/ by Jeffrey Dooley
The laundry room is one of the home’s most underutilized spaces. Lots of overflow items can be functionally stored in your laundry room, keeping all in order. Functionality is key in my everyday life as well as my design approach and these simple tips can help you discover new uses for the space we call the laundry room. We spend a lot of time here, so don’t overlook it as a place to add your own creative touches and design style.
Tips for the toughest working room in the house:
- Keep the washer door open to allow the washer to dry out completely to prevent mold or mildew in the tub.
- Use color-coded caddies to organize cleaning supplies by room making it easy to pick up and go when you’re ready to clean a particular space.
- The laundry room is the wrong place for a decorative rug, but the right place for wallpaper. A smaller room can handle a big, colorful print and brighten workspaces.
- The laundry room is a place for both batteries and light bulbs. Clear, stackable shoe boxes fit these boxed items well.
- For folding, install a counter over your machines. Or, create a folding station by mounting a piece of counter material to your wall that comes down when needed.
- Put furniture sliders on the feet of your washer and dryer to make it easier to slide them out to clean dust and fallen items, every six months.
- Use white stackable recycling bins for organization and storage needs. I personally love the Kuggis line of boxes from Ikea.
- Keep laundry essentials in food safe containers with “lock-tight” lids for an organized aesthetic (and label them for safety). I like the OXO containers.
