I love looking at organized laundry rooms in magazines and commercials. I’m not sure if it’s the fresh white towels, the clean scented sheets, or the little girl running through the wheat field with her hair flowing. In those adds, all that is stored in the laundry room is a lonely bottle of detergent and two perfectly folded white towels. As organized as I am, I can never get my laundry closet to look that neat and if that little girl saw all the stuff I pack in my closet…she would surely keep running…in the opposite direction.
My excuse: I don’t have a laundry room, I have a laundry closet. My goal is to make it look good so that doing laundry doesn’t feel like such a chore, but the closet is definitely packed! I have so many things in there and it can be a challenge to make it look uber neat. So here is my laundry closet…
Here it is open. The other door leads to the garage.
Since its a closet in a small hallway, I had to take pictures in segments so that I can share with you what I keep in there. Here is one side.
And the other.
Now a little more detail…
I like to leave some room on top of the washer and dryer to fold items right as they come out of the dryer. On top of the dryer I have stain removal powder, a Martha Stewart book that shows you how to clean anything and everything, a white tin that contains towels, and a little IKEA plant for no purpose other than cuteness. 🙂
I purchased the little mint jar from WorldMarket.com and it holds oxy powder. I use a “green” version of the powder. The jar is intended for kitchen use but I love how it looks in here and it adds charm to the space. I added the chalkboard label to the outside and wrote the contents in chalk.
Next to it is the LAUNDRY tin, which actually hides all those ugly looking floor rags that we all have. They seem to get uglier with every wash so I wanted them hidden, yet easily accessible since they get used daily.
Right above is a small shelf that holds my detergent and fabric softener. Shaklee and Method products are my favorite since my goal is to slowly-but-surely go green in terms of nutrition and home care.
In the first shelf I have these containers that I purchased at Walmart and they hold all the cleaning rags. Again, I want them handy but hidden.
Next to the small bins, I have all my cleaning products separated by brand or function. I like that these bins are long and I can just pull them out and easily get what is in the very back.
On the other side of the laundry room I have two large wire baskets (from Target). One holds miscellaneous laundry related products…
The other one holds cleaning products. TIP: Since the second basket is not at eye-level, I decided to label the spray nozzles with the contents of the bottle. That way I know what bottle I am pulling out. Since I always purchase the same brand of cleaners I can just keep using the same labeled nozzle.
I hooked this little basket to the back of the wire rack and I keep all my new sponges in there. I really don’t have a place for them in the kitchen and my laundry closet is close to the kitchen, so it works for me.
In the very side, up against the wall (where it’s hardly visible because it is below the washing machine) I have a tiny garbage can where I throw all the dryer lint. Above it I have a little pail that I throw pocket change into. I also have a hook that holds a basket full of “clean-and-single-and-looking-for-a-mate” socks.
At the very top I have three large laundry baskets. The area above is large but not easy to access so these baskets hold: gallons of water for hurricane preparedness, empty containers that I have for future projects (blame Pinterest), and one of them is empty just in case I need it for something around the house.
I use foldable laundry baskets and I just place them in between the washer and dryer. The machines are so close together that the baskets stay in place.
I promise I am almost done but I have one more tip! I place a valet hook on the outside of the door. I use it to hang-dry items or to hang shirts while I fold the rest of the laundry so that they don’t wrinkle. I like this hook because it is long enough to keep moisture away from the door if I hang dry a shirt.
I purchased it on Amazon and you can find it “here”.
That’s it! Lots of items in a very small space can make it challenging to keep tidy, but its not impossible with the use of containers. Of course, its not the laundry room in the commercials but this is real life and we need to be realistic with our expectations. However, by mixing practicality and a dash of decor and you will create a laundry closet that you are proud of. And now the little girl can run through the wheat field once more!
So now its your turn. Will you be implementing some of these ideas in your laundry room or can you share with me some of your own?
Happy Organizing!
Maria