An organized laundry room can make your daily chores easier. And one that also looks good can help your home appeal to future buyers. According to to the most recent, 2021 edition of the National Association of Home Builders’ “What Home Buyers Really Want” 87% of home buyers surveyed said a laundry room and exterior lighting were their most important “must-haves” when looking for a home.
But laundry rooms can get cluttered fast. Want to improve your laundry room’s look? Here are 10 laundry room design and organization ideas:
— Go from a laundry area to a laundry room.
— Install cabinets and shelves.
— Build a system to separate your clothes.
— Create a folding station.
— Make space for drying and hanging racks.
— Store your ironing board.
— Opt for reusable containers.
— Designate a spot for mismatched socks.
— Stick to an organizing schedule.
— Find a place for extra cleaning products.
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Go From a Laundry Area to a Laundry Room
If your washing machine and dryer occupy a lonely corner in your unfinished basement, you need to do some work before you can call the space a laundry room.
Home improvement cost-comparison site Fixr reports that the national average cost to remodel a laundry room is between $4,000 and $12,000, but the bottom line can increase significantly depending on the work needed.
Installing water hookups and drains, proper venting, drywall, new floors, counters and cabinets will add up. On the other hand, if the room is already established, the project can be done at a lower cost.
Install Cabinets and Shelves
Declutter the overall look of your laundry room by installing cabinets and shelves to hold laundry detergent, dryer sheets and any other items you’d like to keep in the space.
Envisioning the custom cabinetry you saw on Pinterest? Keep in mind that there’s no difference in cost for cabinets in your laundry room and cabinets in your kitchen, outside of less square footage. You may opt to splurge on custom cabinets that fit your washer and dryer perfectly, stick with shelves and racks you install yourself or go somewhere in between with stock cabinetry options.
A simple shelf you install yourself can be as low as $6 or $10, according to HomeAdvisor, or you can spend anywhere from $300 to more than $1,460 for a more elaborate setup.
Build a System to Separate Your Clothes
Make separating your colors, whites, darks and delicates easy with separate laundry baskets for each type of clothing. Then, as you go about swapping loads, you don’t have to repeatedly sort through a big pile of mixed clothes. For organization, install a rack or set up a drawer set so you can store the laundry baskets or bins vertically.
The Container Store’s Elfa system, best known for closet organization, also offers mesh laundry sorter options with varied basket sizes based on how big your load sizes may be, starting at about $190, though the store offers lower-cost solutions. Unused bookshelves or an old dresser could also be converted to a laundry basket organizer.
Create a Folding Station
Give yourself a space to fold your clean clothes in the laundry room. Options include splurging on a professional countertop installation, opting for minimal effort by setting up a folding table or taking on a DIY project for affordable customization.
You could build a table that fits the exact measurements of the available space in your laundry room — a fairly simple woodworking project — or get a little fancier with a hinged tabletop that hangs from the wall and can be folded up when not in use.
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Make Space for Drying and Hanging Racks
For your nicer clothes, hanging them immediately after drying or even skipping the dry cycle altogether is key to keeping them in good condition. Make this easier by creating space in your laundry room to hang items so they can dry.
A portable closet may do the trick, or you could install a hanging rod or PVC pipe. Hardware stores offer a variety of drying racks, both free-standing and wall-mounted, that range $20 to $200, depending on how fancy you want to get. For more stylish organization options, check out Pottery Barn or West Elm.
Store Your Ironing Board
When you’re not actively working the wrinkles out of your clothes, you need a place to put your ironing board. For more efficient storage, go with an ironing board hanger, many of which include a spot for your iron and can be screwed into the wall or simply hung over the back of a door.
Ironing board hangers range in price on Amazon from $10 to a little over $25 — but make sure you select a hanger that will fit your board and iron. You could also go for a more vintage look and create an ironing board cabinet that’s common in midcentury modern homes — when you open the cabinet door, you can fold down the ironing board and begin working on clothes.
Opt for Reusable Containers
To avoid styling your laundry room like the detergent aisle at your grocery store, transfer your powder detergent, dryer sheets and other items to reusable glass or plastic containers.
Large, clear jars with lids will provide an organized look while also making it easy to see what’s inside. You may even choose to replace a liquid detergent container with a large jar with a spout (but keep the cap from the original bottle for correct measurement).
Plenty of stores, ranging from The Container Store to Walmart, offer a variety of glass and plastic containers that could meet your needs.
Designate a Spot for Mismatched Socks
Whether it’s a small bin near your laundry baskets or a string with clothespins on the back of the wall, a designated place for single socks and other items missing their match will help keep your laundry room more organized. This is a simple organization idea that can cost anywhere from nothing to $10.
You can opt to keep it simple with a basket or string, or decorate a piece of wood with hooks or pins to hang on the wall for a more personal touch. Just don’t forget to occasionally go through the mismatched socks and other pieces of clothing — you may have full sets sitting in there waiting to be used.
Stick to an Organizing Schedule
Just because you have a room designated for laundry and all the supplies that go with it doesn’t mean you should let the room become a catchall for all your extra items. Once you’ve established a laundry room organization system, it’s important to keep up with it.
Maintaining a well-organized room requires consistent work, says Tracy McCubbin, founder of organizing company dClutterfly and author of “Making Space, Clutter Free.” Dedicate time every week or two to manage the piles of clothes that build up, as well as cleaning products or other items that don’t get put back properly. Make this task part of your regular cleaning schedule.
As McCubbin stresses: “Once a week, you need to spend a little time decluttering.”
[Read: 10 Easy Ways to Declutter Your Home]
Find a Place for Extra Cleaning Products
Consider utilizing unused space in your laundry room for other cleaning products. Racks can hang from the wall or behind a door, or additional shelves can be placed over your washer and dryer, sink or folding station. You can even transform the narrow spot next to your washing machine by getting a narrow rolling cart.
These carts are easily tucked away and come in a variety of styles. Wayfair lists multiple options, starting around $25 and going over $100.
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10 Expert Laundry Room Organization Ideas originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 07/20/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
