Laundry is just one of those never-ending chores. Sometimes a small ‘make-over’ to your laundry space can make this daunting chore just a little bit more fun!  Here are some ideas to inspire you.

Love It! “No Sock Left Behind” – Don’t know if your washer and dryer eat socks like mine do – oh, who am I kidding, whose washer and dryer doesn’t eat socks!?!  Inspired by Rambling As Usual Blog.

Baskets under the washer and dryer! Love this idea smaller laundry rooms!  Inspired by Show and Tell blog.

How about a drying rack for your clothes? Re-nest blog has 15 inspiring ideas for drying racks.

And I LOVE this upcycling idea – an old ladder turned into drying rack! I found this idea on Pinterest, but not sure original source to give credit too!

How about a new place to keep your ironing board? Check out some of these brilliant ideas at Houzz website.  Here’s one of them:

Love this practical idea in which you can place them either side by side or stack on top of each other. From Ana White blog.

And if you want a major uplift to your laundry room…how about these laundry rooms?! I had no idea laundry rooms could be so beautiful! Found at Light Innovations blog.

Or this one from Junk Garden Girl’s blog…

So, is your laundry room in need of inspiration? Or do you have some inspiration to share with the rest of us?

Are you undertaking any projects around your home with the ringing of the New Year?  I’m tempted to paint, paint, paint, and I’ll let you know if The Running Man lets me have at it.

My friend Wendy suggested a gorgeous blue for my kitchen and I’ve been obsessed with the idea ever since.  My question is: when I paint one room, shouldn’t I really paint the others as well?

My other current obsession is with those spaces that require expert organization and storage options for maximizing every last spec of space.

Instead of our Home Tours this month, we’ll pick a room each week and focus our attention there.  Today: the MUDROOM!

I picked this room first as I’m ultimately jealous of the rooms that I’m about to show you.  Mine is 4.5 feet long, 3 feet wide, has an exterior door at one end and a window on the other.  I currently have 2 rows of hooks for all the coats that a family of 4 amasses living in the nether regions of c-o-l-d.  And that’s all I can fit.  No shoe storage, no sports storage (um, 2 hockey bags sit in my living room – we’re fancy like that), and no storage for all the milieu of things we accumulate.

So help me drool over some swanky mudrooms just for fun.

Love the lift-up storage.  Think I’d add some additional shelves as those baskets are beyond reach of the adorables.

Love the open cubbies below for storing shoes (read: kick off shoes into a single spot).  Also love the open hooks for bags, etc.  Might take advantage of the open space above for items that aren’t used often.

Take a gander at all this space!  While I love the individual locker concept, this is also very appealing.  More hooks though!

I saw this photo and thought, “Wait!  This looks familiar!”  I swear it was from a Good Stuff Guide Home Tour of Old and I was right!  Check out Wow Of A Home to see the rest of the house!

I do think this is a great solution for a formal front door storage.  That bottom molding pulls out for shoes.

I thought this concept was also brilliant: hooks that open to shoe cubbies.  Every speck of space folks!

Love, love, love this mudroom paired with a project room especially with the bulletin board on the side.

Now we’re getting into the major ones: love these closed lockers with the chalkboard space to doodle.

Reminds me of something I’ve been meaning to share or create: on a recent charity hometour, one house had these personalized individual plaques with funny quotes and quips about each family member hanging on their locker door.  They were awesome and I think there’s certainly a business there if someone had the interest.  I’d be your first customer!

Is this a beach cabana?  Just stunning.

This is IT for me: high moldings, a ladder to reach high places for vertically challenged me, under storage for shoes/boots, baskets for hats/gloves, closed storage for extra stuff.  I’d use the blank wall for a big bulletin board and vinyl lettering that said, “Be Great!” or “Go Forth and Prosper” or something silly like that to send us Team Farmers out into the world on the right foot.

Okay, what pieces would you put together for your dream mudroom?

When I find a product I love, I tend to buy more than one for myself and to recommend it to all my friends.  What meets my needs so well is not always perfect for a friend, of course, but every so often a product proves so useful and reasonably priced that a ripple effect occurs and I find out about friends of friends of friends running out to get their hands on one!

I found these ClosetMaid Cubeical Organizers at Target this summer just after we moved into a new home.   New spaces called for new systems of organizing books and toys and these cube shelves became my new obsession!

First up was our picture book library.  This shelf is a dark, espresso color.  It sits in our great room amidst pieces of non-Target furniture and blends in seamlessly.  Aside from being stylish (enough for me!) it makes it easy to categorize and store hundreds of books while providing easy access to the shelves and disaster free book removal and, this is key, book re-shelving that even little kids can manage independently.  Gone are the days of the book avalanches we used to deal with!

I have since learned that when I used to buy 5 of the same shirt at Old Navy, varying only in color, that I was committing some sort of wardrobe faux pas according to the experts and I’m sure similar rules apply to furniture.   Apparently I can’t help myself.  I bought a shelf for each of my boys’ bedrooms, in colors to match their dressers (one espresso, one alder) and I chose white for our basement playroom:

These were just too useful, durable and reasonably priced not to buy more!   I love that the kids and their friends can see the toys we have, access them without assistance and put them away themselves.

