3 Tips to Organize the Laundry Room

Organizing, organizing, organizing. It’s something that I put off until I’m forced. Do I love organized spaces? Definitely! But you have to plan and make time to organize spaces and I’m a little short in the time department. Ha! That’s why I always love participating in blogger collaborations where I can organize a space. That’s how I accomplished so much in my master bedroom closet last year. It was a no brainer to participate in such a fun and PRODUCTIVE collaboration again.

The collaboration is well underway, and if you’re visiting from Andrea of Decorating Cents then welcome! This year for #4daysoforganizing I decided on my laundry closet. It’s not a room…it’s literally a closet with 2 folding doors. It’s super small but I was confident that I could still make some progress in this forgotten about space. Wondering what it REALLY looked like before I got started? Close your eyes! Now open them!

Do I like doing laundry? No! And as you can tell, I don’t like my laundry closet either. It was pretty rough when I started! It’s also not big enough to get anything done. But if the laundry has to be done, it might as well be a functional and pretty space. So here’s the 3 steps I took to get the laundry room organized and ready for the next load of laundry. Stay tuned to the end for all the after photos!

1.Take everything out.

No matter what space you are organizing, sometimes the best way to start the project is by starting with a blank space. So, in my case, I took everything out. We originally had pedestals on our washer and dryer but decided that we would take them off. Because of the tight space I couldn’t use them anyway so they were taking up vertical wall space that I could use.

By taking everything out the space that allowed me the opportunity to clean. When is the last time you cleaned behind your washer and dryer? In 6 years, I can say we’ve never done it until this project. Lost socks, lint, and a little water damage were all the things we discovered. This was so needed! Lastly, by taking everything out it allows you see the space you really have and then get to planning. That leads me to the next step.

2. Plan according to the space you have.

With proper planning, you can organize a space – no matter the size.

Before you start buying containers – plan! I knew that I had more vertical space to work with so I decided to go up with my organization. If you remember from my before picture, I only had one small shelf on the side of the wall, which we removed. We decided to add 2 shelves and a tension rod to help with overall organization in the laundry room. The shelves would give me vertical space to place all my laundry supplies. The tension rod would give me space to hang clothes up. By using the back wall to organize the area I gained a ton of space. This allowed me to then source the remainder of my organization supplies – containers, baskets, etc.

3. Make it functional and pretty.

This step was so important to me because I knew if the space didn’t function and wasn’t inspiring I wouldn’t want to use it. I highly recommend this for any organizing project.

Don’t forget about the aesthetics!

We installed a Faux Shiplap wall which I’ll be sharing more about soon. The walls and trim were painted a nice bright white – Sherwin Williams Alabaster. For vertical storage, we made our own DIY shelves and installed on brackets  I also used containers I had on hand to organize things. A copper canister holds laundry detergent pods. A small mason jar keeps stain remover nice and neat. A large mason jar holds dryer balls and the list goes on and on. Get creative and look for unconventional containers for supplies. Also, I found these laundry room printables and used one in my space.

Now that you’ve got some tips on organizing a laundry space are you ready for the full reveal? Great! Here are some more pictures from my laundry closet. It’s organized, functional, and finally pretty!

 

 

If you’re looking for more help with organizing spaces, please be sure to check out some of the other awesome ladies in this #4daysoforganizing blog hop. Here’s the full lineup:

Tuesday

Organizing a Shared Boy’s Room

Made by Carli

Organizing a Craft Room

 Wednesday

Organizing a Toddler Girl’s Closet
Organizing a Linen Closet

Thursday

Organizing the Laundry Room
Organizing the Office

Friday

Organizing a Pantry
Organizing a Pantry/Kitchen Cabinets

 

Now go ahead and visit Erin at Live Pretty on a Penny to see how she got organized in her home office! Once you visit all these awesome other bloggers, you’ll be making time for all your organization projects. Happy organizing!

-Crystal 

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