the top of my washing machine

has been bothering me forever.  Seriously, as long as stuff has been collecting up there, it's been bothering me.  Then Pinterest came along and you see all these laundry rooms that don't even look like laundry rooms.  I have no desire to put my laundry detergent into cutesy little containers.  While it's pretty, it seems like a total waste of a container and space.  You can't tell me all these people with their cute little jars with chalkboard labels fit the whole container of detergent in there.  That overflow has to be stored somewhere and it's probably in the original packaging so just keep it there.

So.  This is what I've been dealing with.

Well, there was a laundry basket up there that had stuff stored in it, important stuff like a bungee cord, flashlight, an old towel and serving bags for popcorn. (Still trying to figure out my reasoning for that.)  I finally had enough and emptied the basket.  I put the stuff from the basket in permanent homes and now have the basket in the garage with reception decor in it under a table.  (It makes sense, trust me.)  Then I was left with this, just a bunch of stuff piled on top but it's stuff that really should be there. 

• a box of cat supplies
• cleaning rags
• a piggy bank for loose change from jeans
• a flower pot with gardening gloves and baseball caps

You see?  That's the best place for all of that... right now.

I was doing something in the closet and saw my shoe shelf and a light bulb went off.  I grabbed a measuring tape and computer and headed to Amazon.  Yesterday my shoe shelf arrived and it is now a washing machine shelf.

How much better does that look?  I have another basket like the white one so I'll either put the towels or gardening gloves in there or just find something totally different that needs a home.  But that flower pot could totally find a home somewhere else and I'd be fine.  I guess I could also dust off the outlet in the back.  I'm assuming that's dust... right next to the cleaning rags.

Is it odd how happy organization can make me?  Maybe it's a Virgo thing.

Now I just need to install the cabinet knobs Lauren gave me.  I've been putting it off because it scares me.  It could go wrong fast and I'd end up with crooked knobs and a scarred door.  It will look good when I finally get it done though.  I might not have cutesy jars with custom labels that only half of my detergent will fit in but I like this and I like practical.