Do you constantly need more space in your laundry room? Does it feel like you’re navigating an obstacle course whenever you need to do laundry? If your laundry room is cramped, cluttered, or just plain inefficient, these seven space-saving secrets will transform it into a functional area you can enjoy using.
As an interior design expert and writer focused on home décor, I’ve helped many clients overhaul their tiny, awkward laundry rooms into beautiful multipurpose spaces. You can take even the most challenging laundry room from drab to fab with creative solutions, decluttering, and a splash of style. Read on to discover my best tips for maximizing every precious square foot.
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Live Vertically
Laundry rooms tend to get filled with supplies and equipment on the floor level, leaving walls bare and vertical space well-spent. Living vertically in your laundry zone is the first secret to opening up floor space.
Install floating shelves above your appliances to neatly store laundry detergent, dryer sheets, stain removers, and other essentials. Mount them high enough so they don’t get in the way when you need access to your washer and dryer.
Additionally, consider a fold-down drying rack that can be mounted on the wall. These handy racks can be flipped up out of the way when not actively in use drying clothes. The right over-the-door storage solutions can also help you utilize vertical space while keeping supplies tucked neatly out of sight but within arm’s reach.
Stack Them Up
When floor space is limited, the next space-saving secret is to stack up your laundry essentials. Replacing your traditional separate washer and dryer combo with a stacked washer/dryer unit can free up several valuable square feet.
The stacked configuration, with the dryer mounted securely on the washing machine, combines both appliances in one narrower footprint. Just be sure to purchase a stacking kit for stabilization and install it correctly according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
You can also stack accessories and supplies using vertical modular shelves and transparent stackable bins and baskets to organize laundry, household, or cleaning items neatly. Labeling the front of containers makes finding what you need a cinch.
Seek Multitasking Furniture
One major space-saving secret is to incorporate furniture and organizational systems in your laundry room that multitask.
Consider a wall-mounted folding table that can be flipped up and out of the way when you’re not using it for folding fresh loads of laundry or stacks of towels. Or choose an ironing center that allows the ironing board to be tucked inside a slim cabinet when unnecessary.
Other space-conscious ideas include a storage cabinet with a built-in retractable drying rack, a laundry sorter hamper with a lid that doubles as an extra seat, or even a combination washer-dryer unit with built-in storage drawers.
The key is versatile furniture that serves more than one purpose. This allows you to incorporate necessary laundry room features in pieces tailored to maximize space.
Edit Ruthlessly
You’d be amazed how much clutter accumulates over time in a laundry area, from random socks and tangled headphone cords to tags, receipts, manuals for long-gone appliances, and questionable containers of unidentified substances.
An essential thing to understand when remodeling an inefficient laundry room is that to make space for what you truly need; you must first engage in letting go. Make it a habit to regularly clean out your laundry zone and discard or donate anything you don’t use often or no longer serves its purpose.
Be especially strict about duplicates. For example, consider consolidating multiple types of stain removers into just one or two multipurpose products. Also, create an intuitive organizational system using bins, baskets, shelves, and hooks that make it easy to identify and put away items quickly.
Shed the Right Light
Changing the lighting in a space can make it appear fresher and more spacious. The next space-saving secret is understanding how to use natural sunlight and interior lighting design to open your laundry room visually.
Add a window to bring in natural light. Consider a frosted window film or sheer curtains if additional privacy is desired. Paint walls white to maximize brightness. Install high-quality, energy-saving LED bulbs for electric lighting that provide crisp, clear task lighting over your folding/ironing station and other laundry room work zones.
Accent the space with recessed or wall-mounted ambient lighting to create a warm glow. You’d be surprised what a difference the proper lighting can make in transforming the look and feel of your laundry room!
Install Space-Saving Doors
Swapping out traditional swinging doors for sliding or bifold doors that operate on tracks along adjacent walls instead of into a room is an ingenious space-saving secret. This allows you to conserve precious floor area by opening and closing access to the laundry zone without requiring awkward maneuvering.
Track-guided doors can be manually operated or automated electric versions. The style options range from mirrored, frosted, or decorator glass panels to shaker, solid slab, or even barn door looks to match your home. Just be sure to measure carefully before installation.
While you’re at it, incorporate some hidden design features like built-in storage nooks, secret compartments, or retractable drying racks to keep laundry baskets, supplies, small appliances, and other necessities concealed but within easy access when needed.
Install Innovative Gadgets
Finally, no laundry room makeover is complete these days without space-saving intelligent gadgets and appliances. From steam irons and handheld garment steamers perfect for tight spaces to stackable washer-dryer tower units and portable washing machines with spin dryers, technology can also help maximize functionality.
Other innovative space-saving laundry products include wall-mounted drying racks, collapsible laundry baskets, compact ironing boards, laundry sorting units, and space-saving laundry centers that combine essentials like folding surfaces, ironing boards, drying racks, hampers and more into a single wall-mounted unit.
With some creative thinking, you can develop customized solutions to transform even the most cramped laundry room into a highly functional and surprisingly stylish space you’ll enjoy spending time in rather than avoid! Try out one or more of these secrets to create more space and less headaches when tackling Mount Dirty Clothes. Just take it one load at a time!
