the one.. where I can wash inside

Many old Queensland homes tend to have the laundry under the house or in a room outside which means it's no fun having to do the laundry when it's raining or at night.

Well I recently changed that!

I have moved my washing machine from it's outside room into the kitchen.

This is what I was working with in the past.

This room will be no more soon

A big plus was the size of the room.  I loved that I could hang all my washing inside and never have to think about the weather but it is very old (an extension built in the 50's).

Here is the kitchen as it was, before the washing machine.  See the gap there, well I was planning on putting in a new dishwasher but the washing won that fight... for now.

Before the machine could be moved into its new home I wanted to paint underneath the sink - there was a good chance it wasn't going to be seen once the washing machine was in place but it made sense to do it now.

I got out my trusty little mouse sander - I'm a girl who loves her tools.

photo: Black and Decker

I first started by sanding down the back and side walls to remove any bumps in the old paint.  You have to remember that this part of the kitchen was hidden up until recently behind the old cupboard for many, many years.  I then vacuumed to clear away the dust before I gave the walls a good wash with sugar soap.  I allowed this to dry before I applied two coats of undercoat and it wasn't long before I was applying two coats of paint.

I forgot to take a progress shot at this point but all you would have seen was a white wall so close one eye and tilt your head to the right... can you see it?

With such a small space the whole job only took a few hours.

This is the machine in its new home.

As I mentioned before the washing machine has taken up the space I had intended for a new dishwasher (I've never had a dishwasher... sad I know but true) but when I weighed up the pros and cons....  I would rather do a few extra dishes by hand than do the washing outside (I say this as we begin Winter).

It may seem minor but I love being able to do the washing inside and at anytime, day or night!