Laundry Organization Archives

Laundry Room Organization Ideas

October 13, 2015 · by Maria · 2 Comments

Let’s talk laundry rooms — organized laundry rooms that make you want to gather everyone’s basket and get to work. You know I tend to exaggerate but seriously, these laundry rooms that I am about to share with you are awesome!

I recently shared my laundry closet post with my Hometalk community and they asked me if I would be willing to gather some of my favorite laundry rooms, belonging to fellow bloggers. I would never say no to someone asking me to look at pretty things so I was happy to put together a board of some of my favorite laundry room ideas.

If you missed my post about my laundry room, you can read it here.

It’s a tiny space but there is function and practicality in every corner.

And check out this amazing laundry room from Rambling Renovators! That glass tile…swoon! It is an amazing before and after transformation so you may want to check it out.

To see the rest of the laundry rooms that I chose (17 in total) click on my Hometalk board , that I have put together just for you.

Also, if you are not already familiar with Hometalk, they are an online community of people that share ideas about home improvement, gardening and DIY projects. I love that I can clip (kind of like pinning) pictures onto boards and later reference my favorite projects. That is exactly what I did with the board that I am sharing with you today.

Enjoy, my fellow organization-obssessd friends! (Because I have no laundry-obsessed friends)

xo,

Maria

Tips for Organizing Laundry Closets

February 23, 2015 · by Maria · 49 Comments

A few days ago we organized the laundry room and I wanted to share some of my favorite tips for organizing laundry closets for those of you (like me) that have a smaller area to work with.

Use vertical space for storage by adding shelves.

When we purchased our home, the laundry closet had one shelf above the washer and dryer. We added an additional two shelves to maximize the storage right up to the ceiling. This made a huge difference and using wire racks was an economical way to make the space more useful.

Use the side walls for extra storage.

I added a few small shelves and two-tiered baskets to hold more products and for little decorative touches. I added these metal adhesive labels just for decoration.

Add a clothesline to dry small items.

I added this retractable clothesline to dry tank tops and some other pieces that tend to shrink in the dryer.

In the corner, you can also see that I hang my cleaning gloves from a hook and a clip. They dry faster and they are out of the way.

Add a drying bar.

The clothesline that I added doesn’t hold larger pieces of clothing and I have literally used every corner of this little green closet. I added a shelf with hooks on the adjacent wall to hold shirts that are meant to hang-dry.

The hooks are from the Young House Love line. They have the cutest hooks and shelves.

Add a mini trash can.

I found this small trash can at Target and it is perfect to throw away dryer lint or little wrappers that I find in the boys pants before washing.

Add storage for loose change.

These little buckets from the Target dollar section, hang from a hook and they hold change, buttons and clothespins.

Keep extra hangers in closet.

Rid your master closet from all the extra hangers and bring them into your laundry room. I keep kid and adult hangers in the laundry closet to make putting away laundry easier and also for drying damp items in the drying hook as soon as I take them out of the dryer.

Decorate your laundry closet.

A small space like a closet, is a great space to try a wall color that you love but don’t want to commit to putting in a main living area. If you change your mind about the color, it is quick and inexpensive to change in the future. Add matching baskets that are functional to give your space a cohesive and bright feel. Although my baskets are not all the same, they are all white and they brighten up a space that is otherwise in a pretty dark corner.

For more tips on organizing the laundry room, check out these posts:

Laundry Room Before and After

Organized Home Week 7 – The Laundry Room

February 21, 2015 · by Maria · 13 Comments

Whether you have a laundry room or closet, it’s usually a space that serves more than one purpose. In my case, my laundry closet also holds the cleaning supplies for the entire house. And as you will see, I have a lot of cleaning supplies. I am always trying new products and comparing them so that I can later share them with all of you. Although I do have my favorites, I like switching them up from time to time and I enjoy the different scents and packaging.

In a few days, I will share how I maximize the space in my laundry closet but for now, I want to share general tips for getting any laundry area in good shape.

So let’s get ready to PURGE, CONTAINERIZE and of course, DECORATE!

Clear out the laundry room and separate like-items.

