Conquer Mount Never-Rest With These 11 Laundry Room Organization Tips

Whether you have family members who feel that the floor is as good a place as any for dirty socks, or a heap of clean-but-unfolded laundry that keeps getting transferred from your bed to your bedroom floor and back again, a lack of organization in the laundry room might be to blame. Let’s face it: Laundry is a task that is perpetual. It never ends! That doesn’t mean that there’s no hope, however! Take a look at these 11 tips for getting your laundry room and clothing-care routines whipped into shape, starting right now:

1. Don’t get in over your head.

Instead, use the space overhead to create a place for drying those items that you don’t want to put in the clothes dryer, or for hanging clothing that you’ve already ironed. You can affix a baby gate to the ceiling, as shown here. Another option is to put in a tension rod or to install a towel rack up high.

2. Use that wasted space.

You probably have a gap of several inches between your washing machine and your dryer. Slide in a rolling cart, and voila! You now have the space to store dryer sheets, stain sticks, clothespins and more.

3. Put up a corkboard.

Get your brooms, dustpans and other lightweight items off of the floor and store them on the wall, instead. You can attach hooks or even nails right into the wall, put up a piece of gridwall, or simply use a heavy-duty corkboard with screw-in hooks.

4. Keep your dirty laundry behind closed doors (or drawers).

Instead of leaving your hampers out in the open, transform your laundry room cabinets into a convenient place to stash them. You can read a how-to guide on The Family Handyman website.

5. Forget about small drying racks.

These can only hold a few items and take up valuable floor space. Instead, install curtain rods or towel racks right on the wall. Hang hand-washed items, handkerchiefs, lingerie and other delicates right over the bar.

6. Build a custom laundry room organization system.

Here’s one that would allow you to store a lot of stuff in your laundry room! Of course, you could also hire a professional to design and build a completely customized laundry room storage system for you.

7. Bring charm to your laundry room.

Rather than viewing this space as strictly utilitarian, think about ways to make your laundry aids more fun to use. Store your detergent in a jar with a spigot, or keep your clothespins in mason jars. The prettier it is in the laundry room, the more likely you’ll want to actually go in there and make some headway.

8. Store your ironing board against the wall.

You know how annoying it is to just prop your ironing board up against the wall. What happens? The legs slowly open and the whole thing can come crashing down. Frustrating! Suspend it between two hooks, as shown, and it will be at your fingertips when you need it, and out of the way when you don’t.

9. Give stray socks a temporary home.

If the washer eats one of your socks, store it on the wall in plain sight with this cute homemade holder. Just glue or nail clothespins to a piece of wood, paint it and put it in a frame, if desired. When the missing socks return from their adventures, you can pair them back up and put them in the appropriate drawers.

10. Keep your cleaning supplies at attention.

Check out this tip: Use a tension rod under your laundry room cabinets to hold your cleaning supplies. Hang them by their triggers instead of letting them sit on the floor. This is ingenious, but remember that if you have small children, you need to keep these up high and preferably locked up. Those with older children or no kids at home might find this tip useful, though!

11. Keep vital info at your fingertips.

Do you know offhand how to remove grass, blood or red wine stains from clothing? If not, print out Martha Stewart’s Stain Removal Basics guide , frame it, and hang it in your laundry room for quick reference.

Remember, laundry pile-up is a very common problem. Using some handy laundry room organizers and organizing techniques can go a long way toward helping you to finally defeat your mountain of clothing.