I get a great deal of satisfaction in restoring order from chaos. My laundry room is a small narrow room with one gigantic shelf across the whole wall. It’s great having plenty of space for shelving items. But the disorganized mess appears like magic. Just shove it on the shelf, for now. I’ll deal with it later. And just like that, there’s half empty bottles, dust and clutter reigning!
Some weeks ago I was inspired to tackle this room. No, I wasn’t moving around the appliances for a scenery change or anything like that. I changed up the bit of decor in there but mostly, I decluttered the shelf and organized things into tidy, see through organizing boxes. I debated about the see through part, because that can still host a cluttered look. But these are the boxes I found and it was exactly the type I was looking for, so I went with them, despite the see through factor. I thought the gray plastic helped a little, plus, I figured it might just be a good thing to easily see what’s where. I then also opted not to label, despite being a big fan of labeling!
A disclaimer here: Please, don’t think that I have my whole house in meticulous order just because I love and talk about organizing. Much as I enjoy organizing, it has had to slide down the ladder of importance since I became a Mom. Many are the times I glare and despair at the muddle found in various spots of my house! It seems by the time I get one spot organized, there’s 3 or more that beg my attention!
So first off, I removed things from the shelf and wiped it down. Then I sorted through the baskets I had on the shelf, wiped the items, and found new spots for them in my new baskets. The lids are vital! We get an abundance of dust in our house… I’ve finally concluded its simply Nebraska, because I’m not the only lady who notices considerable dust levels in this area. Maybe it’s the gravel roads and massive fields?! Whatever it is, I decided these new baskets must have lids to keep things clean! One swipe of a rag gets the lid clean and no worries on the inside items.
As with any organizing procedure, I’m always amazed at the amount of trash I find. What a clean feeling to rid all that! I also found items to place in my yard sale boxes. It feels like you can take a deep breath and go “aahhh” after you’ve cleaned and purged! It was so rewarding staring at my shelf afterwards!
I don’t really enjoy doing laundry. It’s more like just another job to get over with for another day. But having a neat looking room helps. I would also encourage anyone to keep a laundry day schedule. I find it so luxurious to not worry one bit about laundry on my non-washing laundry days!! I love tackling other bigger projects on those days, when I’m not hampered by bins of soiled garments. I wash clothes Monday and Thursday and then again on Friday. The reason I wash on Thursday is because it helps to not have so much on my cleaning day on Friday. It really does help the overall work load. Also by washing again on Friday it keeps from a mountainous pile up for Monday. But if you have a large household you likely find it best to wash everyday and that’s fine too if you prefer that. Just find a schedule and stick to it.
The black wire basket is easy to grab. I got it to host my laundry soap, baking soda, spot spray, brush etc. On laundry days I have one basket to get down and I have it all at my level, easy to use. The rest of the baskets hold things that I don’t use much on a regular basis.
I like adding baking soda to loads that are extra dirty or smelly. I think it adds extra punch, besides helping stretch my laundry soap. I use a powdered all natural soap. I do not use fabric softener but will often add white vinegar to my load.
I would encourage anyone to switch to nontoxic products! I have been away from chemicals for about ten years now and absolutely cannot handle ‘normal’ laundry soaps, body and cleaning products! These are very toxic products and many laundry soaps have filler in them yet too. More money for them and more junk for you! You need to be pretty picky if you want a truly non toxic product. Many are the companies that claim their products are healthy but I’ve found you must research or read ingredient lists to be sure. Too often they’re not 100% pure, which greatly annoys me!
The place I get my laundry soap does not ship otherwise I would share their info. Charlie’s Soap is a powdered, good clean brand that’s available in some grocery stores or Amazon. I have used it with good results. Another one I would very highly recommend is the Branch Basics Company. You get one bottle of liquid concentrate and then dilute it to different levels for laundry, cleaning or hand soap! I love it especially for cleaning! They also have a powder called Oxygen Boost that is great for adding in to loads of laundry as well as for cleaning use. This company is set up for self serve online ordering.
I beg your pardon for running off on a bunny trail…. I was only chasing those dust bunnies! This was about organizing and I got sidetracked about non toxic products! Can you forgive me? It simply came out because it’s one of those things I’m passionate about. Thank you for still reading!!😍 I hope you were inspired to tackle one of “those” spots we all have somewhere!
of windowsills and breezy hills 