Well, it only took 2 1/2 years for me to redo what is the most disgusting room in our house. The rest of the house is virtually finished and this room just stared at me daily with a “WHAT. DON’T EVEN COME NEAR ME, ” kind of aggression. It needed a major overhaul, and fast.
I knew what was going to happen – I was going to wait to fix it ’til we needed to sell the house, and then I would regret every single second that this monster stared at me up until that point. So I got on it.
We fixed the doors (we tried two different accordion doors and they didn’t work for really boring reasons). Long story is that the frames aren’t square and the size isn’t standard, plus we ordered the doors before we ordered the washer/dryer, so I didn’t know that there wouldn’t be enough clearance on both sides to open the washer or dryer doors. So we put on two standard doors and it looks a lot cleaner than the accordion, anyway.
Next, we wallpapered in the back with the most wonderful water inspired paper ever – Cole and Sons Frontier Wallpaper and now when you open it, along with the clean washer/dryer, it looks so happy and fun. But it needed some more storage and some styling love.
So without further ado, here is my new, beautiful, tiny but wonderful laundry closet.
I’m no longer apologizing. No longer embarrassed. No longer using 27 year old mismatching washer and dryer. I’m now proud and happy. I may even leave the doors open all day every day to show it off.
So let’s talk about the appliances. I partnered with LG on my closet and I couldn’t be happier with them. I love how they look and how they function. I’m officially a front-loader fan. Both washer and dryer are super easy to use, but have a lot of options when it comes to cycles, heat, speed, level of dirt, etc. They are so quiet and super fast. Our cleaning lady is obsessed with them too, which says a lot because she knows her way around a washer and dryer.
My new favorite thing in the world (appliance-wise) is the LG Sidekick – that additional mini washer underneath the main washer that doesn’t take up any additional room because it is directly under the washer. See below. Here’s how it works: you place normal laundry and larger loads into the front loader, but then save your delicates, gym clothes, fancy yoga pants, and all your intimates in the sidekick (although it can wash whatever you want). I use it for my workout clothes since I recycle the same 2 pants and often don’t want to do a whole load just for those three things. I also do it for onesies for Elliot as I’m trying to now buy too many clothes for her that she’ll grow out of, and instead wash her sweet potato riddled clothes every day. It’s way less wasteful than doing a small load of laundry in the normal washer, as it uses less water and energy.
You can add the sidekick to any LG washer purchased since 2009 – and you can do what I did which is use a pedestal drawer underneath the dryer and the sidekick under the washer. What it can do: The SideKick™ washer offers six distinct cycles, each offering a unique combination of wash motions, water temperatures, rinse cycles and spin speeds that are ideally suited for the different types of loads.
The SideKick™and the LG front-load washer can operate simultaneously or independently, so the user can wash one load in hot and one load in cold water at the same time. It’s wonderful.
We had to add some storage and organization, obviously because this laundry closet is small. So we put up those shelves and allowed room for laundry baskets on top. Genius. The shelves housed all the detergents and other cleaning supplies as well as the iron, dirt buster and anything that we needed to grab quickly.
We utlized both doors by hanging organizers on the interiors. On one side was a fold out clothes hanging line and the other was our mop and broom.
The drawer underneath the dryer held all of our cleaning rags and some other laundry supplies – dryer sheets, oxy clean, spot cleaner, etc. I’ve never felt so pulled together in my life.
On top we added a pre-cut ikea table top that fit pretty perfectly so we didn’t have to do anything custom.
We put a tray, jar and dish as catchalls for all the stuff that is inside your jeans – coins, business cards, reciepts, lipstick, etc. Last we added a tiny garbage for lint and other disgusting trash that I find in my jeans constantly, like pistachio shells (WHY WOULD I PUT THOSE IN MY POCKET???), gum wrappers, and clothing tags.
The best news of all is that the laundry closet (in the middle of the house) is now invisible with the doors shut, and so pretty with the doors open:
Having that closet done sends a surge of saratonin through my veins just thinking about it. It’s so wonderful. It’s functional, stylish and now that it’s organized has solved a lot of my random cleaning product problems.
So here’s the story, starting now through July 13th , LG is running a promotion in which consumers can purchase an LG Front-Load and LG SideKick pair starting at $999. Typically the washer is $799 and the sidekick is $699 so if you act now (through July 13th) you can have both starting at $999. Pretty darn good deal for 2 washers!
But if you are the “getting things for free” type then you are in luck because we have a giveaway: One of you will receive a free sidekick.
**** GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED. A big thanks to all those who entered and congrats to Lisa N. who is the lucky winner. LG will be in contact with you directly, so be sure to watch out for an email.
Here’s what you need to do:
Enter the giveaway by commenting on this blog post with what clothing you’d love to wash in a SideKick, and by entering below:
In case you were interested in seeing how I use said laundry closet, we have gone ahead and recorded it:
See how it works? That sidekick is pretty darn wonderful. I use it all the time for work out clothes, baby clothes, or tonight where I shoved in 10 stiff linen napkins to soften them for my shoot tomorrow. Not the most common use of it, but so convenient.
So there you have it. My laundry closet finally revealed, and in a way that I’m proud of.
Here you go if you want to get that look:
1. Wallpaper | 2. Wall Shelf | 3. Double Wall Sconce | 4. LG Dryer | 5. LG Capacity Washer | 6. LG Sidekick | 7. LG Pedestal Shelf/Drawer | 8. Leather Catchall | 9. Laundry Basket | 10. Tiny Dust Pan | 11. Runner | 12. Expandable Wall Mount Organizer | 13. Broom | 14. Dust Pan | 15. Tray Set | 16. Over Door Ironing Board
A big thanks to LG and all of our sponsors who allow us to bring you original content every day.
*Photos by Zeke Ruelas, styling help by Scott Horne.
***You can find the Terms and Conditions for the LG SideKick Giveaway here
