Laundry Room Fix Up

Last week I told you about how my laundry room becomes a “catch all”.  It’s never clean.  It’s never organized.  I got to thinking about it more and more.  I begin questioning, could the space be used better?  Am I using the space to it’s potential?

The answer to that was a quick, NO!

So, what could I do?  What do I need this space to do?

I needed more storage for childcare things….I needed to be able to reach the buttons to turn on the dryer.  Now days, the dryer is covered in stuff.  This is how it looks after I cleaned it off.

Previously there was a HUGE box on it and it was awful….really awful.

The “other side” of the laundry room isn’t much better.  There’s stuff and stuff and stuff.  I hate it.

There is so much stuff there that I never use this sewing machine anymore.  How depressing.

I really started thinking about it…How can I make better use of the space?  That got me thinking and I came up with this idea….get rid of the sewing machine.

I know that’s surprising for me to say that, but that’s what I really decided to do.  After I thought about it, I never use the machine anymore.  I think it’s been since July that I have used it.  The only thing that I sew here is my Pineapple Crazy blocks.  Obviously I can’t even get to the machine so why waste the space with one.

Since I bought my 301 (read about that here) I’ve rearranged my upstairs quilting room.  I could easily use that 301 as my paper piecing machine.  The mess could stay there at that machine and I could have decent space here in the laundry room.  I’ve learned that if I get time to do anything sewing related on the main floor, I prefer cutting at the kitchen island or doing some pressing.  Sewing here isn’t my favorite thing at all.

So now what to do with the machine….Kayla has told me time and time again, if I ever get rid of it to let her know.  So, I called Kayla and yes, she wanted the machine.

Okay…now to get Hubby on board.

I explained to him my concerns.  I told him my frustrations and then he asked what I proposed.  I said possibly a counter top with some kind of storage below.  His first comment was this, “If we do this, does that mean we’ll be able to reach the dryer buttons?”  I laughed and said, “Ya.”

Well Kalissa had bought a big counter cabinet thing at a garage sale this summer and hadn’t gotten around to fixing it up.

You can’t see it very well here but there it is.  She had taken the finish off the top of it but had left the bottom.  That’s where she quit.

Well Hubby ended up talking to Kalissa and asking what her plans were…then offered to buy it from her.  She sold it and now, Hubby is working on getting this fixed for the sewing room.  He has to do a little work to get it in place.  He has to take the trim off of the doorway to be able to slide it in place but according to him, it’s do-able.

The front has sliding doors.  There is space for the laundry baskets to fit.  I am thrilled.  Once it’s done, if that room doesn’t stay clean, it’s all my fault.

I think it’s going to be the perfect solution. Don’t you?

Have I told you how much I appreciate having a husband that can do all these things??  I really-really do appreciate him.  As I write this, he’s out in the garage sanding the cabinet.  It’s going to take a bit before he’s done with it but in the meantime, I should probably start cleaning out that space and removing the sewing machine.

Who ever thought I’d be happy to get rid of a sewing machine??