The laundry room is a thankless space in a house that many take for granted, but if a machine breaks or worst yet doesn’t exist believe me you’ll surely notice just how functional and convenient a laundry room can be. So, how do you make room in your home for a luxury like this tight on square footage?
It’s important to first consider a home’s layout and a family’s laundry habits to determine how much room is actually needed. In our home, there is only laundry for two and most of our clothes are dry clean only, but nonetheless, it was important to have a washer and dryer to easily complete this chore– especially, since we don’t have much room to pile our clothes up for the week and take it to the laundromat.
If you’re like me competing with a small space, I recommend repurposing a closet or an area in a room to stack a washer and dryer vertically to save square footage. When we originally bought our house the washer and dryer sat side-by-side in a large closet in the kitchen, but after Superstorm Sandy flooded our home, we remodeled the area to fit a bigger refrigerator, cabinets and house energy-efficient appliances.
The laundry room in my home.
Now, the cabinets above the fridge holds our laundry soap and other accessories, while we keep our dirty clothes upstairs in a laundry bin that we quickly bring down once it’s full. This is our solution on our home, but I was inspired to create this post after Tara O. shared her laundry project once taking our 30 day home challenge. She has a large room that serves multiple functions including: laundry, pantry and storage.
While much of her project involved cleaning, decluttering and organizing the space. I gave her some recommendations on unifying the space:
A laundry and storage area is considered a secondary room when staging a home and isn’t necessarily top priority when preparing a home for sale, however, with that said if you’re looking to instantly makeover the space improving storage and dressing up essentials will give your laundry room a fresh look. Here are five tips to consider when updating the laundry facilities:
Use Wall Space
Add versatile storage by placing shelves on the walls, it’s a useful addition to any laundry room. Choose one with a built-in drying rack to solve two common problems in a laundry room, not enough space and no where to dry delicate clothes.
Write On It
Use chalkboard paint on the focal wall or even on the door to keep a schedule, to-do list, inspiration or motivational quotes to keep your spirits up doing this repetitive chore.
Contain Your Stuff
Use a combination of storage solutions to keep items contained. Invest in clear containers to display items like laundry soap, clothes pins and dryer sachets on the shelves. Plus, get bins and baskets to store items not pretty enough to show off make sure to get more than one to repeat the item a few times in the room to make it look cohesive.
Hidden Storage
Space behind the door is always wasted, so hang clothes, ironing board, broom or other utility items to give you more space to not only move around, but to keep countertop space clear for folding.
Elevated Baskets
Look for laundry baskets with legs — does it have wheels? Even better. This helps easily cart clothes around the room, saves time not to mention your back because you won’t have to bend down a lot emptying and sorting laundry.
Board Order
This multi-functional island provides storage and an ironing board on top, which easily folds down when not in use. This is not only a space saver, but makes ironing easier and more convenient to quickly get out those wrinkles.
Plush Rug
Add a throw rug that’s got some cushion to it! This creates a luxurious environment in a laundry room and allows your feet to take a break while standing up completing this chore.
Keep It Clean
A cluttered room makes it difficult to do the laundry — it can easily become a time-consuming and frustrating job, which can spin out of control and deter you from actually completing the work. So, while you’ve got a load in the wash wipe down surfaces, restock items and keep the floor and countertop surfaces clear.
Remember make a laundry room functional, inspirational and smelling fresh with a simple scent to keep you coming back to stay on top of the constant laundry cycle. What does your laundry room look like? You can post a picture over on our Facebook Fan Page and leave a comment below sharing with us your laundry routine and how you stay motivated!
Happy Cleaning,
