Most people don’t like doing laundry. It is probably one of the most disliked chores, which is exactly why it is necessary to have a streamlined process and organized space for doing laundry.
Through organization and an easy process, you can finish this boring chore as soon as possible with as little hassle as possible.
However, this might be a bit challenging if you work with limited space.
This isn’t to say it can’t be done or a small laundry room can’t be as efficient as a large room. Having a small laundry room only means that you will just have to find some workarounds and creative storage solutions.
It will take some planning ahead and strategizing to zero in on the perfect laundry room design that works for you.
Here is how to organize a small laundry room, which steps to take, and some tips and tricks to make the space work for you.
Steps To Organize Your Small Laundry Room
1. Plan ahead
Make sure to customize your laundry room to your needs and habits. Keep in mind that a small laundry room might need more organization and planning than a larger one. You will have to come up with intelligent and creative space-saving solutions to make your laundry room as efficient as possible.
You need to think about and analyze your needs and wants for your laundry room. Pay attention to what you use the most and how often you use it. You will need to keep the things you use the most as reachable as possible. Furthermore, what tools do you need and use the most, such as iron, steamer, or hangers?
To utilize the room to its full potential, assess the best way to use every inch of the room. Don’t forget to designate space for the necessary laundry steps, such as a folding station or laundry baskets.
2. Design
Now that you have planned and possibly made a list of everything you need, it is time to design the space. The aim is to make this often disliked chore as stress-free and hassle-free as possible. The following steps will heavily depend on how much space you have.
Consider the shape of the room and start with fitting the larger items, such as the washing machine. Think of it like a game of Tetris or a jigsaw puzzle. You have certain pieces, and you must figure out how to make them fit within the room’s frame.
You can stack the washer and dryer on top of each other to have more cabinets or place them next to each other on the floor to maximize the countertop area. You can have upper cabinets and laundry room storage or use that space for a hanging rod.
After designing the layout of the larger items like the cabinets, sink, and electronics, you can place the smaller things around them accordingly, such as hampers and cleaning supplies.
3. Declutter
If you have a small laundry room, don’t waste your already limited space on stuff you don’t need or use. Get rid of all of the clutter that is taking up the space you could otherwise cherish.
Take everything out of the cabinets and go through them one by one. Be strict with yourself and get rid of the stuff you don’t like or use.
This might seem intimidating, but you don’t have to do it all at once. You can go through one cabinet or basket at a time. This way, taking time out of your busy day will be much easier.
After all, you might not have hours to dedicate to decluttering the laundry room, but spending 10 minutes a day on it is much more doable.
Decluttering before reorganizing is a must. It will also make the organization process of your newly designed laundry room easier. You won’t have to make space for things you don’t use, and the unnecessary stuff won’t get in the way of the things you need and use.
4. Categorize
After decluttering, you should only have the items you need and use. Now is the time to categorize them into clear and specific categories. This way, you can organize your space more efficiently. Moreover, thorough categorization it is easier and more sustainable to keep up with the organization.
After all, you don’t want the room to be organized only for the first couple of days and be a mess later.
You can categorize all of the laundry items like dryer balls and stain removers into baskets and keep them in a very reachable place to make the laundry day easier. Small laundry room organization ideas like using baskets and bins to collect supplies might seem insignificant, but it helps keep everything in one place.
Otherwise, stuff accumulates all over without you even realizing it.
You can store ironing boards, irons, steamers, drying racks, and hangers in one place, as they aren’t necessary until the washing is done. Therefore, they don’t need to be front and center.
You can also use your laundry room to store extra linens, pillowcases, towels, and blankets if there is enough space. You might want to keep such items in an area of the laundry room that is easy to find for everyone, as they might need these supplies too.
The laundry room can serve to store all of the remaining cleaning supplies of the house too. Mops, all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, and more. Storing such items in laundry room cabinets will make the space more organized. Don’t forget to store such supplies in places beyond the reach of children and pets.
5. Designate areas
When going through the motions of laundry washing, you will find it inefficient to go to or reach different places as it slows you down. Instead, having specific areas designated for the different steps of the laundry process will help you move faster.
For example, if you have two hampers for lights and darks, and they are in different corners of the laundry room while separating the dirty laundry, you will have to back and forth between the two, which doesn’t make much sense.
Having both of them together instead, ideally close to the washing machine so that you can throw them in the machine easily, is the best course of operation. Afterward, having the laundry detergent next to the washer and the dryer sheets next to the dryer will make things progress smoother.
You can think of it like an assembly line; certain steps need to happen after the clothing item is thrown into the laundry basket and before it can be put back into the wardrobe, ready to be worn.
It is best to keep all of the necessary supplies for these steps close and next to each other so that you can easily go through the motions without stressing about it.
Some of the areas we think are necessary:
Allocate a folding area: Having a separate area for folding clothes might initially seem unnecessary. However, after spending so much time sorting, washing, and ironing clothes, you don’t want your hard work to go to waste.
Therefore, having a counter to put all the clothes while folding them safely is an excellent course of action. This prevents the clean clothes from mixing with the dirty ones or getting wrinkles again.
It doesn’t have to be too big; a small narrow table is enough. You can even use one that folds up to the wall so that it doesn’t take up space when it isn’t in use.
Keep cleaning supplies close: Have a specific area where all of the cleaning supplies go so that you don’t have to go hunting for a stain remover every time you spill something on your shirt.
You can categorize them into baskets and have the things you use the most, like regular detergent and softener, close to the washer and dryer. You can store all of the things that get less frequent use in one basket and put it in one of the cabinets.
Labeling it might make it easier to find what you are looking for when you need them
Separated space for dirty clothes: For this step, you either want to have a countertop or any other available space to sort through the clothes and separate them into loads.
You can invest in small laundry baskets with dividers to make this easier. Three dividers can be great for starting: lights, darks, and sensitives. If you don’t have sensitive clothing, you can use the third one for colorful clothing.
The most important part is to adjust the separation to your needs and use it the way that will be the most helpful to you.
Hanging area: Some clothes aren’t suitable to dry in the dryer. Delicate and sensitive clothing can be harmed or stretched if thrown in the dryer.
Thus, a space to hang the clothes so they can naturally air dry is necessary. You can install a rod to hang clothes under the upper cabinets if you have the space, or if you have a laundry room sink, you can install one on top of it.
If you have the space for neither of those options, you can install pull-out drying racks inside the bottom cabinets.
Alternatively, you can have a free-standing drying rack so that you can easily move it depending on the current situation of the room. Investing in foldable drying or hanging racks will inevitably come in handy. You can use hanging racks for steaming or hanging the clothes after they come out of the dryer.
Wall Storage: The last tip you must not forget is to use the wall space. You might have a tiny laundry room, but that doesn’t make the floor the only space you can use. Invest in some functional wall storage.
You can hang tall shelves to store all of the supplies or install rods to hang baskets from. Take advantage of wall clips to dry small and delicate garments, or stack the washer and dryer on top of each other. Don’t forget that the laundry room walls can also be molded and shaped to your needs.
Conclusion
In short, having a small laundry room doesn’t have to mean that the room has to be stacked with dirty clothes and is inefficient. You just have to try a tiny bit harder to overcome the limitations of the room.
Don’t forget; your laundry room should work for you, not the other way around.
