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Streamlined everyday flow for this sport-loving family

The athletic Wiberg family realized that running around to search for clothing on three stories was inefficient. Their laundry logistics and storage aesthetic truly needed an upgrade. After a makeover, the cellar is now the family’s favorite place!

Text Charlotta Flinkenberg  Photo Fredrik Bjelkerud

This is where we live

The Wiberg family consists of Johanna, assistant league captain of the women’s national handball team; her husband Philip, a production manager; and their two children, ages eight and four. Located in Furulund, outside Lund, their 1950s house is just over 200 square meters, in addition to a vast 114-square-meter cellar. The sports-loving, two-child Wiberg family is on the active side – to say the least. Johanna is assistant league captain of the Sweden women’s national handball team. In addition to Johanna’s hectic schedule, with regular gym sessions, workouts and trips with the team, eight-year-old Linnea also plays handball twice a week. “ Bags have to be packed for school sports; we have to dig out inline skates, and everyone in the family likes to ski,” says Johanna. They live in a big, old 300-square-meter house from 1952 that has been renovated according to the motto “one room at a time.” “ We felt like the cellar had been prioritized last, but it’s actually the heart of the house. Everything from laundry and clothing care to storage starts from here.”

Smarter clothes storage

The team analyzed the family’s needs and determined that they needed a better daily flow for routines surrounding the rotation of workout clothes to be used, washed, stored and used again. And they have quite a lot of workout clothes in continuous motion.

“ One of the first suggestions from the experts was to eliminate the step of having workout clothes spread out on different floors. All the focus would now be on the cellar.”

Johanna and her husband had grown tired of running up and down three flights of stairs in search of bags and fresh workout clothes. Or spending half a week searching for all their ski gear before heading off to the mountains.

“ We needed help with the searching itself, and the unnecessary time stress related to it.”

Laundry room with a laundry and folding station

In the laundry room in the cellar, a laundry and folding station was set up with mesh drawers that also hold shoe polish items. “ It’s become much simpler now. We don’t have workout clothes up in the house at all anymore; instead, we store them down in the cellar. That means we don’t have to take the clothes all the way to the top story, where our regular closet is. Instead, when the clothes are dry, I can fold them immediately and put them away in our respective mesh baskets, which are labeled with our names. Or place them straight into our gym bags.”

Laundry room inspiration

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Clothes on the go

They also created a space in the cellar to hang “on the go” items, with a shoe rack, clothing hooks, and small baskets for little odds and ends. “ My husband and I both sometimes come in through the cellar with muddy running shoes and a damp windbreaker. We may have been out running and don’t want to hang up sweaty or damp gear with the rest of our clothes. So it’s great that they can hang up with a little more air. And it’s smart to have little shelves and drawers for gym passes, water bottles, locks and things like that, that you have to put somewhere after a workout.”

Hallway inspiration
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A storage keyword for an active family? “ The future! You have to be able to see what the future steps are in your routines. What happens after the run, what do you want to do with all your gear then? When the ski season is over, where will you put everything so that it’s all easy to find again? When you have a pile of clean laundry, is there anywhere to fold it? What outfit are you going to wear tomorrow? The next time you have a party, where do you want the tape and wrapping paper to be?”

Storage inspiration

Seasonal storage with sliding doors

The now well-organized cellar has closets with sliding doors in which outerwear and seasonal storage can be tucked away a little more discreetly for a cleaner feel.

“ We no longer have to search all over the place for ski gear or winter jackets when we need them!”

Do you spend more time in the cellar now?

“ Absolutely! We’ve gained an extra 100 square meters of living space. It’s so nice down there now. Before, it was a bland space that you rushed through. But now it’s functional, pleasant and inviting. The kids have an activity and movie room next to the cellar. It’s cozy to stand and fold clothes while they play in the next room and hang from their gymnastics rings.”

A place for everything

On the opposite side of the clothing storage in the cellar, they have had rails and storage put up for household items like toilet paper, tealights, containers, gift wrap, tape, ribbon and more. “ It’s another kind of great storage and provides a fantastic overview. It makes it easy for the kids to help! Everything is in its place. If they want to take out their Bamse toothpaste, there it is. And they think it’s more fun to help with setting the table with napkins and the like now!”

Storage inspiration

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Welcome to the home of Ingrid and Vidar!

At long last their new home is ready for them to move into. It is brimming with cheerful colours, exciting features and personal solutions. Let’s go in and take a look!

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