. He irons his own clothes. I am spoiled, I know! But if it's too late for you and you want your daughters to live in the lap of no-ironing luxury like I do, then make sure they marry a man who has at least 8 siblings. God bless my MIL! (Seriously, I do iron his clothes for him sometimes and I have proof of it here. : )
First, I tried hanging things on the wire shelves seen here, but because I have a mommy dearest like abhorrence for wire hangers (see #5) and only use the plastic tubular ones, they wouldn't fit in the slots on my highest shelf and the middle shelf was too low.
Solution: (cue the trumpets) THE INSTAHANGER!
It opens to hold all of your hangups and then closes out of the way when you are done. I love it! I put it on this wall so that the kids can easily see it (and within their reach). They have already seen some of their clothes hanging up and taken it upon themselves to put them away WITHOUT BEING ASKED! My mommy heart swelled with pride. Maybe it is the newness of the gadget, but I'm not ready to have that bubble burst yet!Wishing you fresh towels and clean underwear!
P.S. That tiny little door you see is my pantry. I told you it was minuscule!
Okay instahanger is brilliant! I've been trying hang one of the closetmaid rods from the lowest shelf and separate the washer and dryer so there was space for shirts to hang.... and yeah, that wasn't working. You have designed and rearranged my laundry rooom for me. I'll have to post pictures when I'm done!
ReplyDeleteOh please do!!! I would love to see it!
ReplyDeleteI am in love with your laundry room. Since I don't have my own W&D, I can only dream.
ReplyDeleteIt has been my experience that native Texans like the blue store and non-natives like the orange store. Have you experienced this?
I'm not sure what blue store you are talking about! I think I know what the orange one is. I love the Instahanger - knowing my husband he would rather make one himself than have me buy one. BTW, I agree with all of your recent comments lately, IYKWIM. I believe you hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm? I have never thought out it along those lines so I don't know for sure. I do know that both Husband and I (he being the non-native and me being so incredibly native) have noticed that the blue store is the place to go when you want a good selection of things to choose from but the orange store is the place to go for advice and how to's. The people at the orange store really do seem to know what they are talking about and the people working for the blue store seem to be more like customer service sales people. Does that make sense? Have you noticed that at all? Maybe it's just the ones in our area.
ReplyDeleteThat's fantastic. I probably walk the equivalent of a 10K when I iron because I have no where to temporarily store the clothes, so it's back and forth. I'm so inspired by your laundry room. Mine is... well it's not pretty.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting a serious case of laundry room envy. I wash my clothes in a cobweb infested dungeon. Nothing I do will make it pretty. We're only here for a few more months and I seriously hope our next place has washer dryer hook ups on the main floor instead of in the basement. I'm tired of the cold and damp and dirt. For comparison, it reminds me a bit of the squalor of the laundry room in Manziana. Remember how icky that was? At least I have nice big American appliances!
ReplyDeleteThe orange store seems to have more experienced people if you can find anyone to help you. I find the orange stores to be hot and less organized. I like the blue store because it is air-conditioned and 5 different people tell you which aisle you're looking for before you even know what you're looking for. I do find that once they get you to the aisle you are on your own. Basically they can get you to the well of knowledge but once you get there it's all dried up. Love the hanger thing-ma-jig. Gonna have to get me one of those ASAP. -Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteAm I your only dude reader?
ReplyDeleteVery nice gadget there, but to me it is so worth 99 cents to have shirts dry cleaned. I hate ironing, and they turn out so much better from the cleaner's. Maybe your husband's job is "sweatier" than mine, but I can usually wear a shirt three times between dry cleanings. (Kohl's Croft & Barrow brand wrinkle-free really do stay looking nice.) I figure with a clean T-shirt the dress shirt isn't really dirty unless I spilled something on it. Maybe it's more than 99 cents now, I don't really know. Don't care, so convenient and perfect. Okay, fine, I'm vain about my appearance.
Anyway, I don't usually like to pay for things I can do myself, but this one is worth it.
We haven't done anything that requires asking for advice at either place, so I don't know. I would agree about the selection at the blue store. I tend to prefer it because it is brighter which makes it look cleaner.
ReplyDeleteVery, very cool stuff! Oh, how I wish I had a laundry room to put them all in! (My w/d is in a closet in my room.) You've given me a lot to dream about here. Love the organization!
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