How to Organize Your Laundry Room
by Jan Haynar
Why is it that this room always seems to have laundry
soap in the wrong places, nothing is within reach and we
never have enough room?
Probably because no one has ever really taken the time, to
decide what needs to be in this space and where it should
be. Should we have shelves, bins or storage containers?
Should we have good lighting? Should there be a small
clothes pole? I say YES, to all of these questions. Anyone
that has ever done laundry knows how maddening it is to pull
clothes out of the dryer, put the clothes on hangers, so
they do not wrinkle, and then not have anywhere to put the
hanger!
I have concluded that whoever came up with the wonderful
idea of every home having a laundry room, - never did
laundry! If they had, they would have given it some careful
consideration and created an actual work area that was
compatible with what the chore itself entailed.
So, let's organize your laundry and make it a workable room!
1.Place a shelf, above the washer, that has enough room for
soap (the type with the spigot to fill the cup of soap),
bleach, non-chlorine bleach, baking soda and liquid fabric
softener. It is easier and takes less time to have
everything within an arms reach, than to have to go into a
cupboard to retrieve the items.
2.Place one 'wall' cabinet in the area, in which to hold
extra's, stain releasers etc.
3.From this cabinet, to the wall, have a short clothes
pole that will extend over the back of the dryer area. You
will want this to be above your dryer because it will take
less time and movement to hang the clothes.
4.If you have the space, you may also want to have a
table, cupboard top or work area that you can use to fold
your clothes.
5.Underneath this area, have some open shelves in which
you can store laundry baskets that are a different color,
for every family member. This way, everyone has a specific
color and automatically knows when they have clothes to put
away. Do not forget to have one basket for towels, sheets
etc.
6.I also have a small little basket, on my shelf with the
laundry detergent, which I use to hold little, mini lingerie
bags. These come in handy for throwing small children's'
socks in, slipper socks, nylons etc. They are thrown right
in the washer and dryer, you never loose a matching sock or
nylon and nothing manages to get snagged or wrapped around
them.
Just imagine the time and steps you will save, not to
mention the amount of stress and frustration that you can
eliminate from your life, by having organization take over
the laundry room!