Category Archives: Laundry Room

The laundry room is a highly functional space.

It’s where you wash, dry, fold, sort and iron clothes, among other things.

Designing a space that helps you perform these tasks as efficiently as possible is essential for those trying to streamline laundry tasks and make them more manageable.

That’s why we’ve put together a list of must-haves for the laundry room. These five additions are beneficial in any laundry room, large or small.

1. Hanging rod

A hanging rod allows you to dry individual clothes efficiently right in your laundry room. You can easily hang up clothes right from the washing machine, or hang freshly laundered shirts while folding the rest of the load.

2. Pullout drying rack

Like a hanging rod, a drying rack makes it easy for you to air-dry clothes without having to leave the room. No more having to drape wet sweaters and pants over furniture to dry. Lay out delicate clothing or sweaters for wrinkle-free drying.

3. Hidden laundry bins

Rather than keeping laundry bins in your room, install hampers in the laundry room. Tuck-away hampers allow you to sort dirty clothes by colour right away so that you don’t have to later. By having bins behind closed doors, you can prevent odours from stinking up your space.

4. Pullout ironing board

No more bending, wrestling and trying to maneuver around an oversized ironing board. The pullout feature means you can tuck away the ironing board when not in use and it’s handy to have right in the laundry room.

5. Clear containers

Clear jars and containers are great for storing cleaning supplies like laundry detergent. Clear containers tell you when you’re running low on product and make it easy for you to find what you’re looking for and add a designer touch to your laundry room.

Laundry doesn’t have to feel like a chore. For more ideas on designing an efficient laundry room, schedule a free in-home design consultation with us.

Who says that household chores like laundry have to actually feel like a chore?

Here are seven ways your family can divide and conquer laundry duty each week and make it more manageable (and even fun) for everyone.

Skip laundry on the weekends

Do laundry during the weekdays and only do one load per night. By putting your laundry room to work on the weekdays, you can keep your weekends free for fun activities.

Tackling only one load each night will make the chore feel easier to accomplish.

Sort by colour

Use three laundry bins instead of one to keep darks, mid-tones, and whites separate (then you won’t have to separate one large pile of dirty clothes later).

Make sure everyone in your family is throwing their dirty clothes in the right bins. Then when one bin is full, you can start the machine.

Divvy up tasks

Divvy up tasks among family members. One person can be in charge of washing, another can switch clothes to the dryer, and you can have someone else solely in charge of folding clothes.

To make laundry less boring, rotate tasks each week or day.

Fold and store big items

Fold larger items that can be put away easily right away, like towels and blankets. If you have a large family, save socks in a smaller basket and only pair and fold them once a week.

Do this with the family so everyone can claim their socks and put them away independently.

Save energy

Be aware of the best times to do laundry efficiently. In most municipalities, the cheapest time to do laundry is on the weekends and evenings.

Consult the Ontario Energy Board’s electricity rates site as a resource for more info.

Get organized

Keep the laundry room organized with custom cabinetry and helpful accessories (like a pullout ironing board) that make it more functional.

This will allow you to keep detergents, softeners, dryer sheets, hangers, baskets, and hampers all in one place. It can also help speed up the laundry process.

Have fun with laundry (yes, it’s possible!)

Look for opportunities to make laundry, dare we say it, actually fun. For example, you could use laundry as a way to bond with the kids or your partner by tackling the chore together.

To make folding more enjoyable, you can fold while watching your favourite TV show. There are many ways to make laundry time a more fun and manageable experience.

Schedule a free in-home design consultation with Organized Interiors for professional help to make your laundry room look nicer and serve your needs better.

We’ve all done it. Balled up our dirty clothes into a tight ball and flung it under the bed. Nine year olds call it ‘tidying up’. But it’s not a practical long-term solution for dirty laundry. As adults, life is too complicated to avoid organizing and finding solutions to deal with your dirty laundry.

Laundry hampers save marriages

Laundry accumulates every time you change your clothes so put a laundry hamper in your bedroom closet. It’s so much better than using the floor. If your laundry machines are on the same floor get a hamper with wheels to save your back. If you have to lift laundry to get it to another floor, invest in a strong, but lightweight bin with handles.

Accessories that make laundry easier

Think of all the tasks you need to complete in a laundry room – sorting, washing, drying, folding, ironing, storing. Here are some ideas to make this work easier.
It may sound like a no-brainer but a secure counter top that extends over the surface of side-by-side machines will provide a smooth, snag-proof surface for sorting and folding. Better than the dining room table!
Keep your iron and ironing board in this room. It’s the finishing touches that matter and a well-ironed garment always feels right. Many new cabinetry options feature fold out ironing boards that only take up space when they’re being used then retract back into the cabinetry for easy storage.
If you have the ceiling height, hang a rod above eye level to conveniently hang clothes to air dry. This is especially handy if the rod is over the sink for damp or wet clothes.

Invest in quality laundry room cabinetry

Drawers, cupboards and open shelves are only a few of the options for custom work that can be installed in your laundry space. Newer choices include pull out drying racks, ironing boards and tilt out hamper drawers. Pull out shelving behind closed doors provides easy access to cleaning products you don’t need to have on display.

Smaller pieces that will work hard such as an adjustable laundry valet or retractable Butler’s Rack take up little space yet hold several pieces at once, when needed.

Make your laundry room multifunctional

Why just a laundry room? Contain all your cleaning activities in one space. With tiled walls and floors and good drainage you can turn your laundry room into a dog-washing center. Rover has muddy paws? Throw him in a deep sink, tub or shower with a hand-held sprayer faucet. Hopefully fluffy, freshly laundered towels will be close by to dry him off.
Too busy to leave the room? Add a TV, a treadmill, a radio or a craft table to the space so you can help pass the time while your laundry machines do all the work.

Decorate your laundry room

Hang a picture, paint the walls, put up a fancy backsplash but whatever you do make this a space where you want to spend time. Create your ideal laundry room. You want to hang a chandelier? Go for it. An outrageous patterned wallpaper? Why not? It’s probably just a small space so go to town.
Having an organized laundry room can be fun enough but put your personal stamp on this space and make it your own.

Need help with organization and storage in your laundry room?

Maybe your laundry room is unique and requires a custom storage solution. Organized Interiors has design consultants that can help you maximize the storage space in your laundry room. Contact us and find out how we can make your laundry room organized and efficient.