Storage Solutions for Your Laundry Room

The laundry room is often a houses most dismal space. It’s often in the basement surrounded by open wires and pipes. The walls are gray and unfinished. Or it’s in a windowless closet on an upper level. The result, of course when a room is as depressing as most laundry rooms is that no attention or time, is spent on the space. Oh sure maybe a wire shelf is hung on the wall so the laundry detergent and supplies have a space but that’s usually about as far as laundry room organization goes.

Unfortunately when a laundry room is a dismal and disorganized mess no one wants to spend any time in there. Laundry ends up pouring out of the room. You’ll find clean baskets of clothes unfolded and sitting in rooms for days, weeks even. The clean gets mixed with the dirty and the end result is laundry chaos. However, when a laundry room is organized and mildly pleasant to be in, laundry gets done, folded and put away happily.

The essentials of a laundry room:

A laundry room has a few essentials. They include laundry detergent. Dirty clothes hampers, drying racks, a folding surface and an ironing board and iron. You’ll also want baskets to store and deliver the clean clothes.

Some laundry rooms have ample space and adding these essential items can be as simple as going to the store to get them. However, most people have smaller laundry spaces. In this case a little creative brainstorming is useful.

Colorful painted shelving can be added to store laundry supplies. Consider using a small storage bin to keep the laundry detergent, dryer sheets and stain removal items organized. A narrow cupboard can be added to house the drying rack, ironing board and iron. And the surface of the dryer can be covered to provide a surface for folding clothes.

Instead of buying a tall freestanding hamper consider purchasing one that is housed in a cupboard. Then you have extra storage space and a place for your dirty clothes. And don’t forget the trash can for lint removal and all the fun junk found in pockets. You can find these cupboards and smaller storage areas by shopping in the cabinet area of your local home store. Consider also looking at the kitchen cabinets. Often the floor cabinets are small and just the right size for a small laundry room.

The fun extras

Making a laundry room welcoming is as simple as painting the walls a bright welcoming Color. Finally, so that people will want to stick around to iron, fold and sort clothing consider adding an element of entertainment. Add a wall mounted television, iPod speakers or other media element to entertain while chores are being done.

The laundry room doesn’t have to be a dismal, depressing and cluttered space. Find simple storage solutions using bright shelving, storage containers and simple cabinetry found at your local home store. Add a splash of color with paint, incorporate media and watch the laundry chores turn into a pleasant pastime.