It’s where you wash, dry, fold, sort and iron clothes, among other things.
Designing a space that helps you perform these tasks as efficiently as possible is essential for those trying to streamline laundry tasks and make them more manageable.
That’s why we’ve put together a list of must-haves for the laundry room. These five additions are beneficial in any laundry room, large or small.
1. Hanging rod
A hanging rod allows you to dry individual clothes efficiently right in your laundry room. You can easily hang up clothes right from the washing machine, or hang freshly laundered shirts while folding the rest of the load.
2. Pullout drying rack
Like a hanging rod, a drying rack makes it easy for you to air-dry clothes without having to leave the room. No more having to drape wet sweaters and pants over furniture to dry. Lay out delicate clothing or sweaters for wrinkle-free drying.
3. Hidden laundry bins
Rather than keeping laundry bins in your room, install hampers in the laundry room. Tuck-away hampers allow you to sort dirty clothes by colour right away so that you don’t have to later. By having bins behind closed doors, you can prevent odours from stinking up your space.
4. Pullout ironing board
No more bending, wrestling and trying to maneuver around an oversized ironing board. The pullout feature means you can tuck away the ironing board when not in use and it’s handy to have right in the laundry room.
5. Clear containers
Clear jars and containers are great for storing cleaning supplies like laundry detergent. Clear containers tell you when you’re running low on product and make it easy for you to find what you’re looking for and add a designer touch to your laundry room.
Laundry doesn’t have to feel like a chore. For more ideas on designing an efficient laundry room, schedule a free in-home design consultation with us.
When people hear you say the word “laundry,” they often assume you’re referring to washing and drying clothes.
However, this step is only a part of the laundry cycle, which actually begins and ends in the closet.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
You select an outfit from your wardrobe to wear.
After changing, you place dirty clothes in the hamper.
When the laundry bin is full, you sort clothes and separate colours.
Dirty clothes are washed, dried and folded.
Clean laundry is put away.
The cycle seems simple, but you know full well that it doesn’t always go smoothly or quickly. Prevent laundry gridlock and make this process more efficient.
13 hours of free time
What if you could save 15 minutes every week from your laundry cycle? That adds up to 780 minutes a year or 13 hours of free time.
Small changes in your daily routine can lead to big savings in time. Try to reduce your time spent on laundry with these simple tips.
Place dirty clothes into three separate bins
If you separate colours at the very beginning of the cycle, you’ll be able to skip an entire step later on in the process.
Add built-in laundry hampers to your closet cabinetry
Built-in laundry hampers help you stay organized without taking up space. They are also a great way to conceal mess and odour.
Consider customized laundry closets and cabinetry
If you often misplace the dryer sheets or your laundry area always seems cluttered, custom laundry cabinetry is a great way to help you stay organized.
Organize your bedroom closets
Putting away laundry is the last step in the cycle and it’s a very important part of the overall process.
If your bedroom closet isn’t organized and you put clothes away in random places, you are wasting valuable time every morning when you get dressed for work.
A closet organizer makes it easier to know where everything belongs. You’ll speed up your morning routine and putting away laundry will be less of a chore.
Who says that household chores like laundry have to actually feel like a chore?
Here are seven ways your family can divide and conquer laundry duty each week and make it more manageable (and even fun) for everyone.
Skip laundry on the weekends
Do laundry during the weekdays and only do one load per night. By putting your laundry room to work on the weekdays, you can keep your weekends free for fun activities.
Tackling only one load each night will make the chore feel easier to accomplish.
Sort by colour
Use three laundry bins instead of one to keep darks, mid-tones, and whites separate (then you won’t have to separate one large pile of dirty clothes later).
Make sure everyone in your family is throwing their dirty clothes in the right bins. Then when one bin is full, you can start the machine.
Divvy up tasks
Divvy up tasks among family members. One person can be in charge of washing, another can switch clothes to the dryer, and you can have someone else solely in charge of folding clothes.
To make laundry less boring, rotate tasks each week or day.
Fold and store big items
Fold larger items that can be put away easily right away, like towels and blankets. If you have a large family, save socks in a smaller basket and only pair and fold them once a week.
Do this with the family so everyone can claim their socks and put them away independently.
Save energy
Be aware of the best times to do laundry efficiently. In most municipalities, the cheapest time to do laundry is on the weekends and evenings.
Keep the laundry room organized with custom cabinetry and helpful accessories (like a pullout ironing board) that make it more functional.
This will allow you to keep detergents, softeners, dryer sheets, hangers, baskets, and hampers all in one place. It can also help speed up the laundry process.
Have fun with laundry (yes, it’s possible!)
Look for opportunities to make laundry, dare we say it, actually fun. For example, you could use laundry as a way to bond with the kids or your partner by tackling the chore together.
To make folding more enjoyable, you can fold while watching your favourite TV show. There are many ways to make laundry time a more fun and manageable experience.
We’ve all done it. Balled up our dirty clothes into a tight ball and flung it under the bed. Nine year olds call it ‘tidying up’. But it’s not a practical long-term solution for dirty laundry. As adults, life is too complicated to avoid organizing and finding solutions to deal with your dirty laundry.
Laundry hampers save marriages
Laundry accumulates every time you change your clothes so put a laundry hamper in your bedroom closet. It’s so much better than using the floor. If your laundry machines are on the same floor get a hamper with wheels to save your back. If you have to lift laundry to get it to another floor, invest in a strong, but lightweight bin with handles.
Accessories that make laundry easier
Think of all the tasks you need to complete in a laundry room – sorting, washing, drying, folding, ironing, storing. Here are some ideas to make this work easier.
