Function Meets Family of Six in our new Laundry + Mudroom

Each week as part of the TAP Planner system, I pick an area of focus to simplify our home or life. Sometimes it’s a personal goal (movement or reading more), and other weeks I focus on a home project or task.

This week’s Go Simple Focus is resetting our laundry space. Broken down into bite sized tasks, yesterday I decluttered the entire space. And today I actually scrubbed this room head to toe for the first time since we moved in six months ago! So I thought I might as well take some snapshots and share the space with you today!

Here’s a peek inside the laundry + mudroom that serves our family of six.

A large glass barn door separates the laundry + mudroom from the rest of the home. This allows light to flow throughout the spaces, but still provides noise reduction when needed. Like when one, or a few, loads of laundry are going.

The dual purpose space is split into two sections, laundry room and mudroom. The laundry area wraps around the front corner of the room to include two cabinetry areas.

The first cabinetry area is designated for laundry needs.

The upper holds various laundry essentials such as washing soap, bleach, vinegar, fabric sheets + balls and more.

Using upcycled jars and other various containers creates a fun pop of eclectic cohesion behind the cabinetry doors.

A small upcycled pickle jar + embossed label hold various sewing supplies which comes in handy for mends on the go or chopping leggings down to cartwheel + bike shorts. A great simplifying hack for moms with littles!

The lower cabinet includes a pull out drawer for out-the-door pocket essentials like keys, chapstick and more.

Two small drawers hold spare hats + mittens for the family. And a pullout garbage can hides next to them, ready to catch garbage from both the vehicles, as well as lint from the nearby dryer.

Next to the laundry cabinetry is the washer and dryer station. Function is the goal in this space as laundry for a family of six is never ending.

Atop the washer and dryer rest two tray baskets. Perfect to catch laundry straight from the dryer.

Above the machines is a hanging bar. Permanent staples are a laundry bag to catch small washables as well as extra clothespins on hangers for hang drying items.

A pop of terra cotta color with some small plant propagations brighten up the space and add some warmth to laundry sessions.

In the upper cabinet to the right of the laundry are other home maintenance essentials like backstock cleaning supplies, plant care products, and more.

A small grab-and-go plant care station sits in the corner with some of our favorite plant maintenance sprays.

The deep utility sink is centered under the window and is a catch all for everything scrub worth.

A deeper sink is great when it’s time for plant watering, maintenance and care.

Opposite the laundry room is the mudroom space, complete with a command center and lockers.

Find the link + a coupon code for our favorite command center HERE!

A collector for the kids’ school lunch menu + announcements, our weekly meal plans, a monthly family calendar view, mail catcher and mirror, a command center is a great addition to any mudroom to keep everyone on the same page.

The command center is also a favorite space to place scripture notes for the family to reflect on. Find this free printable on the blog here!

Next to the command center sits the mudroom locker cabinetry.

Upper cabinetry holds out of season essentials (during our Wisconsin winter, we stick our summer swim gear up here.

Grab and go bins for out the door essentials like sunscreen, sunglasses, hats and more tuck in this mitten cubbie.

Spots to hold essential outdoor gear are designated for each family member, so we can stay mostly organized in this hectic space.

A breathable plastic bin for each family member is used to corral their personal accessories no matter the season.

Staggered hooks doubles storage potential for all the bags and coats that need a home.

And because Wisconsin winters can require a LOT of outdoor gear, additional hooks hide in the pantry behind the mudroom locker space to hold each kid’s daily essential outdoor winter gear like snow pants and parkas.

To learn more about creating a outdoor capsule wardrobe for kids, check this post!

Extra hooks also hide in the garage to catch outdoor overflow because, again, Wisconsin winter is no joke! With a family of six, the more spots to hang things, the better.

And my two favorite secret weapons. An out the door tote that hangs to collect things that need to head out of the house (returns, library books, mail, gifts). As well as a clutter tote, a basket that collects clutter misplaced throughout the house during the week. The tote comes with me whenever I leave the house and can address the contents. And the bin gets emptied every Tidy Tuesday when I do a basket sweep of the house to rehome misplaced items.

There is a lot to pack into this space. This room is roughly 7 ft x 11 ft in size. When it comes to a family of six, function must truly be the center focus on these high traffic spaces. Every drawer, shelf and cubby matters. We had a lot of fun creating this space and hope you enjoyed this tour!

We do have a little more work left to go in that corner next to the window. What do you think would work best there? Rolling hampers? Or maybe a bench with more shoe storage? I’d love your thoughts so pop a comment below and let me know what you think!