Laundry rooms are more than just a place to wash and dry your clothes. Any extra storage can be used to store cleaning supplies, back stock of household products and infrequently used household items. Create designated storage areas, zones, for each group, such as in these three examples.
Zone 1: Laundry Care Products
Store laundry detergent, fabric softener, and stain removers in one location. Keep all laundry detergents and supplies together and within reach of the washer and dryer. Label the shelf so that everyone in the family can return items to their correct place. If the shelf is hard to reach store a small number of detergent pods in a container on top of the washing machine. Make sure the pods are well out of sight of little children, but that teenagers doing their own laundry can access them easily.
Zone 2: Household Cleaners
Store cleaners in upper shelves (not under the sink) to keep them out of reach of children. If you have large refill containers for your cleaners, store those higher up since you won’t need to access as frequently. Use shoe box sized plastic bins to store smaller items such as extra sponges or scrub brushes.
Zone 3: Household Back Stock
If your laundry room is located on the same level of your house as the kitchen, it makes sense to use the storage space for household items such as extra paper towels, paper plates, Ziploc bags, and trash bags. If your laundry room is located on the same floor as your bedrooms, it may make sense to use that space to store back stock items such as shampoo and conditioner, soap, lotion and toilet paper. Either way, label the shelves with the name of the items which belongs in that spot.
Other items commonly stored in a laundry room are shoe care products, vases, lightbulbs, and batteries. Store these items in labeled, clear plastic bins to make them easy for family members to find. If you have space in your laundry room consider installing a wall-mounted drying rack for swimwear, lingerie, and other items which don’t go in the dryer. Keep a coin jar in your laundry room so you’ll have somewhere to deposit change you find in pockets. A sharpie comes in handy for labeling clothes tags. Write the owner’s initials on the tag to avoid confusion about who that clothing item belongs to. Your laundry room should also have a trash can for dryer lint and used dryer sheets. Now how about making the laundry process easier? Check out this blog.