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?
I must admit you do have alot of brushes in your stock but they look beautifully displayed in the ironstone. We recently had our stained kitchen cabinets refinished and painted. This gave me the opportunity get my kitchen cabinets and drawers organized. I put new shelve lining in all the cabinets and drawers, decluttered, organized and purged. Even the junk drawer got a makeover and is no longer a junk drawer!
Excellent !! Looks so nice …..I just love that green color everytime I see it in one of your posts. YUM
I love it and all the brushes and bottles. So pretty!!
I love all the textures in your space! Will check out the links for sure. Beautiful!
Your laundry room is so pretty. I could live in it!
Will you come to my house and organize my laundry room? Mine is small without a sink which would have been nice. Your laundry room is not only organized but attractive. It looks very nice and I love that green shelf.
I’d love to know more about that faucet. Is it an online purchase, who makes it? It’s so cool!
I adore your house and all its beauty, but I must say that your laundry room is one of my favs!! So gorgeous and timeless.
This room was such an amazing transformation, one of my favorites! I love the color, bead-board & all the details that are equally charming and functional. Let’s be honest, you are a *much* more committed cleaner than I will ever be! Just ordered a few items from those listed, thanks for doing my shopping for me!
Once again you raise the bar. This room is my new favorite. And I have loved all of the rooms you’ve shared so far….but this one….well I’m declaring it my favorite. It’s charming, warm and functional. Perfect.
That green color is fabulous! BTW, I couldn’t see properly but hydrogen peroxide should be stored only in dark bottles. Light breaks it down and destroys the efficacy.
Oh, good to know! Thank you for teaching me that!
You styled it so perfectly. Is that your Boxwood green on the shelf? That has to be one of the most beautiful colors in the spectrum.
What a delightful and perfect space. You have swag, lady.
It is a custom match to Boxwood. Since it’s laminate, I wanted to use a paint with better adhesion, but I wanted to use that color!
What is the custom mix Boxwood green on your cabinets? Can you tell us how to mix it? I have always love this in your home. Thank you in advance.
Makes me want to put Lavender in my EO diffuser right now !
I’ve been using My Green Fills for laundry and general cleaning . It comes in one container and there after you only buy refills that comes in the mail . I’m happy to support a small company trying to do a good thing. ??
Such a eye catching laundry room!!
Marion, where did you purchase the Faucet? I’m in need of one for my laundry sink.
This looks like a good one!
It’s the Delta Broderick Bar Sink Faucet. It is so nice!
Is that a nail brush with the green bar of soap? Where would I be able to purchase it?
yes! And I have a bigger one I use by my kitchen sink. With all of the painting and such that I do, I use them all the time. I got one from Terrain and another from a local shop. They are both made by Iris Hantverk
Do you make your own lavender water and what are it’s used? Your laundry room is beautiful
Yes, I do make my own and I use it as a linen spray.
I love the look of your laundry room, and agree with you that things we use may as well be pretty. It sure makes me feel happier to see pretty things sitting, ready for use. After looking at your space, I’m wondering if you have considered crocheting socks for your spray bottles. Just a thought.
I love the laundry room. You’ve done a great job but as a lavender lover I can’t help but wonder why so much dried lavender.
That was the smallest bag of dried lavender I could find! I use it to fill sachets.
I miss having a utility sink! You’ve made your space so pretty and very useful!
So nice. I have and use many of those same brushes. I love utilitarian spaces.
BTW I have used olive oil soap on my face for years.
Marian, would you share a source for the glass spray bottles, so far I have only found plastic. Thanks.
I get them from Grove Collaborative and/or Amazon.
One thing I have been trying to focus on, is NOT saving myself extra steps…..become aware that those extra steps around the house are for my own good. More steps on my fitbit and therefore good for my body. I have also been parking a little farther away from the store, for the sake of a few extra steps.
Oh, I agree! I don’t resist running up and down the stairs for things, but I do like to have cleaning products in each bathroom to make cleaning easier and more efficient. With three floors to clean, it just makes the process easier and I still get in well over 10,000 steps on cleaning day!
Ok, now I’m super inspired to get busy in my laundry room! Thanks, as always for the inspiration!
It is rare to see such tidy collection of cleaning items exposed as yours and looking good! My cleaning products are inside a cabinet, that means that with our 3 floors I am moving a lot and it never bothers me even though I am a compulsive cleaner. But for the dish soap, I pour the commercial liquid soap out of its ugly plastic bottle with label into a nice glass pump bottle. Your idea of using the olive oil soap bar for brushes is something I will gladly borrow from you. Thanks.
Your laundry room looks amazing! Tell me more about the dishwasher soap and vinegar to clean your spa tub??? I need to know this!
Yes! I will share that. My mom taught me to clean my jetted tub that way and it works great!
I remember when you redid this room…husband wasn’t home and you did it by yourself…fast and furious! lol. It’s been my favorite room…so far!
Oh yes! It was a lot of hard work, but I just put on some good music and worked through it bit by bit.
Years ago i got the idea from a magazine to hang a doll house over my laundry counter. I faced the open side out and put hinges on the roof line so i could store cleaning supplies inside. My husband screwed the base to two antique wrought iron shelf brackets. It is the type that was made out of fiber board and highly decorated. That was then now i have conventional cabinets (new kitchen) and everything hides behind closed doors. Yes i need to take a leaf out of your book and tidy up.
Yes, I saw that idea, too! So cute and clever.
I’d love to hear about cleaning the jet tub with dishwasher tabs and vinegar?
Yes, I’ll do a blog post on that!
Like how you organized all your cleaning supplies. Just wondering, do you have a good method for cleaning your dishwasher? All of a sudden mine is having an odor when I am taking out my clean dishes. I’m sure you have a have something to take care of this problem. 😀 Thanks so much.
Hmmm…I don’t, but it might be a plumbing issue more than a cleaning issue, since the dishwasher uses high heat to clean the dishes. Sometimes the drain between the dishwasher and sink/disposal can have some stuff sitting in it that stinks. There are tutorials online on flushing that out or you can call a plumber.
We have found that our dishwasher had an odor too, especially when we first start it. We looked at the booklet that comes with it and found out that the screen and basket in the bottom should be cleaned every 6 months. Also a plumber once told us that you should always run your garbage disposal before turning on your dishwasher.
I love seeing a functional space looking beautiful! I love, love, love it!