9 Small Laundry Room Organization Ideas (Closets Included)
Laundry areas are often a closet, a hallway corner or the end of a bathroom. There is a washer, a dryer and almost no place to put detergent, let alone sort or fold.
Because floor space is fixed, every idea here uses the walls, the gap between the machines or the door. Even a laundry closet can hold supplies, a drying spot and a sorting system.
1. Build up above the machines
The wall above the washer and dryer is the main storage area in a small laundry space. If you cannot install shelves, a freestanding over-the-washer rack stands on the floor and frames the machines, giving you two or three shelves with no drilling.
2. Use the gap between the machines
The narrow strip between or beside the machines usually collects lint and lost socks. A slim rolling cart turns it into storage for detergent, stain remover and dryer sheets, and slides out when you need it.
3. Decant what you use every load
Pods, powder and scent beads are easier to use from wide jars or dispensers than from torn boxes and heavy jugs. Keep them at shoulder height, label them and store the bulk packaging elsewhere. Keep pods in a closed container out of children's reach.
4. Dry on the wall
A floor drying rack blocks a small room. A wall-mounted folding rack or a retractable line gives you drying space only when you need it and folds flat afterwards. Mount it above the machines or on the back wall of the closet.
5. Hang the ironing board and iron
The ironing board is the most awkward object in the house. A wall or over-the-door holder stores the board and the iron together in a few centimetres of depth, and keeps the cord from trailing across the floor.
6. Sort before wash day
A divided hamper or a set of slim labeled bags means clothes are sorted the moment they are taken off. When one section is full, that is a load. No sorting pile on the floor, and anyone in the household can start a wash.
7. Add a folding surface
With front loaders, a countertop or a fitted wooden board across the top of the machines gives you a place to fold straight out of the dryer. In a closet with a top loader, a wall-mounted drop-leaf shelf does the same job and folds away.
8. Make a lost sock spot
Single socks wander for weeks. Clip a small bin or mesh bag to the wall and put every lonely sock in it. Match them once a month. Wash small items in mesh bags and you will lose far fewer in the first place.
9. Keep the stain kit within reach
Stains set while you look for the remover. Keep a small tray at eye level with stain spray, a brush and a lint roller, and treat marks before the garment goes in the hamper. It takes ten seconds and saves a lot of clothes.
Keeping it that way
A small laundry space works when nothing lives on top of the machines except what you are folding. If the tops fill up, something is missing a home on the wall or in the cart.
Wipe the detergent drawer and the door seal once a month while you are there, and check the pockets of the lost sock bag.
Questions people ask
How do you organize a laundry closet?
Use the wall above the machines for shelves or a freestanding rack, put a slim cart in the gap, hang the ironing board on the door and mount a folding drying rack on the wall.
Where should I store detergent in a small laundry room?
At shoulder height above or beside the washer, in closed containers. Keep pods and liquids out of reach of children and pets.
