Let’s face it, we have to do laundry. As much as all of us can attest to hating one of the most basic and utilitarian household chores, it’s a necessary evil. Most clients that I work with never touch this space. Furnishing it as if it were lucifers closet, the laundry room truly gets the least amount of love and dollars. And rarely does it get any weekend DIY consideration. Poor thing. The good news is, when this space is fun and efficient it makes doing the wash less of a chore and more of an enjoyable space. Really!
I am always talking about energy and how our homes should uplift and rejuvenate us. If you leave your home in a flurry with dirty dishes, an unmade bed , toiletries all over the house and a pile of laundry everywhere, you hardly want to rush back home. My point? (Yes I do have one), when you leave your home in a frenzied mess, you come home to a frenzied mess. Same goes for the laundry room. When you enter that space with disgust and loathing, it hardly makes for a fun chore. Every time you enter that space you are already geared up for the worst! So how can you get out of the laundry room blues? Get out a can of paint, get rid of the clutter and get organized. Heres some great DIY tips to save your Laundry room from disgust and loathing, to pleasing and delightful! Heres my tips to get it organized and efficient:
1) Color coded laundry bins
Color coded laundry
Simplicity is key here. Use a light bin for white laundry, a black bin for darks, and a red bin for delicates. This example above by My Antique Barn is a perfect example. She took three antique flour bins and converted them into laundry room work horses; DIY magic!
My entire world is organized by color. Everyone in my office knows if they want me to participate in any admin responsibilities, they have to first speak my language. What most people don’t realize is that organization is a fairly simple practice to follow. Especially if initiated early on and everyone is programmed. But too often the Martha Stewarts of the world make it too difficult and way more arduaous than it needs to be. Keep it simple and simply organized and you’ll have great success.
2) Arrange your products accordingly
Cleaning supplies
laundry room cleaning products
We all know the term, “birds of a feather, flock together”. Keep this in mind when organizing your cleaning supplies. Keep detergents, softeners, stain treatments, household cleaners, what ever it is you like to use, keep them in close proximity of each other. Having detergent in one place and softener in another doesn’t make sense. Button up your efficiency and keep like-minded products together. Make your laundry room work for you.
I prefer open shelving for items I grab daily or weekly. Another great tip from Real Simple, line your items up according to how you use them. If aesthetics are a high priority, place the items in an area that is easy for you to use, won’t hinder your efficiency, and meets your visual needs. I used to transfer all my liquids to pretty bottles. But honestly, we all use these products, so if you have a few of them on a shelf it won’t be the end of the world. Plus I tend to make a lot of my own cleaning products so the bottles tend to be pretty basic.
3) Folding tables
Laundry room folding table
Every laundry room needs a place to fold. Probably the most arduous thing about laundry is the many steps it requires….folding being one of them (This is probably where the loathing and disgust come from). Once the laundry is complete, it has to be folded. Always create an area to fold your laundry with ease, and make sure the counter surface is at least 36″ high. If you have a family of four and your counter is below 36″, you will strain your back and wear yourself out. If you don’t have space for a folding table, keep an ironing board in a handy place. It can double as a surface and be neatly put away when not in use, like the one shown above.
Another great tip. If you have the room, devote a laundry basket to every member of the household. When their laundry is folded they can come get it, instead of you having to go to every room of the house to drop it off. Put labels on the baskets with their names on it. If you are a DIY connoisseur, you can make bins out of fabric to coordinate with your beautiful new laundry room.
4) Drying racks
Laundry drying area
Laundry bins
An area to hang up delicates is always preferable in a laundry room. I typically hang everything I own to preserve the life of the garment. The best thing is to choose something that works for you and your lifestyle. So whether you choose to have a garment rack or an area devoted for hanging several pieces, always include a portion of space for drying outside of the dryer. If you are limited on space but need a space to hang up your clothes (outside of the treadmill or strung all over the house, Urban clothes line has many options to choose from, whether you have 2 feet of space or 2″ of space. Another wonderful DIY option is to take an old ladder and hang it from the ceiling.
5) Seating
Large laundry room
If you are lucky enough to have the ample space, a seating area in a laundry room can be quite utilitarian. It is a great place to plop down to sew on buttons that need repair, fold in comfort, or a place to relax and read a book while the dryer finishes. It creates a more inviting environment, and makes the space more homey and less chore oriented.
What are some of your best tips for organizing your laundry room?
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Images: My antique barn, real simple, houzz, all doing,#mce_temp_url#, the inspired room,
About Amanda Gates
Definately envious of that last laundry room! Thanks for these fab tips! I was just trying to figure out how to utilize my space well!
Good grief, I have a post drafted to publish tomorrow dealing with laundry rooms, Amanda! Ha! I love these pictures and I’ll be dealing with a new laundry room soon. A little more open than the enclosed space we have now, although everything we’ve done in the present one works well for storage and we have fold-away pieces {countertop and clothes hanger}.
These are fabulous tips!
Wow I love the laundry room ideas…and the pictures of the different setups all gave me a cozy warm feeling. =) I live in an apartment again so I’m pretty limited on space but someday it’d be nice to have a laundry room like any of these =)
What gorgeous laundries – but the bakery bins has got me! What a clever transformation, and they look so beautiful, yet are incredibly practical.
Great tips! I love making my laundry room a clean inviting place…. if we have to spend so much time there, it should be beautiful!