How to Tackle Clutter in the Laundry Room

For anyone responsible for a family size load of laundry on a regular basis, you know what a task it can be to keep everything organized. There are at least a half dozen different laundry related items including cleaners, stain removers, brushes, dryer sheets and much more. Not to mention how many different types of clothes and laundry loads there are. Getting the laundry organized is a chore all its own, forget about having to actually get all of the clothes cleaned and put away. Fortunately, there are ways for even the most frazzled laundry doer to get organized and tackle the clutter that is complicating their life in the laundry room. With a few simple suggestions you can be on your way to more easily accomplishing the task of getting your whites whiter and brights brighter, or at least getting them clean without as much fuss.

Purge

The thing with clutter in most laundry rooms is that it happens because laundry rooms are so small. If you are lucky enough to have an entire room dedicated to laundry, chances are that the laundry room that you have is probably the smallest room in your house. For those of use who have washers and dryers in our kitchens, closets or basements, space is even more of an issue. Getting organized in small spaces begins with getting rid of every thing that you do not absolutely need. Think of ways to cut back on the number of different detergents that you use or condense what you do have into smaller containers and store the larger containers in the garage or wherever else you may have more space. Do not hold on to all of the little samples of detergent that you may get in the mail or save the last of your favorite stain lifter for that really big mess that may or may not happen. The point is, do not be a “pack rat” if you do not need something and use that thing on a regular basis, get rid of it.

Getting the laundry organized is a chore all its own.

Get Organized

Now that you have a reasonable amount of stuff to work with, it is time to get organized. Think of how you can categorize the things that you have. A lot of people find that the bins that allow you to hold different types of laundry loads (i.e. a bag for whites, colors, delicates, etc.) help them stay organized. Other people buy pedestals for their washer and dryer so that they have extra storage underneath the machines. Baskets and totes can be great solutions for tackling clutter and turning lots of small things into organized groupings.

Use Vertical Space

Wire racks can be purchased at just about any home improvement store or supper center. These wire racks and related shelving units can be your best friends in a laundry room because they allow you to take full advantage of the vertical space that you may have. After you have followed the above mentioned suggestions for eliminating unnecessary items and them organizing the items that remain, you need a place to put what is left. Part of your plan to de-clutter needs to involve setting up a system that helps you to stay organized. Fail to set up a system where everything that goes into your laundry room has a place, and a couple of months from now you will be in the same clutter filled situation that you just worked so hard to get out of. By having bins that are clearly marked, you will know right where to get what you need and where to put that think away when you are done with it.