Laundry Room Dreams

My laundry is in the basement. It's filled with cold concrete, and at night we get those horrible cave crickets; their beady eyes pretending they don't see you, until they leap around in random directions, trying to scare you into leaving their home and turning off the lights. Needless to say, I don't do laundry after dark, unless I really have to.

It is one of those places where I don't stay long, so pretty shelves and a generous folding table have never been on the agenda. Clothes are sorted, washed, dried, taken upstairs, and dumped on my bed. Then, they are put away quickly before the cat and dog sit on them.

Whether we have a full household, or a family of one, we all have to do it, and I often wonder if a brightly organized room really does make it more enjoyable. Do cheerful walls make it less of a chore to pick the chewing gum off your favorite dress? Do pretty shelves and sorting baskets (made of blue and white ticking - handily labelled, lest you forget) make it almost fun to sort other people's undies?

I have to believe that it does, so, if I had my dream laundry, this is what it would be like......

1. Front loading washer and dryer (preferably in the palest of blues).
2. Fold down, full size ironing board (with a Nick and Nora cover - maybe gnomes or cupcakes).
3. Some cupboards and shelves (for soap and things).
4. A place to hang clothes to dry, and to lie them down (if they needed a lie down).
5. Lots of windows (which open when I want them too).
6. A radio (so I can listen to music).
7. Marble counters (because I love them).
8. Chalkboard paint somewhere (in case I needed to write myself a note, or draw a picture).
9. White, porcelain, gigantic, deep farmhouse sink (because it's my dream laundry).
10. Wide windowsill's (for plants and flowers).
11. A vintage, aluminum, dual washtub (for keeping and sorting clothes).
12. Nice, large, indoor-outdoor rug on the floor (to keep my toes warm).
13. A (modest) chandelier.

Lucky for me, I already have number eleven, so all I need are twelve more....

Photograph from Family Circle Magazine