Day 10: Laundry Room

This is the challenge I dread the most...it's the Laundry Room.  My laundry room needs a complete overhaul.  This room doesn't work for me.  I would like to add more upper shelving and remove a cabinet I added from my kitchen that I no longer needed.  I have to fix the paint and remove a small patch of wallpaper I couldn't reach.  This is not a 1 day project!  For now, I will just clean off the counter top and  organize the inside of the cabinet. 

I was going to show you the top of the cabinet but my camera is not working at the moment.
Here are some pictures to inspire you...and me. 

traditional laundry room design by toronto general contractor HARDROCK CONSTRUCTION

laundry room design

I love the idea of having all those baskets to sort the laundry.

traditional laundry room design by chicago kitchen and bath Rebekah Zaveloff

On my wish list...open shelving & glass jars!

eclectic laundry room design by media and blogs Life in the Fun Lane

Butcher block counter top is also on my wish list.

contemporary laundry room design by media and blogs Atypical Type A

Great organizing idea!

traditional laundry room design

A girl can dream, right???

traditional laundry room design

Might as well dream big!

who me???

I just got nominated for a...

from Karen the Suburbanite at...  

Goodbye City Hello Suburbs

Thank You Karen for the wonderful compliment.  Although I have been blogging off & on for awhile..I still feel like I am learning. I started blogging so my family could read about our daily life (my old blog..Welcome To My Life).  But I found out that they weren't even checking it out.  I started Home Love for me.  A place I could write about my goal of turning my new/old house into a home...and a place to write about the things I love.  I'm still learning & changing things daily. There is so much to learn!  If you have any tips and suggestions, send them my way.

Here are the Rules to this Stylish Blogger Award...

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Award 10-15 recently discovered great bloggers

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Here's a re-post I did about myself...

Here are a few things you should know about me...

1. how I order my coffee.."grande, non-fat, wet, cappuccino, please".   { yum }

2. I eat a piece of dove dark chocolate everyday.

3. I love to play little big planet on PS3 with my kids.

4. when I was younger (a long time ago), I could do a double back flip.

5. I joined the Navy and lived on a ship, but I can barely swim.

6. I lived in Scotland for over 2 years.

7. I've traveled to London, Edinburgh , Paris, Mallorca & Menorca Spain, and Portugal.

8. I love to shop at flea markets.

9. I hate cleaning the house.

10. I love my husband and kids! { :) but you already knew that }

Some days I have to make a list to remind myself of the things to be thankful for and all the things I've done. It helps me get through the day. Try it...it will be hard to stop at just ten.

I know I only needed 7...but I thought you needed to know about #8 & 9 and definitely #10!

Now I am on the lookout for 10 or 15 bloggers I will pass this onto.

It makes your day to know somebody has taken the time to read your blog...and actually like it.

It made my day!

My 21 Day Challenge...Day 7,8 & 9

I'm taking the...

If you haven't joined...

check out the challenge at 

A bowl full of lemons

Here is a re-cap of what I've been doing.

Although my post is late...

I have been keeping up with the daily challenge.

I'm excited to see what challenge awaits me every morning 

and I have noticed it has spread throughout the rooms that each challenge is in.

My kids even ask with excitement what I am working on.

They also want to know if I win a prize at the end.

Of course...

 there is an organized house!

Day 9

...the kids toys

Lucky for me, my kids are old enough to keep all their toys in their rooms and play on their own.

They have outgrown the polly pockets, barbies, toy cars and planes.  

But they never outgrow legos.

They have moved on to video games, board games, cards and anything magnetic.

For today's challenge, I decided to clean out the cabinet where the board games live.

I want to put them out in the open so my kids will remember to play.

Since I put them in the cabinet, they don't seem to want to play with them as much.

Out of sight, out of mind I guess?

I picked up a bookcase at Ikea awhile back.

I turned it onto it's side and added some chrome legs.

It now houses the kids video games and console 

and the TV.

I had no idea what to store in the bottom and all the cords are visible.

I cleaned the bookcase all out and gave it a good wipe down.

Then I took all the games and tried to hide all the cords in the back.

