Organizing Small Spaces – Lovely Organized Laundry Rooms
Filed under: Home Organization, Household Chores & Cleaning, Organizing Products & Reviews
So far in my weekly Organizing Small Spaces series I’ve addressed your home’s entry way and bathrooms. 
The third installment in the series is about organizing your laundry room.
Do you dread visiting your laundry room? Maybe you’d have more fun sorting your whites if the space was more organized! Here are a few tips for making it a pleasant and inviting atmosphere.
There’s no reason a laundry room has to be dark and dingy. Paint the walls a light, happy color. Make sure to use the maximum-allowed bulb wattage in your light fixtures. Add task lighting, as needed, some inexpensive, framed artwork to the walls, and a clock or timer.
If you need more storage space, add a couple of rows of shelving above the washer/dryer. Keep laundry necessities – such as detergent, stain removal pens, fabric softener, an iron, starch, and bleach – within easy reach so you can grab and go. Use baskets and boxes (labeled of course) to hold not-as-frequently used things such as clothespins, old rags, and your pile of missing-a-mate socks. If you prefer hidden storage, install some inexpensive cabinets on one wall (available at any home improvement store).
Drying racks are nice if you enjoy line-drying your clothes. There is even a variety of wall-mounted, fold-out options available that will save floor space.
To make laundry day easier for everyone, implement a laundry sorter/hamper and teach your family to place whites in a white basket or hamper and darks in a colored basket. Our laundry sorter has been a life-saver. I’ve taught my kids to use it religiously. If they don’t get their laundry in the sorter it doesn’t get washed. I recommend purchasing or constructing a laundry sorter
that is very sturdy – don’t try a cheap one. If you prefer that you kids have their own laundry basket, the collapsible kind is preferred – it takes up less room and can be flattened and slid under a bed or between furniture when empty. This type is great for dorm rooms and apartments too.
Do you battle the piles of unsorted socks in your home? To get dressed in the morning, do your kids have to go fishing in the abis of unsorted socks to find a matching pair. That used to be our story. But I found Loc-A-Soks. With Loc-A-Soks (also called Sock-a-Locs) you’ll never have to sort socks again, because a pair is matched before going into the laundry, and a pair stays matched together with Loc-A-Sok gripper through the entire laundry process. Kids love the bright colors and find it fun to stick their socks in the grippers.
If you dry clean frequently, add a separate basket for dry cleaning, preferably close to the door where you leave the house. Having the basket there will be a reminder as you are leaving the house.
Place clean, folded laundry in color-coded or labeled laundry baskets. Have family members retrieve their baskets from the laundry room, or deliver them to their rooms, so they can put away their own stuff. Remember … many 
hands make light work!
For more tips and ideas about getting kids to help with laundry and other household chores, learn about our household chore system, Mom, Can I Help Around the House.
Originally posted 2010-07-02 13:54:13. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Related posts:
