Organising The Laundry

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I have just come back from my second attempt to organise the laundry.

I have a new house, with a laundry that seems to have been made in the 60s and renovated in the 70s. In some ways it is comforting as it has windows and shower like when I was a little girl in my Mum's laundry.

It is a large room made with brick walls painted a really nice blue.

The shower I inspected today, as yesterday the asbestos removalists came and took the tilux from the walls of the shower, leaving a frame and base, and the frame is not sturdy anymore.

The laundry is tiled in beige 70s tiles. It has a very swish for its time double sink with double doors. It is so cute my feeling it to keep it. Also in the room is a hot water heater, and typical of the time open shelves.

Though comforting, I feel so modernising needs doing.

I have material for curtains that is being posted to me that looks good with the blue, so that is good.

I went to the hardware store today, and alot of my lovely space would be used up with the shower and its door that I chose, so I am rethinking things. More later.

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Here is a link I found with some ideas.

www.hgtv.com/hgtv/ah_organizing_storage/article/0,,HGTV_3142_1398323,00.html

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The interesting part is though, that the modern thing to do would be to have a single sink and a shower with opening door.

I think maybe we will take the shower out and move it to the bathroom which is quite spacious. The drawback is the extra steam that may affect the wardrobe/linen press in there.

This will leave room for the washing machine in the shower's place, and in place of the washing machine I could put my upright freezer.

Over the washing machine, since there will be no shower I could put a double doored over head storage from Bunnings with melamine interior.

Tomorrow I will double check everything. I could use the double sink to store shoe polishing things. I may be able to also put a cupboard and antique one for rags and newspapers, we keep them to use for the fire or whatever reason. I'll see how I go. I find plans can be changed heaps of times.

By including the freezer this frees up a wall in the back area, as wall space is at a premium, we have so many windows. The laundry is more handy to the kitchen.

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"You should provide 48 inches of clearance in front of each appliance to give you room to walk around the open doors. Avoid placing appliances so the doors block passage doors."

That and other great tips from:

www.keidel.com/design/laundry.htm


Some things from this article I hadn't considered are:

1. Some place to put a basket.

2. Some place to put a bin

3. Some place to put the dryer. I know, but currently ours is in the shed.

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www.keidel.com/guide/ideas.htm


"What does your laundry room look like on laundry day? Are you sorting clothes on the floor? Do you wish you had a place to hang items fresh from the dryer? Is your master bed serving as your folding table?"

From: www.herhome.com/e-zine/2006/may/planning-the-details.asp


www.renovationexperts.com/remodeling12.asp

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"Laundry considerations -

What area do we really need to suit our requirements and lifestyle ?
Ventillation.
Storage - broom, cleaning products, ironing board, vacuum cleaner.
Lockable cupboards for smaller children.
Hanging space for raincoats etc.
A place for dirty boots.
If to be the main entry from the back yard - access to toilet area.
Floor drainage for overflowing troughs or washing machine.
A single trough or a double to be able to soak dirty clothes, nappies etc.
Back door with half glass or full glass panel for extra light.
In a 2 storey home - a laundry chute.
Bench space for sorting clothes.
Space for dirty clothes basket.
Drying space above floor heating ducts if installed."

From: www.ausdesign.com.au/articles/article23.html

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"More clothing means more laundry, and setting up separate bins in the laundry room for dark colors, light colors, and whites allows family members to pre-sort their own laundry as they toss it into the hamper. When the clothes are clean and folded, stack them in separate baskets for each family member."

www.fromhousetohome.com/index.php/articles/freshen_up_laundry_rooms/

[violet]

The best laundries I've seen have cupboards, maybe an attractive rail or rack hanging over the sink to hang small handwashed items from. I think a window is vital, to clear steam out and generally freshen it up. Also, an exhaust fan if the dryer will be in there.

Sealed or closed cupboards are best because of the dust and fluff generated by the dryer.

We had a laundry with a toilet in it at one point, and I found it ridiculously inconvenient, so I'd prefer to take the shower out and have the freezer in there, with enough space to access everything.

In our laundry, my dryer is on the floor, so that in a line along one wall is the broom cupboard, the sink, the washing machine, the dryer and then a small cupboard. What I would dearly love is a bench that goes across the appliances, all the way to the end of the wall. It would look neater and give a continuous space to fold on, and to keep the washing baskets on.

I'm not a fan of multi-baskets; I find one big dirty clothes hamper, plus one basket for hanging and one for ironing, works well. I tip the laundry basket out onto the laundry floor every morning and sort the washing into piles.

I suppose your other decision is whether you will need space in the laundry to do the ironing, too, if you iron in there.

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Today half the shower base and tiles were removed. The twin retro laundry tub was basically sitting there with little anchorage (you guessed it it was anchored to the shower) and has been moved. Or rather it is just sitting in another place out of the way.

It is showing signs of rust, so now, do I like the retro look enough to get the car respray people to paint it for me, do it ourselves, or get a new one.

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I keep going around and around with this.

Today we found out the the door on a square shower does open the full width and can be opened from both sides depending which one you buy you can choose which way it opens.

I have another place for the freezer, but it is too close to the toilet I think. It is possible I could put it beside the fridge in the dining room.

I am thinking of moving the hot water service as there is a nice place for it outside. Eventually we will have a side fence and it will be behind that.

The bathroom although spacious is very narrow, I think I can touch both walls from memory, the doors are at one end, or rather close to the end, and the window in the other narrow end. A shower cubicle is quite bulky.

We were worried about it being cold in the back of the house, ie the laundry may be cold. We have insulated the back section, and will try to minimise the draft under the door.

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The laundry is basically being put back the way it was. Our shower arrived today, hopefully tomorrow we will pick it up and the plumber can start on his work.

The decision was made for us as at the time we couldn't touch the bathroom because of termite baiting. They are now being baited in the garden!

I will be so amazed when the shower is installed.

We chose a particular base because of the concrete in the laundry. We would have chosen a different base if it was to be installed in the bathroom which has a different floor.

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I can't remember now what happened with the shower door. But the door opens very narrow and I have a time getting out of it, I am very tall so not a small person.

We apparently can move the hinges.

DH has used some paint we originally bought for a car with a white roof, when we bought a cheap car because it had six seats when our second son was born. We didn't paint the car, but it eventually got used. He used it for the double laundry sink. The finish is much like the shower edges.

The hot water service will have to be moved in the future.

We are waiting now for the mixer for the sink.