The laundry room can easily become a catchall space for the whole family, similar to a mudroom. Start by clearing out the space and separating the items into sections. If you have a few empty laundry bins, they are perfect for containing the contents of the space while you decide what to keep and what needs to go into another room. Sometimes it’s best to start with a blank slate so that you can better imagine the best placement for the items that you are keeping.

Designate the space for your needs.

Keep the products that you use most at eye-level. I keep my detergents and oxy powder cleaners right on the washer, inside of a metal tray. Adding a tray will not only make the items look neater, it is also keeps the residue from the bottles from getting all over the washing machine.

Containerize your cleaning supplies.

If you keep your cleaning supplies in the laundry room, designate plastic bins to keep them contained. I like plastic bins because they keep items from toppling over if you have wire shelves, like mine and they are easy to clean from spills. I use these open-top bins from Target and they each hold products for different cleaning tasks. I added a stick-on label that you can find here and they are both functional and decorative.

Create an ironing station.

Since I have a laundry closet with bi-fold doors, I don’t have the space for an ironing station in the laundry area. I keep this over-the-door organizer in another bedroom which is where I iron. If you have the space, you can use this set-up behind a cabinet door or create a station right on the wall. I like the organizer below because it stores the products together with the iron and the board.

Decorate your space.

Keep the laundry room looking crisp and clean and it will make laundry ~~so much fun~~ bearable. Use a comfortable, pretty rug in front of your washer and dryer, hang some laundry related art on the wall and add a faux plant for some color.

I would love to hear from you some feedback about this organizing series. What rooms have you tackled? What’s next on your list?

Also in this series:

Week 1 – Organizing the Refrigerator

Week 2 – Organizing Kitchen Cabinets

Week 3- Organizing the Pantry

Week 4- The Master Bedroom

Week 5- Organizing the Entryway

Week 6 – Organizing Kid’s Bedrooms

Client Project – Laundry Room Organization

November 21, 2014 · by Maria · 8 Comments

It has been a while since I have done a good ol’ before-and-after post. They are my favorite posts on other blogs and if they are about laundry rooms, all the better. Last year I shared with you my laundry room, to which I have made some changes and I will be sharing soon. Today I am sharing a client project and I hope you like it!

I started to work on this home a few months ago, one room at a time. The home was not disorganized but my client wanted the organization to go to another level. She was pretty sure where things were located, but systems had to be created and labeled and lots of purging had to happen.

When we started with the laundry room, it looked like this.

Here is another view – nothing horrible but it had a lot of potential.

Start with a clean slate.

The first thing we did was remove everything from the shelves.

Keep a donate basket and a trash bin nearby.

Immediately we spotted items that were either expired or my client knew she would never use. If the items were in good condition they went into a bin for donations. Many items went into the trash. You will immediately feel you are making progress by removing these items and you will start to feel “lighter”.

Purchase bins or baskets to contain the items that are staying or find unused bins around the house.

If you can find containers that are the same color, it will help the overall look to be more organized and cohesive. I purchased some plastic baskets to contain the items that were going to stay. I found these at Target. I like baskets with no lids for the laundry area because you are less likely to put back items inside a lidded bin, especially frequently used items.

We knew the luggage had to stay. It is a great idea to store smaller luggage inside the larger one and reduce the amount of space that they take up. One basket was designated for batteries and lightbulbs, the other for laundry products, the other for travel toiletries and the last one was miscellaneous. I will be honest, my least favorite label is “Miscellaneous” because it can turn into a catchall, but sometimes it is necessary if you have a few items that cannot take up a whole basket.

There was enough room to add the laundry basket to the top rack so it wouldn’t have to be on the floor. My client was going to add the labels after I took the pictures so you will notice they are missing.

Add decorative touches to your laundry room.

Yes, laundry rooms are there to serve a purpose, but adding a few decorations will make doing laundry so much fun! Just kidding, that won’t happen. But it will make it a happier spot if you add a cute little plant, or a clock or a laundry printable to your laundry area.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I will share more about this home next week.

Happy Organizing!

Maria

Laundry Room Organization

July 23, 2013 · by Maria · 37 Comments

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