Optimize the Best Laundry Space that Works for You
Amazingly, something as mundane as doing laundry can stir up emotions. Some despise it, others find it soothing, and most just tolerate it.
Those who enjoy it cite the satisfying feel of clean, organized clothes or the soothing nature of the repetitive action of folding and even ironing. On the flip side, many find laundry tedious as it takes forever, and in most instances, we neglect our laundry room space.
When you think of your laundry room, several things may come to mind – and I’ll go out on a limb and say many aren’t positive. Perhaps it’s the piles of clothes needing washing, the bottles and bags of detergent and cleaning products strewn about, or the odds and ends that don’t belong there. When you think about it, laundry rooms are an entire area solely dedicated to a chore, and that’s no fun!
My Laundry Room
Recently, while doing laundry, I realized that it was the most depressing space in my home. To set the scene, I’ll tell you that my washer & dryer are in an unfinished basement and share the space with the furnace and water tank. It’s also a passthrough room to an unheated garage and a holding spot for miscellaneous items.
For years, I put up with the space simply because it was a multi-use basement, and fixing up other rooms in the house always took priority. However, one day, we purchased a new desk for my daughter, and since there’s a lot of my grandmother in me, I try to repurpose items before discarding them. I put the old desk in the laundry room to provide a surface for folding and sorting, and the few drawers came in handy for smaller supplies.
With this upgrade, I looked around to see how else I could improve the space. I cleaned out the room and moved some other pieces around to a configuration that worked best for me.
Many of the items in the space were things from around our home that I didn’t want to get rid of but didn’t know what to do with. One of the items I came across was a crystal bowl gifted long ago. Over the years, it lived in different rooms, starting with the dining room, then displayed on a shelf in the living room, and it finally made its way into the laundry room to deal with later. I love this bowl, so I tried to justify keeping it. Then it hit me. As I looked around the room, my eyes rested on the bag of laundry detergent pods. My first reaction was – “that’s crazy, I can’t use a crystal bowl to store my laundry detergent tabs!” Then I thought, “Why not!” I got to keep a beautiful crystal bowl that makes me happy every time I see it, and now I have a sturdy container that doesn’t fall over every time I reach for a tab! If you know me, you know I’m not a fancy girl, but why can’t I enjoy a little luxury in the laundry room?
While my laundry room is far from being a page in a magazine, it does make me a bit happier that the room functions better and contains a few special items. To me, that’s a home organization win! I reused items I already owned, decluttered things I didn’t need or use, and set up the space to function at its best. I won’t go as far as to say that I now enjoy doing laundry, but every time I grab a few laundry tabs, it does make me smile!
Tips to Get Started on Your Laundry Room:
If you’re thinking about making some changes to your laundry space, here are some tips to start!
First, assess the space:
- Ask yourself if you only use the room for laundry, or if it needs to serve another function?
- Do you also use it for storage? Are there any items (sink, furnace, etc) that need to be accessible?
- Assess if the larger pieces in the area are serving a purpose
- Think about the issues you have when doing laundry. Is there anything that would help make the space function better:
- Rack for hanging clothes
- Drying area
- Spot to sort/fold
- Storage area for detergents
Next, start going through the room. Look at each item and determine what stays, what needs relocating, and what to throw out.
- TIP for relocating: Instead of taking the time now to return these items to their correct spot, put them in a box (or laundry basket) and return them to their respective spots after you finish going through the space. If you stop now to put things away, you risk distraction, and you’ll never finish the task at hand.
- Once left with only those items that will stay in the space, don’t just put them back where they were before
- Take a moment to think if the spot makes sense. Is there enough room to store the items all together; is it easy to access the items you need regularly?
Some things to consider:
- Folding- Do you fold clean laundry right away or put it in a basket to fold later?
- Perhaps set up a routine where you have baskets for different family members and fold items as they come out of the dryer, placing items in their appropriate basket
- These baskets could then be used in the bedrooms to collect the dirty clothes from the week.
- Sorting- Ensure you have a space or system to easily sort items needing a wash
- Drying- Do you need a spot to hang or lay items out to dry? Is there space for a drying rack or clothesline?
- Supplies- Determine how you want to store supplies- In a cabinet, on shelving, etc.
- Make sure it’s easy to access.
I firmly believe that our environment plays a tremendous role in our happiness and success. Homes can encourage productivity or they can prevent us from functioning at our best. When it comes to laundry since it’s something we need to do, let’s implement a few tweaks to make it easier and a bit more enjoyable.