During the first decade of marriage in our first home, my laundry room was located

in the garage.    At that time, I had two little babies, eight-teen months apart.  This

was way back when disposable diapers had been invented, but rarely used.  We used cloth

diapers and washed them ourselves.  There was many-a-time that the diapers, the bedding,

and the rest of the laundry got piled high.  Every time we would open our garage

 door to either move our car in, or to back it out,   my dirty laundry was on display

to the whole neighborhood. 

  Often, I would cringe when I would hear my husband opening the over-head garage door.

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I started day-dreaming way back then about what my "fantasy laundry room"

would look like.  It would be big, really big.  It would have a large window

to let the sun's merry ray's shine in, and at the same time, allow me to observe my children

frolicking and playing in the backyard.  I would have a door to this room, one

I could shut and block out all viewers if my laundry situation was embarrasing.

It would be pretty, too.  Not just a plain laundry room, but one that had color

and charm to it. 

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 When we first moved to this old farm house,  our laundry room was directly

across from our guest bath in a small open area.  At that time, I had six

children still living at home, with a baby and a toddler as part of the group. 

Laundry was always mountain high and I could never seem to get a handle on it. 

 It was a non-stop, 24/7 process.   In my early morning devotions, I began to pray

 that He would help me come up with a better plan.

Then, in what I felt was a direct answer to this prayer, my husband came up

 with an idea that solved my problem. 

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The existing garage was not working well as a place to store cars – it was too small  

and had other factors that  worked against it.   We used it just as a storage area.  

My husband took this garage and made every inch work for us.  He designed the garage to 

be divided into four different sections and had walls built to divide the new areas.

Room #1 -  A very long and narrow  closet to store out-of-season clothes and my

oversupply of books; Room #2 -  a small square sized mud room; Room #3 -  a multi-

purpose room to exercise in and to have overnight guests (a sofa bed); and Room #4 -  

 a large laundry room.   

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 This laundry room became  everything I had always wanted, and more.  It was large, it had a door on it

(to hide huge piles of laundry when I was behind) and a big window to see outside

 when spending lots of time in there. 

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I "themed" this room (before the kitchen moved in) with a garden motif.  I put on one wall a

border that had watering cans and beautiful hydrangaes (my all-time favorite flower). 

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I had a lot of fun decorating this room.   I chose a mint green paint that I love to this day.

I never tire of it.  For three of the walls, I picked out a wallpaper that had what I felt was soothing

colors.  My daughter-in-law thought that it looked "beachy,"  like something you'd see

in a beach house on the ocean (a compliment because that is her dream.)

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When we installed the kitchenette, I put a gardening book on display, surrounded with watering

cans.   

 I always have a hard time figuring out just where all the books I own should

be placed.  Space always seems to be limited.  Since books are one of my

favorite things in life, I like to use them in decorating.  This helps in where to put

all of them.  I use these book ends for my collection of gardening books, that I also

had put in this room.   

I love unique book ends.  A water pail, some clay potting jars, and some

gardening tools that are hard to see in this picture. 

I love this one.  Hydrangaes are my favorite flower (have I mentioned that before?)

and especially blue ones.  Next to them are packets of seeds and flower bulbs. 

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 You can tell I was really having fun with having cabinets that I could store and display

 things on. 

The dried flowers are a special memory to me. Once while in a flower shop, I pointed

 out to my husband some of my favorite wild flowers.  Months later, he brought home

to me a bouquet of flowers of all the ones that I had mentioned.  I hung them to dry

so that I would never forget his thoughtfulness.

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This kitty cookie jar is also something that holds a dear memory

for me.  It is one of the few things that I possess from my

childhood.  I can still remember it on my mother's kitchen

countertop, filled with cookies.  I keep it way up here so it

 won't get broken. 

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I found these at a cute little store in our downtown.  It is laundry

soap, with pictures of old fashioned French maidens on the tin canisters. 

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I love everything French ("Antoinette LaFaivre").   When I seen this,

 I just had to buy them. 

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I've never used the soap yet, but if I ever run out,

I sure hope I remember that these cute French canisters actually

have laundry soap in them.

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These pictures are above my sink.  I collect old fashioned pictures of a time era

long ago.  I have pictures of this sort spread through out my entire home.  But

just because it is old-fashioned does not make a picture a candidate for

my walls.  My pictures almost always have little children in them. 

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At course, there is always the exception...

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I love mason jars,  We use them for our every day drinking glasses.  So when I seen this

picture that had a mason jar, a tin watering pail, and flowers, I just had to get it.

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I don't think I've ever baked a pie in my life, but I live my "baker's life" vicariously

through pictures like this. 

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