I'm good but I am here to support your efforts!

Looks like you might have storage space under the sink??

It's a cleaner look if all of your hangers are the same color/size. But you already know that.

Go get 'em!

Jamie, I'm with you. I kept up with taking our hanging clothes to our closet this week, but since I was working on two wood working projects I left the folded items in the laundry room. They're folded, just sitting there waiting to go home. Once I finish checking out the rest of this board I'll head on up and get busy. My hubby will thank you. In fact I'm glad for the push too!

Good luck!

I wonder if you might find that laundry room easier to maintain if you *eliminated* the rod, or shortened it?

(remember your pre-dishwasher problem of hating to do dishes? And then they'd pile up? And you solved it by putting all but 2 plates far away, so you *had* to wash a plate before you could eat? Sort of like that. The opposite of "if you built it, they will come"? "if you take it down, they can't roost there")

Even if you couldn't make it shorter, and didn't want to take the whole thing down (both of which would be my feeling, were I the owner of your laundry space), you could put a pool "noodle" on part of the rod to keep yourself from cheating, and letting clothes pile up on the hanger and get in your way....if you though that would help.

It's actually not a bad size, etc.--big enough, and some storage (which of course, we can't see bcs it's around the corner).

Are those walls you could mount anything on? They look a little divider-y (and hence not that sturdy), but maybe not.

Are you happy w/ your infrastructure? I seems good, but would you want an ironing board, or drying rack, or anything, right in there?

I don't have a laundry room to organize, but I think I'll go handwash that silk scarf, and experiment w/ which big mixing bowl will work.

talley, if she takes the rod down where is she suppose to hang the clothes as she takes them out of the machines? Did I miss something in your post?

Thanks all...and justgotabeme, I hope you got yours straightened up! :-) I ran out and bought a new rug, my "reward" (and something I've wanted for ages because the floor down there is so cold!).

Here are my "after" photos:

And closed up for the night:

Now, to answer questions/comments:

The drain for the basement is right under the sink, so no storage there. And since I was actually *down there* while the washer was running today, I noticed that the drain is blocked...it drains, but slowly, so we actually get water all over underneath the sink on the extra-large load I was doing! Since I normally just start a load and head back upstairs to make dinner, I never knew that until now. So I'll have to get some drain cleaner, and hope that works, since the metal drain cover is cemented in.

There are a couple changes to the infrustructure that I'd like, and will mention to my hubby since he likes to be "helpful" by putting stuff up for me (I have to remind myself not to just do it all myself!). ;-) I'd like a shelf behind and just above the dryer where I could put the laundry soap jug, so the spout sits over closer to the washer (can't put it over the washer, since I wouldn't be able to open the lid then). And I'd like a towel rack to hang on the wall to the left of the sink for towels and a washcloth (for wiping down the washer/dryer). I'm going to use a tub to wash my bras down there (instead of in the bathroom, but the sink is kind of "painty" from hubby washing brushes out, and the sides aren't smooth anymore), and I'll need a towel to dry my hands on, and the tub after I'm done.

The rod is great, actually. The reason there were clothes still down there is because hubby used to shower down there, and did his own laundry, so it was easier to leave them there for dressing in the morning. Now the basment shower leaks (haven't had the $$ to fix it - that bathroom actually needs lots of plumbing work), so we share the upstairs bathroom (and I do all the laundry now - it's just easier for me to make sure it gets "all the way done" that way). But his closet upstairs was completely full, so no room to move those clothes up! When he cleaned out his closet, that eliminated the problem - I always hang the clothes as they come out of the dryer, and then take them upstairs with me right away (and put them away immediately).

I have that ironing board you can see to the side of the dryer (it was around the corner in the first pics). I don't iron though, and neither does my husband, so it's mostly for "decoration". *laughs* I give 'em a good "snap" when I take them out of the dryer (pretty much right away), and call it good. Stuff that needs to hang dry (like that pullover, which I moved to the other side for the second picture, and my bras) will just hang on hangers over the sink. I plan to keep empty hangers over the washer (since the top lifts up, so clothes would be in the way), and hang clothes over the dryer as they come out (before I couldn't reach over the dryer for all the "stuff" on the floor in my way, so I fought with clothes and the washer lid).

As for hangers, I have all satin padded hangers coming for *my* clothes - even some with clips for my dress pants/skirts (should be here any day). My "treat" for cleaning my closet out. I'm going to buy hubby all wooden hangers for his closet, since that's what he prefers, so we'll have two types, but nice looking ones, anyways. We've both just been using the hangers we've had since we lived at home, so it's about time we got new ones! All the plastic mixed with wire drives me nuts, both downstairs and in the closet.

A good day's work, to be sure, and it will be so much nicer to do my "daily load of laundry" now (a recent, and very helpful habit). :-)

Jamie, you did a great job. I wound up doing other things since I had to water the lawn and it's easier to keep track of when I'm on the main level so I can hear it click off. I'll remember to wear my timer tomorrow so I can head upstairs and get the laundry room finished. I'll take time to take before and after pictures. I may even take time to add the shelf and rod we've been talking about over the washer and dryer so I can have a better place to store hangers and for clothes coming out of the dryer. I'll give more details tomorrow when I start another thread. Thanks for inspiring me to get my laundry back in shape.
~Becky

I have a shallow cabinet mounted over my washer which allows me to store my laundry soap just above where I need it. That way I can close the door. It's also a great place to store cleaning cloths, fabric softener and my iron (which I don't use much either). That might be a good solution for you as well because the front of the cabinet is just high enough for the top edge of my washer door to lean against, ensuring that my soap drops directly into my washer.

Thanks for the suggestion, lissa - I bet that works really well. I don't really need more cabinets though - there are two, one on either side of that space, with plenty of room for the other stuff (my fabric softener is in the one right next to the dryer). But the big "Costo-sized" detergent jugs just won't fit in either of them, so I'd have to have custom shelves done. I think the cabinet would have to be too deep to hold that bottle where the washer door would actually stay open against it (I held the bottle up above the washer, then tried opening the door just under the spout - wouldn't stay open). The bottle size is the problem, but I really like buying it less often, so it's a trade-off. :-)

I "chatted" w/hubby over the internet last night, and he seems to think a shelf and towel rack shouldn't be a problem where I want them. He's going to snake out the drain this weekend too, so as long as that works, we'll be good to go. :-)

Lissa, just thought I'd post back and let you know we did indeed end up installing a shelf so the soap would hang over the washer door! I'll post pictures tomorrow, but we found a nice deep shelf that still lets me reach easily to get to the soap jug. So thanks! :-)