Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Laundry Cupboards



Project #3 of my "Organising on a Budget" series is our Laundry cupboards.
Since installing all the new cupboards ( you can see more in my DIY Laundry post), we are very fortunate to have quite a lot of storage in our home.
However.. storage space doesn't necessarily mean organisation, infact, it could often mean the opposite!! The more space can equal more mess.

Our cupboards sort of got out of order, nothing major (thats why there are no "Before" pics) but I knew it needed some reorganising and I am slowly working through the home one space at a time.

I used to use all of the white Ikea Storage boxes with a lid, however I found that for commonly used items , these are not that practical. Anything with a lid is something you have to remove and take longer to put away and that means things get dumped. So I was on a lookout for something open and of course, budget friendly.

So I made a start on our over head cupboards.


Top Right basket - this is where I store our iron as it doesn't get used a great deal as we have an ironing lady (best $25 we spend in a week, seriously!!) and distilled water next to it for the iron.
Top left -  is suncream (extra bottles as I like to buy it on special or in bulk) and Insect repellent.
Bottom shelf , on the right - the pink Hobby boxes are part of our First Aid Kit, one is for bandaids and bandages, the other is for creams and ointments.
On top of the Pink boxes is my tool box. My husband bought me a tool box of my very own and filled it with all the things I used to ask him for, thoughtful huh? haha
The clear basket in the middle is my husbands clutter basket. You have to have one!! Its a neccessity when living with a man that doesn't find loose screws, nuts , bolts, allen keys etc hanging around are infuriating? When I find them, they go in there, easy.
Bottom left-  is our Battery box, and sitting on top is a Carry all with our Medicine, syrups, tablets ,Vapo steam capsules etc


I found these great foldable canvas baskets at Bunnings, all discounted to around $4 each and they are a great size.
I labelled everything using these gorgeous labels from Bianca at a little delightful, as they matched the rest of the laundry labels because I had used them there also. Obviously I wanted them to say more specific things, so I just typed up the labels and taped them on the printable backing before laminating.

The right hand cupboards are over the trough, therefore they store Lux (in glass jar) , ,Nappisan ( in white tin tub) , then to the left are a few cleaning products that I use rarely.
The white boxes hold things like light globes, Hubby's sports items ( whistles, mouthguards etc) yucky things like mousetraps etc.

For our Laundry cupboard, I wanted somewhere to put our broom and mop etc, and get them off the floor and free up some space. So we bought one of these hangings from Bunnings (aobut $13 ) , and its perfect. Now everything has a place and its using a space that was otherwise pretty useless.


Inside the cupboard;
At the top, I have used a set of the canvas drawers that are now available at Bunnings (around $26). These are great however I found that the handles ripped when pulled sometimes, the fabric is perhaps not strong enough. But they look great, come in a variety of colours and probably would be fine if the contents wasn't so heavy.
These drawers hold Laminating Sheets, excess products (toilet spray, hand wash etc) and travel packs of tissues, Hand sanitizer etc.
Middle shelf is my cleaning tub and the basket next to it holds the cleaning cloths ( I use Enjo and have different mits for different areas), and the winder cleaner rod.


Next shelf down, a box for card games - UNO, playing cards, dice etc.
A box for spare curtains, rings, etc
Next to it a tub for Ned, our dog. So his Shampoo, spare jumper, nail clippers, flee control , spare lead.
And the bottom box is for Photo frames. I like to buy them when they are on special, or when we take a trip to Perth for IKEA, and have them on hand when I want to frame something or decorate an area.
Our Tupperware cooler bag stands next to it.



So now the cupboards are nice and neat. They have labels which will (hopefully) help everyone find where to put things away and where they are when they need them.
It didn't take long once I got stuck into them, and I think I spent around $50, which is pretty good going for  the amount of space I re organised!



I'd love for you to join in on the organising fun!
Share photos on my Facebook page of your neat and clean spaces, or just let me know how you have gone! You needn't spend a fortune, nor take hours to do them, but its nice to know we are taking steps, week by week, to organise our homes and improve the efficiency of our lives
If you missed it , I organised our Main Bathroom HERE
And made some Home Made Washing Powder HERE

6 comments:

  1. absolutely loving this series. Thanks so much for sharing. You have me inspired to tackle my laundry {when I have finished the kitchen that is lol} Also LOVING those canvas baskets, think I'm going to have to go and have a look at bunnings! thanks again!!!

    Tara - Everyday Happenings

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, awesome job there Liz! I've already been through our laundry but can always do with a quick tidy up (hahaha) and the store room cupboard certainly needs another good going through! And I'm using Bianca's labels too...but never thought just to label over the top. I spent ages having a go at making my own for the cupboards!!

    And you know me, love to share some pics. It means I'll actually get it done ;) Love how motivating your posts are xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful Liz!

    i love the canvas baskets. I hope my local Bunnings has some!

    I have that same little Ikea ironing board but mine hangs on the back of my cupboard door.

    Is your battery box from Howards Storage World? I have two smaller ones (one for AA and one for AAA size) but haven't seen an all-in-one case like that. It looks handy. Is it heavy?

    I can't access FB from work but I have a few posts about my laundry

    http://www.twenty5seven.org/2012/07/hoarding-for-good.html

    http://www.twenty5seven.org/2012/06/dreaded-laundry.html

    http://www.twenty5seven.org/2012/06/more-dreaded-laundry.html

    But I've actually changed my system/routine so I'm probably due an update and I was just talking to my co-worker earlier today about how I have several cupboards in my laundry that I don't use and I need to organise them into storage space so I'll definitely be taking on board some of your ideas.

    Starting with moving the inside-toolbox into the laundry (ours is in our pantry which is annoying and I'm not sure why I didi that- i think i was probably just in a rush and stuck it the first place I thought of!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love it all Liz. Think I need one of those broom hanger things! Would make sense in our laundry! Thanks for sharing adding it to the list now.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful room you have! I love the way that you have made a place for all of these random, unrelated items by corralling them in containers in your laundry. It looks very pretty too! I also love the broom hanger - I had never thought to put one on the inside of the door! Brilliant! I am definitely getting myself one of those :) Great job Liz! xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have great laundry cabinets, it's good to see you utilising the provided with storage boxes. Thanks for sharing your tips.

    ReplyDelete

Thankyou for taking the time to read and more importantly comment on my blog. They are all so appreciated! Liz x