Now the kids have games out in the open to play with and I can rotate them with the games that are still in the cabinet. And the new ones they received for Christmas too.

Day 8

The challenge for the day is my hall closet.  I thought it wouldn't be too bad of a challenge because I just cleaned and purged all the summer flip-flops, old jackets, hats, beach toys, towels and anything else that was hiding in there.  

And then I opened the closet!  

What happened??? 

 All the snow boots, gloves and jackets exploded.
I guess the system I have in there is not working for the family.
I will clean it out again and re-organize and hopefully that will work out at least until Spring.

Here is what the closet looks like...before

And here is how I hope it stays...after

All cleaned out and ready to organize...

All done!

After cleaning everything out, I realized all the jackets needed to be washed.
It's also a snow day...so the kids have the rest of the jackets on.
It's so cold outside, I made them wear about 20 layers.

The gloves and hats are now stored in the plastic drawers.
And the shoes are stored in the bottom drawer.
My store bags are ready to go in my shopping basket.

Everything else made it to where they belong...in the bedroom closet.

Day 7 
...the Kitchen Pantry

Good thing I was given 2 days for this challenge.  I was dreading this one.
I had no idea what was even in there.
 I have two spots I store my food.
One is a small closet.

It holds my snacks, cereal, juice and any extras that have no home.

My second pantry are cabinets I installed from IKEA.

I removed the original bottom cabinet and top cabinet.  I wanted to have more room for food.  I'm not sure I accomplished that.  When I bought the cabinet, IKEA was out of the large shelving, so I installed the smaller ones.  I left it open because I couldn't make a decision about the door. Since I left it open, I decided to put my coffee maker on the shelf and use it more like a counter space.  Just like how it was originally. I know what you're thinking because I say it to myself all the time...why did you change it???

I cleaned, I purged, I sorted, I had a few snacks...
and then I put it all back!

I used tupperware containers...

I used bins...

I used jars...

and then I looked back and enjoyed a cup of coffee.

Something to bE HaPpY about...

I love a good deal it makes me HAPPY.  Today at my favorite store (Target ) I snatched these cute little cleaners for $1.48 for all three with the holder. Can you believe it?  They smell really good too. I hope they clean just as well.

Sometimes it's just the simple things that make a girl happy!

What lurks under the kitchen sink & the linen closet???

I'm on Day 5 of my Organizing Challenge from a bowl full of lemons

and I actually wake up excited to find out what my next challenge will be.  I found that starting with a small project gets me motivated to tackle more throughout the house.   A little at a time doesn't seem so overwhelming.

Day 5 Challenge....Under the Kitchen Sink.

Who knows what lurks under there?  I only stick my hand in far enough to reach my dish soap.  It's dark and dingy..a bit scary.

{Before}

I cleaned everything out and wiped it down.  I found nothing too scary down there.

See...clean!  I would like to line it with contact paper but I don't have any.  I'm going to look for something pretty. Who knew I would think "under the sink" could look pretty, not scary.  Here's what lived under the sink...

trash bags, cleaners, dish tablets, sponges and ???  I also found a lot of jars that are headed for the recycle bin.

I then put only the items I use back under the sink.  I used a few shoe boxes to keep it organized and I was done!  Not too scary at all.

{ After }

Day 4:
Now, moving backwards, onto Day 4 Challenge. I didn't have time to post it yesterday.  The challenge...the linen closet.

Here's my before...

It's a bit of a mess.  I purged it awhile back so there's not too much in there. I did the usual: take a picture, cleaned it out, purged and sorted.  Then I got a few bins and a large basket for my beach towels.

And then I put it all back in.  

Whew...day 4 & 5 done.  

Just wanted to tell Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons...Thank You for the motivation and inspiration to do this. I'm looking forward to my next challenge.

Real Simple...

 After I posted my resolution,  I took my son to get a haircut and at the salon they had the new Real Simple magazine there.  And on the cover..there it was, My New Year's Resolution.  Be Happy.  

This Month's Question, in the magazine, is "What is the one small thing that always makes you happy?"    Because it is the small things in the day that can really make you happy.