A few weeks ago, I was in a cleaning and organizing mood. I am the sort of person who’s in that kind of mood pretty regularly, but this was on another level. It started with getting all of my cleaning supplies sorted out and turned into reorganizing the laundry room shelves. I keep cleaners, sponges, brushes, etc. all over the house, so that cleaning is easy. Under the sink of each bathroom is a bottle of glass cleaner, toilet cleaner, a toilet brush, sponges, a couple of rolls of paper towels, all-purpose cleaners, scouring powder or paste, paper towels, a few clean microfiber dust cloths, and a small box of garbage bags. (I share some of my favorite cleaners in THIS POST.) In the master bathroom, I also have dishwasher tabs and a big bottle of white vinegar for cleaning the jet tub. In a three-story house, this means I don’t have to run up and down the stairs when something needs to be cleaned. I can just take care of it on the spot.
The downside to this is that I end up with bottles of cleaners scattered all over the house and I sometimes lose track of what I have in stock. So, I gathered all of the cleaners, merged half-empty bottles, and did an assessment of what I had. Once the bathroom and kitchen cabinets were stocked and squared away, I turned to the laundry room. This is where I keep all of the excess supplies and the cleaners I primarily use for the main floor of the house.
Since I keep them out in the open, I’ve been slowly changing from plastic bottles to glass. I also have been making some of my own cleaners and sprays like lavender water, vinegar cleaner, and bleach cleaner.
I absolutely love it when utilitarian things are also beautiful. I used to think cleaning supplies were just going to be something that you stored behind closed cabinet doors, but there are so many functional items that are also pretty available on the market now.
And yes, I’m a brush hoarder. In my defense, I used to sell them online and at Lucketts, so I’m still working through the stash I reserved for myself!
I labeled each glass bottle with a piece of 1/4″ or 1/2″ masking tape…
I also tidied and dusted all of the laundry room shelves. If you remember, these were laminate cabinets that I painted a couple of years ago and they have held up so well! It was such a cheap and easy transformation.
I purchased the small wire shelf from Hobby Lobby and it’s perfect for over the sink.
We finally did replace the small, builder-grade faucet with one that has a higher neck, turns on with one touch, and has a pull-down spray nozzle. These are all features that have been so helpful, since I use the laundry room sink a ton for filling up my watering can and washing paintbrushes and rollers.
While there are a few decorative items, most of these are things I use. Small scissors for snipping herbs, brushes for cleaning, soaps for washing my brushes, oil for washing oil paint off of my hands, etc.
The last time I placed an order with White Flower Farmhouse, I received one of their cotton towels and a bar of French soap as a little extra bonus. I hate that they or any business had to be closed through this pandemic, but I love that I was able to shop from a store in New York that typically doesn’t sell online.
I have been using the olive oil soap to wash my brushes after oil painting and it does work great! I have a bunch of these bars, but I didn’t think of using them to clean my paintbrushes!
The towel is thick and has the best texture. I have been primarily using linen towels for cleaning and drying in the kitchen, but I might order a few more of these.
I just love this little area in the laundry room. We enter through the garage door often, I get to walk past this multiple times each day. Why not make it pretty?
