A laundry wall?

Several weeks ago I mentioned my new laundry wall, or so I thought.  Maybe I  just thought I posted about it.  That happens sometimes.  A little more often than I'd care to admit though.  I was all set to link back to that post where I had promised pictures and such, but um.....it's not there.  So I guess the whole following through thing didn't quite happen this time around. 

Several weeks ago I went to IKEA to check out the Antonius system.  I had several pieces in my old laundry room.  Basically a shelf with a hanging bar, fold-out drying rack, iron holder, small hanging ironing board, and a cross bar with hooks.  

Back in this post, I mentioned my unfinished laundry room and how I would just have to live with it.  ::big southern belle dramatic sigh::  Then I thought to myself, "Self, why not make the best of it and use the wall in the dance room to hang your clothes?" When I talk to myself, or my self talks to me, we can usually come up with some pretty neat ideas.   

So what does any self described obsessive organizer do?

Repeat after me.....

"You take a vacation to IKEA!"

I am lucky enough to have one close by and having been to IKEA too many several times, I know the in's and out's of the store.  I don't go through the entrance anymore, I head straight through the EXIT doors, through the check out lines and go straight to "As Is".  After I'm finished checking it out, I go backwards through the store.  Unless I want ideas or swedish meatballs, I rarely make it upstairs.  On this particular shopping/idea trip,  I just had to make my way to the laundry section, which is right across from all the storage containers and organizing things (giggle).  They had a pretty neat set up and I was immediately inspired.  I took some pictures with my phone to send to Rob for his thoughts.  Then I grabbed the booklet and started adding up all the pieces and designing it right there.  I went back to the loading area and bought the pieces I needed sans a few pieces they had on backorder.  

After a few days and several trips to IKEA for the missing parts, we started putting it all together.  Here is the final result.

Don't you just love it?  I do!  I now have many places to hang dry clothing and a place to actually fold.  I love that my sorting basket fits nicely under the table and my kids still have a ton of space to dance.  

I recently started hang drying most of our clothing because I feel better about saving the energy.  I'm not opposed to using the dryer, I still do, I just try to lessen the amount I do use it.  I would love an outdoor line, but for now I'll cheerfully hang dry what I can.  

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I'm very eager to let you all know that Casey will be in his first play next month.  He is so excited and of course we are very proud of him.  He will be playing "Puck" from A Midsummer Night's Dream.  He has been practicing very hard.  It's difficult for him to read and much more difficult for him to actually comprehend what he is reading.  He's doing a remarkable job working out his left brain and I see more confidence in him.  It can often feel discouraging and sad as you watch your child struggle with educational and cognitive delays.  Casey is a natural born actor.  He wants to be a movie director, actor and Broadway performer one of these days. You know what?  He will be one, if not all, of those.  I know because I have a mother's intuition. I just know!

Casey 02/2009

Talk About Tuesday: My Newish Babies

 For this week's Talk About Tuesday I decided to show you my new babies.  Now that I no longer have any teeny people to care for, I care for these beauties. 

In the 16 years I've been married, I have gone through at least 6 sets of washers and dryers.  At times they were mismatched (which drove me absolutely crazy!). Other times they were the hope of the nation.  The one thing that was going to help me get my laundry done.  Hallelujah! 

When we sold our house a couple years ago, Rob bought me my weekly coveted "Extreme Home-Makeover" washer and dryer set from Sear's.  God Bless Him!  I even got a sweet deal by being nice to the guy.  Rob says that's flirting, but I disagree.  I was being nice.  

Since buying these hefty babies, Rob has had to move them twice.  They are monsters, especially with the drawers underneath.  The drawers that I don't use because I buy bulk size laundry detergent and softener.  Apparently that's something Sear's didn't consider when manufacturing them.  Oh well...they serve a purpose by raising the machines to my level which save my back from going out periodically. 

Now, before I purchased these machines, I knew they were going to be just what I needed to keep up with the laundry.  Who wouldn't want to spend hours upon hours washing and drying clothes while being surrounded by their stunning beauty?  I imagined sipping my hot beverage (coffee, tea, wassil, rum...whatever) while standing over them.  Streams of daylight pouring through the window while I gracefully and delicately fold and hang up freshly washed/dryed clothes.  Of course, this would be on my extra large folding table that never had any junk on it. 

 

Something like this.

Now tell me.  Who wouldn't want to spend hours upon hours in this room?  Call me crazy, but it would be the most relaxing room in my house.  It would be the first place I would bring all my visitors.  I know this would be the room they would want to hang out in, too.  Perhaps even help me fold and fluff. 

After we sold our house we moved into a rental home while our new home was being built.  The laundry room was finished and on the same level as all the bedrooms, but it wasn't big. Our new home was going to be just a tad bigger, but not all that much.  As long as I could put shelving in there to organize, I'd be fine.  When our home builder went bankrupt we decided to pull out of the contract and a home (same model as what we were building) came available, so we jumped at it and moved in.  Of course it was only for rent, but that ended up being a blessing.  Shortly after moving in gas and food prices skyrocketed.  I hadn't even had time to put in new shelves and organize how I wanted before we moved...again.  The first picture is what that laundry room looked like.  Not much room, but at least it was finished. 

With the prospect of not buying our "dream home" and living out in the country commuting to Irish Dance classes several times a week, we decided to move back closer to the city.  The house we moved into in August 2008 is nice and works out for our family, but it's still a rental and there is no hint of them selling the property or even if we could rent here another year. 

As luck would have it, the one room in the house that is unfinished is my laundry room.  It's in the finished basement (where the boy's rooms, our one living room, and dance room are) and a tad bit bigger than the one we just moved from. Which would be nice for all the IKEA contraptions I have to hang on the wall, that is, if it were finished. There are some major issues with this room and since we don't want to put our money into finishing it, I'm stuck with an unfinished laundry room. Far from my grand desire of a laundry room like the photo above.  

I've decided to try and make the best of it, though if the flex pipe continues to leak onto my babies (I do have a towel there to proctect it) I will be demanding change.  It won't be pretty!  I'm not sure how that's all going to work out, but I'll be sure to keep you informed.  You can count on it.