Everyone needs a laundry room, and you may be lucky enough to live in an apartment that has one.
But not all laundry rooms are created equal. In a small apartment, it gets tricky to store everything you need in a single space.
Plus, keeping things organized can feel next to impossible.
To prevent your laundry room from being in constant disarray, you need some practical storage solutions.
Here are seven laundry room organization tips to help you get started today:
1. Hang a Drying Rack From the Ceiling
Take advantage of the vertical space in your laundry room by hanging a drying rack from the ceiling.
It will give you a place to hang your clothes while they dry, and it looks pretty cool too!
If you have high ceilings, you might need a ladder to install it. And if you’ve never touched a power drill, you might want to ask a crafty friend to help you.
But once it’s installed, you’ll have somewhere to put your drying items so they don’t get wrinkled!
2. Keep a Small Trash Can Around
Laundry rooms have a way of attracting garbage. Gum wrappers, tissues, and other scraps of paper always seem to pile up on top of the washer and dryer.
So, it’s important to keep a small trash can around. That way, you’ll have a place to throw things away.
Lint, for example, should always go directly in the trash. When left in your dryer, lint buildup can actually be a fire hazard.
Make a habit out of cleaning your dryer regularly. If you have a trash can, you won’t have an excuse not to clean it out.
3. Mount an Ironing Board on the Wall
Since your washer and dryer take up most of the laundry room, you should take advantage of the space on the wall.
An ironing board is a great thing to mount to the wall next to your washer. Whenever you need to iron something, you can just fold down your board!
If it’s stashed away in your bedroom closet, then ironing will be difficult. You’ll have to dig through shoes and jackets just to get to your ironing board!
Keep your board in the laundry room so that retrieving it won’t be such a pain.
4. Assign a Home to Every Item
Every item in your laundry room should have a home. It should go back to this spot whenever you’re done using it.
For example, laundry detergent and dryer sheets can go on one shelf. Random socks and t-shirts that you still need to fold can go on another. Keep track of where everything goes so you know where to find it when you need it.
And remember, you can store more than just laundry supplies in this room.
For instance, it’s common for people to store their mop bucket and vacuum in their laundry area.
If there’s room, you might even be able to keep winter jackets or extra clothes in there. But, you should only do this if your laundry room is big enough. Otherwise, it can easily become a room filled with junk!
5. Hide Things With Curtains
If your laundry room doesn’t have a door, consider adding a curtain.
If guests walk by, are they going to see everything in your laundry room?
Even if your room is organized, it’s still nice to hide the interior from the public. Curtains are great for this purpose.
They can also open up space for extra items. If you have a basket that doesn’t fit entirely in the room, a curtain will allow it to protrude into the hallway a bit. A door, on the other hand, would just cram the basket back in!
6. Get a Multi-Purpose Laundry Room Island
Have you ever heard of a multi-purpose laundry room island? Yes, it’s a mouthful, but it’s a fantastic invention!
A multi-purpose laundry room island has storage cabinets, a fold-out table, and an ironing board. Wow! Talk out a perfect way to multi-task while doing laundry!
If there’s not enough room to store it in your laundry room, put your island in the hallway or another room nearby. By adding this to your apartment, you’ll be able to get your laundry done lickety-split!
7. Add a Narrow Cabinet
Even in a small laundry room, you may still have a few feet to spare.
If you find that you have some extra space, consider adding a narrow cabinet. This will give you additional space to store more cleaning supplies and laundry items.
You can even use it to house extra linens like towels or blankets for your guest bedroom.
Before you buy a cabinet, make sure that it will actually fit in your laundry room. You’ll need to measure the space, so have a tape measure ready.
You’re going to love the extra storage space it provides. Use it to hide items that would look untidy on a shelf or in another room.
In Conclusion
Let’s face it:
Most people despise doing laundry. But with a neat and tidy laundry area, it is a lot easier.
Just make sure that once you clean and organize your laundry room, you strive to keep it that way. Your laundry routine should involve returning things to their homes after you’ve used them.
Author bio:
Caitlin Sinclair is the Property Manager for Summit at San Marcos. With five years of experience in property management and many more in customer service, she enjoys making Summit at San Marcos a great place to call home.
