How to Organize a Laundry Room Effectively: A Step-by-Step Guide

Your laundry room is an often-overlooked space in your home, but if it’s cluttered and unorganized, it can make laundry a much more complicated task than it needs to be. An organized laundry room can make the task easier and quicker, and you might even find that it’s something you look forward to!

Learn how to organize a laundry room effectively, and enjoy the feeling of a logical and useful area for your laundry needs.

Assess Your Space and Needs

Before you start to organize, you’ll need to assess your space and consider your needs and goals for the project. What pain points do you have about the space currently? What are you looking to achieve?

The size and layout of the room will determine how you proceed. With a large laundry area, you have almost unlimited options for what you can do in the space. But if you have a small, cramped laundry room, your organization project will need to maximize the available space, and you might need some outside-the-box laundry room organization ideas.

You should also consider your current laundry room storage. Do you wish you had more cabinets to store your laundry supplies? Do you dream of a work surface where you can fold clean clothes straight from the dryer? Write down the current workflow inefficiencies in your laundry room and brainstorm how to solve these problems to make the space work better.

Some laundry rooms have more than one function. If your laundry area doubles as a mudroom or storage area, consider how best to incorporate these into your new organized space. You could assign one wall of the room for storage cabinets and the opposite wall for your washer and dryer, or you could add a built-in bench and coat hook to store your shoes and outerwear without cluttering your laundry space.

Declutter Before You Organize

Decluttering should be the first step in organizing any space; after all, you can’t organize an area of your home with piles of unopened mail and haphazardly placed cleaning items. Decluttering your laundry room prepares it for your project, so you’re starting with a clean slate.

Start by collecting your clutter and relocating it to a large area so you can sort it into piles to keep, donate, and trash. Consider which items you frequently use and put those items in a pile to return to the area once you’ve added new laundry room storage solutions.

If you have duplicates of items like laundry soap or bleach, combine them and discard the empty containers. Sort any older cleaning rags to be thrown away and only keep the amount you think you’ll need.

Design an Efficient Layout

Next, it’s time to design the layout of your new space and brainstorm some laundry room ideas. Consider flow and functionality—countertops should be installed near your dryer so you can fold clean clothes as soon as they’re dry. Your laundry room storage cabinets should be close to your washer so you can easily reach the detergent. Proper placement of each element will ensure efficiency when you’re doing laundry.

You’ll also need to consider accessibility. Countertops should be around waist height to ensure you’re not bending or slouching while folding laundry. Cabinets should be reachable by everyone in the household. If you have kids, consider adding step stools or foldaway ladders so they can reach laundry supplies and help with the chores. Adding pedestals under front-load washers and dryers can eliminate bending for those with limited mobility.

For corner setups, consider placing the washer and dryer on one wall and the utility sink on the other so you can move easily from one to another. If you’re working in a small space, consider built-in cabinets and a countertop above the washer and dryer to make full use of the available space. In a galley-style layout, you can place the washer, dryer, and sink on one wall to minimize the amount of plumbing work needed and have storage and folding areas on the opposite wall.

Maximize Storage Solutions

The right storage solutions can make or break your project when organizing your laundry room. Many laundry room storage ideas are available, such as installing wall-mounted shelves, overhead cabinets, or open shelving to maximize vertical space. Use these shelves and cabinets to store laundry detergent, dryer sheets, stain treatments, cleaning items, and other laundry essentials you might need.

Baskets and bins can help you organize your space even further. Label these containers so you can identify them quickly. These bins can be used to sort laundry, detergents, or cleaning supplies and prevent cluttered shelves and cabinets. If your laundry setup includes drawers, adding drawer dividers and organizers can keep smaller items like dryer sheets, stain removers, and clothespins in place.

If your budget (and the space) allows, add custom cabinetry to fit your laundry room and maximize its storage potential. Built-in countertops and cabinets can give your laundry room a more polished look and make it appear organized and tidy. A more budget-friendly option is to purchase standalone shelves, cubbies, and cabinets, but custom cabinetry will help make your space look more put-together and professionally finished.

Create Zones for Different Tasks

Creating zones in your laundry area can make it a more efficient space. Consider designating areas or zones for the following tasks:

• In the sorting zone, you can separate whites, colors, and delicates before laundering. Adding hampers or bins to this zone can simplify the process and ensure a pesky red sock doesn’t wind up with your whites.
• The folding zone is where you fold clean clothes once they’re dry. A countertop or other flat surface helps you fold and sort clothes efficiently, making it easier to put them away in the correct place.
• In the hanging zone, delicate items can be hung for air drying, and clothes can be hung straight out of the dryer to prevent wrinkles from forming. Installing rods or hooks makes it easier to hang these items without them getting in the way of other tasks.
• In the ironing zone, you can iron clothes, linens, and other items before putting them away. A pull-out ironing board is ideal for this area, as it can be folded away when not in use. 

Creating specific zones for these tasks can help organize your laundry area so you can work more efficiently.

Incorporate Space-Saving Solutions

In a large laundry room, the world is your oyster. But if you’re working in a small space, you’ll need to be creative and incorporate space-saving laundry room hacks that make the most of what you’ve got. Learning how to organize a small laundry room can help you ensure that you purchase the correct storage items to maximize your space.

If you have the vertical space, consider a stackable washer and dryer to free up extra room for storage shelves and cabinets. You could also add a multi-function rolling laundry cart or island for mobility, additional storage, and a place to fold laundry. Retractable and foldable items are your friends—install foldable drying racks and retractable hanging lines that you can extend when you need them and fold away when you don’t.

You should also be conscious of laundry product clutter and size. Bulky plastic detergent jugs can occupy an incredible amount of space in your laundry room. HeySunday detergent sheets are compact, non-toxic, and eco-friendly, making them ideal for any laundry room, especially those without much storage space.

Keep the Laundry Room Organized With Maintenance Tips

Once you’ve organized your laundry room, you’ll need to work to maintain the space long-term. There are several ways to do this:

• Implement weekly or monthly cleaning schedules to ensure your laundry room remains in good condition.
• Reorganize bins or baskets monthly, combining products when they’re almost empty and tossing items you no longer use.
• Declutter the space whenever you notice items starting to pile up.
• Implement a weekly laundry schedule to spread the loads throughout the week, avoiding overwhelming the space with too many clothing items at once.

Laundry Room Essentials Checklist

Here are the top tools and items to include in your laundry room to ensure clean, fresh-smelling clothes and linens:

• Laundry detergent
• Fabric softener
• Mesh laundry bags for small or delicate items
• Dryer balls or sheets
• Stain removers (such as oxygen bleach)
• Lint rollers
• Baking soda and vinegar
• Washing machine cleaner
• Ironing board and iron
• Laundry folder

The following are some storage essentials to buy for your laundry room organization project:

• Storage baskets
• Laundry hampers
• Laundry baskets
• Rolling hamper or cart
• Pedestal drawers
• Wall organizers
• Drying racks
• Drawer organizers
• Labels

Final Thoughts on Organizing Your Laundry Room

An organized laundry room helps make laundry day more efficient and improves the overall tidiness of your home. Following the steps outlined in this guide, you can start creating a more organized space where laundry day feels less like a chore. If you found this guide helpful, consider bookmarking it for reference or sharing it on social media!