Doing laundry is not everyone’s favorite chore but a well-organized laundry room could make it more enjoyable. By adding the right storage solutions to maximize the space, you can make your laundry room a highly functional and pleasant place to work.
Here are some storage ideas to help streamline your laundry tasks.
- Use the Gaps
If you have a large enough gap beside your washer and dryer, add a tall narrow shelf case or shoe cabinet to give you shelving for your laundry essentials.
You could also attach adhesive or magnetic hooks to one of the sides. Use the hooks to hang baskets or a magnetic rack for holding laundry soap and other items that you often reach for.
Between the appliances is a good place to store a slim rolling cart for holding necessary laundry supplies. Make sure to measure the gap and buy a cart two inches narrower so there’s enough space to roll it in and out. Also measure the height and depth of the appliances so you don’t get a cart too tall or long for the space. A rolling cart can also go beside the machines if there’s room.
- Create a Shelf for Folding
Even in a small laundry room with no space for a table, if you have a side-by-side front-loading washer and dryer, you could install a countertop on your machines to create a folding surface. As a bonus, the countertop could prevent socks from falling down behind the appliances.
Other methods of creating a folding shelf or table include:
- Installing a pull-out folding shelf inside a cabinet or shelving unit.
- Attaching a drop-down folding table to a wall.
- Purchasing a rolling cart with two hampers and a folding shelf on top.
- Foldable Drying Racks
Wall-mounted foldable drying racks can be used for delicates and other items that need to air dry. When not in use, they conveniently fold out of the way. If you have limited wall space, there’s an accordion-style drying rack that’s more compact.
- Hidden Built-In Ironing Board
Build a cabinet that hides your ironing board and opens to fold the board down when needed. Include shelves for storing the iron and other laundry items, and an outlet for plugging the iron in.
- More Ironing Board Storage
Hang your ironing board from wall-mounted robe hooks. It’s simple, affordable, stylish, and keeps your ironing board out of the way until you want to iron. Make sure you mount the hooks at a distance that allows you to hang the foot of your ironing board evenly between them.
If you have a door to your laundry room, there’s also an over-the-door ironing board holder for storage. It’s ready to use as soon as you put it over the door, and it doesn’t interfere with the door closing. A smaller tabletop ironing board is handy for touch-ups and smaller items. It folds up and hangs on its own over-the-door-hook.
- Hampers
Some people prefer to keep their hampers in the laundry room. There is a variety of styles and sizes to choose from. One handy style has wheels, with a size range of one to four bags. Its mobility makes it easy to store in a corner, then wheel over to the washer for loading.
Another type of hamper is a canvas bag, which you can hang on a wall-mounted hook. You can hang a number of them together to hold your whites, colors, and darks for easy sorting. When it’s time to do laundry they’re readily accessible — just take them down and carry them to the washer.
- Open Shelves
If you have the wall space, put up open shelves, and use them to store such things as detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, and clothes pins. Attractive glass jars, canisters, and wire baskets are aesthetically pleasing and also make it easy to spot when you’re running low on these items.
- Built-In Cabinet Alternatives
In a small laundry room, there may not be room for built-in cabinets. However, you may have room to bring in a bookshelf where you can store bottles, large jars, and baskets full of laundry necessities.
Another storage alternative is a small dresser, which would also provide a countertop for folding. A rolling storage cart could hold quite a few essentials as well, and you could tuck it into a space when not being used.
- Clothes-Hanging Solutions
Hanging clothes right out of the dryer helps reduce wrinkling and the need to iron. Even for those garments that do need ironing, it’s convenient to have a place nearby to hang them.
There are a number of clothes-hanging solutions available. If wall space is limited, you can suspend a rail from the ceiling. A rail is also a useful spot to store your hangers until the next load from the dryer.
Retractable clothes lines are versatile for both wet clothes that need air drying, and for hanging clothes that are already dry. You can retract the lines when no longer in use for an uncluttered look to your laundry room.
A popular project for do-it-yourselfers is to repurpose a ladder as a hanging clothes rack. Measure and cut a metal or wooden ladder to size and suspend it from the ceiling. As with other hanging solutions, it can be used for both air drying and for hanging clothes straight from the dryer.
- Missing Socks
Socks have perfected a magic trick where they disappear when doing laundry and then just as mysteriously reappear. You can keep track of these single socks easily by using magnetic clips to display them on a magnetic board or on the side of the washer or dryer. When their mate shows up, reunite them and put the pair back in circulation.
Another solution is to keep the single socks in a basket that hangs on a wall or sits on an open shelf.
For the very best in repair and maintenance of your washer and dryer and other major appliances, call the experts at C&W Appliance Service at (855) 358-1496 or submit our online service request form for prompt, reliable service.
