I am very excited to introduce a new series to Lemons, Lavender, & Laundry: the $100 Room Challenge! Let me be honest for a moment; I have almost zero dollars to renovate my home. This creates a bit of a challenge because I really want to make improvements. It hit me a couple months ago that I could try to stretch $100 over a month long timeframe, and see what I could do. This forces me to think creatively, try out some DIY ideas, and hopefully, end up with a better looking space in the end. Blogging about the experience creates some accountability, and hopefully you’ll enjoy watching just how far $100 can go.
Are you ready? Here we go!
Introducing Our Mudroom & Pantry
Because our mudroom is attached to the garage, it is the first room we see when entering our home. Luckily, guests enter through the front door because our mudroom is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Honestly, in the five years we’ve lived here, it has never looked this bad. As we do more and more bulk shopping at Costco, this room is starting to overflow with gargantuan boxes of Lucky Charms and fruit snacks. Here’s the before pictures… Prepare yourself…
Doesn’t this just feel like a warm hug saying, “Welcome Home”? You don’t have to be polite. The answer is no. This is more like a scream, yelling, “Welcome to the chaos! Don’t trip on your way in!”
Goals for Our Mudroom
It’s always good to have goals for a project because goals keep you focused.
- Clean the space
- Find options for food storage
- Repaint the bench and make a cushion for it
I’m excited to share this little journey with you. Let the challenge begin!
This is a great idea to give yourself a challenge like this. It gets me thinking what I can challenge myself to do. Creativity gets flowing when I give myself restrictions and make myself think out of the box. Way to go with this challenge!
Thanks Tiffany! I am excited because the budget restrictions are sure going to make me think outside the box. No buying a bunch of beautiful glass jars to store everything (unless I only buy, like, 3 and that’s the end of the mudroom makeover).
I love this idea, Erin! And you’re so right about goals! Room makeovers are overwhelming. But focusing on my goals helps me stay positive and take it one step at a time. I can’t wait to see the next posts in this series! Good luck!
Thanks Tiffany! I think a lot of us get stuck thinking we can’t do anything with our home because the budget doesn’t allow for a total gut-job. The truth is, there’s probably a lot we can do to make rooms a little better with a small budget. Hoping to find some budget-friendly options as I make-over different places around my own house.
Ahh, this is a great idea! I love it and can’t wait to see what you do with that mudroom!
I’m pretty excited about it. It can’t get any worse, right?
How fun! This is an awesome challenge and I like the fact that you only plan to spend $100. I love a good strict budget challenge and I cannot wait to see what you do with the space.
Thanks Jessica! I’m pretty excited about this challenge too! I can tell you with confidence, it should be a lot better than these “before pictures”!
That is some serious chaos, Erin! I’m excited to see what you come up with and I’m going to join in with my little mudroom off of the garage by the pantry. I want to get proper built-ins done, but we likely won’t be doing that for a couple of years. I keep saying that I should just pretty it up in the meantime, so this will be a good excuse for me to get going!
Yay! I’m excited to have you join! I feel like there are times when I have big dreams for a space, but my budget just doesn’t match up. I think there’s a lot you can actually do with just a little bit of money if you think creatively. Excited to see your space!
What a great big space! I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
I kinda can’t wait either. No matter what, it’s going to look better than this!
What a great idea Erin!! Love this! I can’t wait to watch your progress! I’d love to join…just thinking what space I could do?! Maybe our coat closet that we want to turn into a “mud room?”
I’d love for you to join along! This is much more about doing smaller spaces because you probably couldn’t do a ton with $100 in your kitchen, for example. Well, maybe a small part of your kitchen… Coat closet sounds perfect!