Spring Cleaning: Laundry Room, Closet & Hallway

I'm officially behind schedule, but that's okay. On Friday I began working on the the laundry room, closet and back entryway of our home. I started with the closet and by the time I had removed everything from the closet to clean and reorder it I was overwhelmed. I did finish the closet on Friday, but then didn't have the motivation to continue with the rest until today. Here is what I did.

Closet

- removed all its contents (I was amazed at how much we are able to store in such a tiny space!)

- stabilized a shelf bracket that has never been quite right (I'm thankful my husband's parents gave him a powerful drill a few years ago as I have quite enjoyed using it. He is more than capable, but I'm usually a bit impatient and want to accomplish my ideas while he is away at work.)
- put lots of stuff away in other parts of the house

- vacuumed carpet and baseboards

- bagged up some stuff for Goodwill

Laundry Room & Hallway
- put away clean clothes and finally got caught up (for today) on laundry

- vacuumed dryer vent

- swept and washed under washer and dryer
- vacuumed rug

- washed washer and dryer, doors, door frames, floor, baseboards and spots on the wall

- organized contents of laundry room shelves

- washed the window and sill

Here are the before pictures. They are rather small areas, so forgive the quality of the photos.

Before - jumbled closet

Before - closet floor...where is the carpet?Before - view to laundry roomBefore - laundry room...quite embarrassingAfter - closet...there's even room for us to hang a few guest coats!
After - closet shelves
It may still look messy, but there is a method to the madness here. A laundry basket holds all the winterwear (extra coats, hats, gloves, snow pants, boots, etc.). A hook on the right side holds tablecloths. This is the only good place with easy access to the dining area and they stay relatively wrinkle free on the high hook.After - view to back doorAfter - view to laundry room

After - the tops are clear except for our flower pot for lonely socks and the trash bin for lintAfter - Just for fun I put new ribbon hangers on the broom, duster, mop and swiffer. Simple delights just might make cleaning fun!

I'm so glad I finished, even on a day that started with this.

I stubbed my middle toes as I was getting ready this morning and heard a loud crack so we'll have to wait and see how they feel in a couple days. Ouch!

Things I would still like to accomplish in this area on another day are doing some touch-up painting on the many scuffs and nicks we have on the walls and baseboards and installing some hooks or brackets to hang our drying rack when it is not in use.

Thanks to Monica for the inspiration to get our home in shape!