It may sound like a no-brainer but a secure counter top that extends over the surface of side-by-side machines will provide a smooth, snag-proof surface for sorting and folding. Better than the dining room table!
Keep your iron and ironing board in this room. It’s the finishing touches that matter and a well-ironed garment always feels right. Many new cabinetry options feature fold out ironing boards that only take up space when they’re being used then retract back into the cabinetry for easy storage.
If you have the ceiling height, hang a rod above eye level to conveniently hang clothes to air dry. This is especially handy if the rod is over the sink for damp or wet clothes.
Invest in quality laundry room cabinetry
Drawers, cupboards and open shelves are only a few of the options for custom work that can be installed in your laundry space. Newer choices include pull out drying racks, ironing boards and tilt out hamper drawers. Pull out shelving behind closed doors provides easy access to cleaning products you don’t need to have on display.
Smaller pieces that will work hard such as an adjustable laundry valet or retractable Butler’s Rack take up little space yet hold several pieces at once, when needed.
Make your laundry room multifunctional
Why just a laundry room? Contain all your cleaning activities in one space. With tiled walls and floors and good drainage you can turn your laundry room into a dog-washing center. Rover has muddy paws? Throw him in a deep sink, tub or shower with a hand-held sprayer faucet. Hopefully fluffy, freshly laundered towels will be close by to dry him off.
Too busy to leave the room? Add a TV, a treadmill, a radio or a craft table to the space so you can help pass the time while your laundry machines do all the work.
Decorate your laundry room
Hang a picture, paint the walls, put up a fancy backsplash but whatever you do make this a space where you want to spend time. Create your ideal laundry room. You want to hang a chandelier? Go for it. An outrageous patterned wallpaper? Why not? It’s probably just a small space so go to town.
Having an organized laundry room can be fun enough but put your personal stamp on this space and make it your own.
Need help with organization and storage in your laundry room?
Maybe your laundry room is unique and requires a custom storage solution. Organized Interiors has design consultants that can help you maximize the storage space in your laundry room. Contact us and find out how we can make your laundry room organized and efficient.
Where you do your laundry directly affects what you think of the task. Can we love doing laundry? Maybe.
Chances are better if we have an easily accessible, organized and visually appealing space to do the task. Today we have more choices than ever so here are the ups and downs of where to put a laundry room in your home.
The mudroom/laundry room combo
Remember the Brady Bunch laundry room? Probably not, but at the time, this main floor laundry room was considered a ground-breaking achievement in the suburban home, even though rural homes had already sported main floor mudrooms and washing facilities for over a century.
In the last 30 years, main floor mudroom/laundry room combinations have become the norm. Conveniently located off a side, back or garage door, the good news is this hard-working space is multi-functional. It can house outerwear, footwear, sports equipment, gardening, laundry, cleaning and kitchen supplies.
The bad news is for most families it’s their main entry into the house and can easily become a multi-purpose mess.
Take a look at it now, are your car keys and this week’s mail sitting on top of the laundry machines?
This transitional space, like a hallway, can be transformed into an organizer’s dream space, with custom-fitted cabinetry so everything has a place – including your keys.
There’s usually lots of storage space if you look up. While you’re looking, is there a space on your second floor to move the laundry room?
Second floor laundry rooms
With today’s busy schedules we’re all about saving time and steps so we’re now seeing laundry rooms near bedrooms, on the upper floors.
Builders and renovators are installing additional plumbing lines to create laundry facilities both in large bathrooms and in their own dedicated spaces to be close to where we need it most.
Tucked into large bathrooms or repurposed closets, the second floor laundry space is about convenience, but it can also be stylish and reflect surrounding design choices. Just because it’s a task-oriented space doesn’t mean it can’t look beautiful.
As long as there is a level concrete pad under the machines, proper drainage and ventilation and the machines aren’t overloaded they should function quietly and efficiently.
The most luxurious place for a laundry room
If you’re lucky enough to be able to devote an entire spare bedroom to laundry you’re way ahead of the curve in the design world. A whole large room solely devoted to laundry is the ultimate in luxury.
This space will beg for luxuriously expansive counter tops and full-sized closet cabinetry to house everything from ironing boards to clean sheets.
Behind the door condo laundry room
In-suite laundry is one of the main attractions for condo owners. No long distance lugging, you just open a closet door and there it is ready to go.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t have function and form. Properly configured, built-in cabinetry can make all the difference between ease and drudgery.
Pullout counters for folding clothes, sheets and towels and smaller scale Ironing boards that pop out of drawers are making most laundry wish lists these days. Slim spaces between machines can transform into slide out pantry drawers for soaps, detergents and dryer sheets.
No space is too small for organization.
Basement laundry rooms
For some, a basement laundry room is still the best choice. But you don’t have to settle for dingy, dark and dungeon-like. Sparkling, recessed overhead lighting and under cabinet LED strip lighting turn your room into a task-ready, yet modern space.
Don’t be afraid to splurge on high-end finishes for the cabinetry, countertops, backsplash and floors.
Every laundry room can benefit from a deep sink but go beyond the plastic big box store models, invest in stainless steel or retro porcelain sinks, the deeper, the better.
To make the ultimate style statement choose a faucet with a pull-down spout and multiple function spray head. It’s an inexpensive way to add high-style and function.
Finally, with a great range of colour choices in front-loading machines you can turn a dreary duty into a welcome activity.
Whether it’s a corner, windowless room or a large portion of your basement, planning how to best use the space and investing in it will keep it functioning well for a long time.
Where are you going to put your laundry room?
Now that you know the best places for a laundry room in a home, which location works best for you?
If you’re still not sure and want to know more, Organized Interiors has design consultants that will visit your home, look at the layout, and help you decide.