You can find these awesome shelves in a bevy of colors at Target – the ClosetMaid Cubeicals Cube.

Many thanks to Sarah, in her debut as Contributing Writer at The Good Stuff Guide!  How about a little comment love?

Oh and I’ll race you to Target for these!

If you’re like many people, your garage resembles that of a storage unit—not so much a place to park your cars (Ha!  That’s exactly ours!!).  But, with freezing temps and ample snow on its way, you might want to rethink that strategy.  After all, who wants to scrape icy windshields in a foot of snow when you don’t have to?

This year, make a resolution to get organized. You’ll find that an organized life leads to less stress and more productivity.

To achieve this goal, the experts at Closets by Design offer their assistance:

1.   Reclaim the garage floor – The trick is to use the space on the garage walls to your advantage.  Toys such as golf clubs, tennis rackets and skates can be stored along the walls, while bikes can be hung on hooks from the ceiling.  Rakes, shovels and other yard supplies can also be easily organized on an interior wall.  Using this space wisely will not only help you to increase your storage space but make items easily accessible.

2.    Cut the clutter – It’s amazing how many “things” you acquire over the years, and finding a place for each one is not always possible, or necessary.  It’s important to discard items you no longer want or need.  Sort through all of your tools and home maintenance supplies, and separate items into those you can sell, donate, throw away or recycle. If you haven’t used it in a year, you can probably get rid of it.

3.     Sort and label – It’s not enough to simply get organized.  The real test is to stay organized.  Labeling boxes and containers eliminates the frustration of rummaging through all of your belongings to find one specific item.  Put similar items into categories (i.e. tools, holiday decorations, etc.) so you will be able to maintain an efficient organizational system.

4.   Safety first – Since you’re already sorting items, be sure to keep potentially hazardous chemicals together and locked.  It’s best to use a lockable tool chest or cabinet for extra caution. Also, make sure that any power tools with an on/off switch are stored securely out of children’s reach.

5.       Increase storage with sturdy cabinets and shelving – Because paint cans, tools and other bulky items will be stored in the garage, it’s important that cabinets and shelving are sturdy enough to support the extra weight.  Not all cabinets are built the same and it’s important that you understand the construction behind your cabinet and the weight limitations.  A proper storage solution can organize your items and keep them out of site.  An important note when purchasing garage cabinets – make sure the doors will open when your car is parked in the garage.

Thanks to Closets by Design for these ideas!  To learn more of contact them, visit www.closetsbydesign.com.

What garage strategies have worked for you?

I really love the idea that Karen Eschebach offered about thinking of your closet as a boutique.  I need to do a lot more cleaning out in the coming weeks!***

Here’s the closet of my dreams:

Now wouldn’t this be fun to fill?

Oh to dream…

Several weeks ago, I ran a post about Spring Cleaning with tips by Karen Eschebach, and the idea that really resonated with me was to think of my closet as my own personal boutique.  I should love to wear the clothes inside and edit anything that doesn’t fit inside my “boutique”.

Um, mine is currently anything but this happy boutique-y place.

Maybe you can relate that for the last five years, I’ve been in one stage or another of early mommyhood.  And the words “boutique” and “spit-up” should not be mixed.

But with my youngest approaching 3, it’s time to look somewhat presentable again.  Maybe, I daresay, even cute on occasion.

I’m crossing my fingers.

So I’m cleaning house.

And abiding by 2 cardinal rules:

1)      If I haven’t worn it in 3 years, it’s gone.

2)      If I don’t love it, it’s gone.

I have no idea why I held onto this shirt since I haven’t touched it since long before Friends went off the air:

I know…

I also weeded out my shoes, but I’m too embarrassed to show you what I originally bought.  They were too terrible for words.

And there was this whole pile of my Old Navy shirts that have stains galore and really are quite unflattering.

Don’t worry – I kept all the good Old Navy shirts.

So the bag for Goodwill is full.  Hello tax write-off!

And a warning to the Running Man (dear, dear one): there may be some shopping involved.  I have a lot of empty hangers now.

But I need help!  Where are you finding your good stuff lately?  Any must-haves out there??

So today, we’re in for a little clean office-space inspiration…

I love the colors, the simplicity and the storage.

And talking about storage, this craft area provides ample room.

As does this white melamine solution.

I just love this craft area – think of all the possibilities!

And just in case you care to dream…

I think this one is just gorgeous!

Many thanks to Closet Factory for all of these ideas.

What are your ideas for reclaiming your space this fall?

Never mind the rest of the house; just slip me some food under the door and I could live right here.

Seriously, how fun would it be to get dressed when you could see everything organized and laid out this way??

Yes, the drawers would be uber-useful.  But how easy would it be to pack for a trip with this counter?

This would be the Running Man’s drawers.  Sorry to the men, but this is our domain.

Oh man.

I would seriously need to up my wardrobe for it to be showcased like this (think multitudes of jeans and Old Navy t-shirts). But isn’t this divine?

Many thanks to the folks at Closets By Design, creators of this dreamworld, for sharing these photos!