6 Ways to Better Organise your Laundry Room

Your laundry room is probably one of the smallest rooms of your house, but it plays a very important role. When it comes to laundry organisation though, there are a few challenges that need to be met to keep your laundry spinning and your chemicals out of harms way.

Want to better organise your laundry room? Here are six great ways to keep your laundry room organised and running smoothly.

Use Cabinets

As every parent knows, laundry detergents and other chemicals are poisonous, yet they always seem to be the bottles children reach for. Brightly coloured, these bottles and packets look like something fun to chew on, but they could result in a trip to the hospital.

Place cabinets above your washer and dryer and keep all your laundry products up there. The products will be far out of reach of children. If you don’t have the space above, you can install cabinets on the floor, but be sure to invest in a good lock to keep children out.

Bluffton, IN Laundry Room by Amy Gerber/Brown Eyes Plus Blue. Source: Houzz

Reduce Clutter with Shelves and Baskets

Laundry rooms often turn into magnets for clutter. Anything that doesn’t already have a home gets tossed onto the washer and dryer, and soon, you can barely see the top. Take care of this problem and laundry storage systems and shelving units with colourful baskets to brighten up the room.

Shelves are a great alternative to cabinets if you don’t quite have the space, and your baskets will help you keep the room organised. Label each basket so you and your family will know where to put their belongings. If the laundry room is near the most commonly-used door to outside, then have two baskets for your incoming and outgoing mail here. You’ll be more inclined to pick it up and send it out if you make it easy for yourself.

Install Shoe and Coat Racks

Whether or not your laundry room is part of an entryway, you can utilise the space in your laundry room to hold excess shoes and keep them out of walk ways. Shoe racks store the pairs of shoes that your family may not wear all that often. They’ll never be far when your family needs them, but your children also won’t be tripping on them when they walk in the door.

Laundry rooms are also great for holding seasonal gear, such as heavy winter coats. A coat rack or tall cabinet space will keep the coats in good condition while your family isn’t wearing them. When winter rolls around again, the coats will be ready to be cleaned and worn again.

Cheery laundry room by Jeff Johnson. Source: Houzz.

Use Hanging Bars for Drying

For the clothes that can’t go in the dryer or shouldn’t, a hanging bar above your washer and dryer or to the side will help you dry shirts, skirts and other clothing that shouldn’t go in the dryer. If you’re looking to reduce your energy bill, drying clothes the old-fashioned way can also keep energy costs lowered.

For better organisation, colour code the hangers you use for each person in the house. When it’s time to put away clothes, your kids can grab their coloured hangers and go.

Create a Hamper System

Dirty clothes hanging around a laundry room is not uncommon, but not exactly pleasant to look at either. To keep clothes from piling up, have a hamper system ready to go and make sure the rest of the house is following it.

You can either give each person their own hamper for dirty clothes and have them bring them all down on laundry day, or you can have each person bring down dirty clothes each day and toss them in designated hampers. Both ideas have their positives and their drawbacks, and it will really depend on how much space you have in your laundry room.

Traditional laundry room. Source: Houzz

Make Space for a Pet

If you have a cat, dog or other animal in the house, then you’ll need a space to keep its cleaning supplies and other necessities. Laundry rooms are great places to give your pet its own space and keep track of all the items you have for your pet, such as spare leashes and collars.

Section off a small corner of your laundry room for your pet and put their food and water dishes there. You also might want to put a litter box here, if you have a cat. If more space just isn’t available, hang a few hooks and designate one cabinet or basket to your pet. When you need dog shampoo or an extra leash, you’ll always know just where to find it.

So which of these great tips will you try first?