Laundry Room Organization Ideas – Decorator's Wisdom

Laundry is a recurring task that takes more time than you probably want it to. You might be able to cut down on the time required for this chore if you implement an organized system for getting your laundry sorted, washed, folded, pressed, hung up and put away. Get inspired by these laundry room organization ideas, which can help you reduce the time you spend on laundry and ensure that you always have fresh, clean clothes to wear.

1. Mount a Pull-Down Ironing Board on Your Laundry Room Wall

Organize Your Laundry Room With an Ironing Board That Pulls Down When You Need It and Folds Up When You Don't. — Organize Your Laundry Room With an Ironing Board That Pulls Down When You Need It and Folds Up When You Don’t. Photo Courtesy of Emmanuel Ikwuegbu.

2. Have a Drying Rack for Sustainably Drying Your Clothes

Shelving and Drying Rack for the Laundry Room — Photo Courtesy of Sufyan

Drying racks give you a convenient way to dry clothes that can’t be placed in the dryer. Given enough patience and time, it’s also possible to dry all your other clothes on drying racks, too; this is also more sustainable and will save you a bit of money on your electricity bill.

However, drying racks can take up a lot of floor space. If you don’t want a drying rack always taking up so much space in your laundry room, be sure to choose a folding drying rack that can be collapsed and put in your closet when it isn’t in use.

3. Use a Room Divider to Separate Your Laundry Area from Other Areas in Your Home

Room Divider, Baskets, Shelving and Clothes on Hangers in a Small Laundry Room — Photo Courtesy of Bayu Syaits

If your laundry area is in your kitchen, garage, basement, utility room, or other multi-purpose room, you can use a room divider to separate the laundry area from the other space(s).

4. Incorporate Shelving So You Have Plenty of Space for Storing and Organizing Your Laundry Room Essentials

Storage and Organization for the Laundry Room — Photo Courtesy of PlanetCare

5. Hang Up One or More Rods You Can Use for Hanging Up Clothing

Hanging Rod in Small Laundry Room — Photo Courtesy of Marian Arascao

If you don’t have sufficient floor space for using drying rack, this picture gives you an idea for a viable alternative: Hang rods in your laundry room and use hangers for drying your delicate garments.

6. Use Multiple Separate Laundry Baskets for Sorting Your Laundry by Color

Organize Your Laundry Room With Baskets for Sorting Different Colors of Clothing — Photo Courtesy of Ingrid Hall https://unsplash.com/@ingrid_hall at Unsplash

It’s ideal if you can sort your clothing by color before washing it. You generally want to wash whites together on the hottest temperature setting they can withstand, according to the care instructions. Bright colors get sorted together and washed in cold water. Black and other dark colors like charcoal gray and navy blue get sorted together and washed in cold water.

It isn’t exactly elegant to throw your piles of sorted clothing on the floor, so it’s prudent to use baskets, bins or similar organizers for this purpose.

7. Include Seating Because There May Be Times When You Have to Sit and Wait for Your Clothes to Finish Washing or Drying

Shelving, Bench and Potted Plant in a Small Laundry Room — Photo Courtesy of Bayu Syaits at Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@bayusyaits

8. Organize Your Laundry Soap, Detergent, Dryer Sheets and Essentials on Trays for Easy Access

Laundry Soap and Supplies Organized on a Tray — Photo Courtesy of KINN Living https://unsplash.com/@kinn_living

9. Use Wall Hooks for Hanging Essentials in the Laundry Room

Wall Hooks for Laundry Room Organization — Photo Courtesy of Heather Ford https://unsplash.com/@the_modern_life_mrs

There are many things you might like to hang on your laundry room walls. Pictured here, you can use some twine or tie wraps to hang your brooms, mops, dustpans and other cleaning supplies onto the walls of your laundry room. Not pictured, you might want to have hooks for temporarily hanging up clothes that didn’t quite get dry in the dryer so they can air dry.

10. Include a Hanging Rack for Clothing

If you sort, wash, and dry your clothing, the next step is to press it with your iron in cases where you need the clothing to be wrinkle-free. You can save time and energy by ironing multiple garments at once. The next step is to hang each one up; then you take all the freshly-ironed items to your closet. It is really useful to have a hanging rack like this one handy to include in your laundry room. This will keep you from having to make excessive numbers of trips back and forth between your laundry room and your closet.

11. Place Houseplants or Other Decor in Available Nooks and Crannies in Your Laundry Room

Laundry Room Appliances Used as a Storage Space for Plants — Photo Courtesy of Ray Chan at Unpslash https://unsplash.com/@wx1993

Your laundry room should be functional, practical and well organized, but you’re also likely to enjoy adding some decorative items to the laundry room environment. In the picture above, the decorative items are houseplants, but there are many other ways to personalize your space.

12. Hang Rods From the Ceiling if You Need More Space for Storing Clothing

Hanging Rod for Storing Clothing in the Laundry Room — Photo Courtesy of Priscilla Du Preez

13. Integrate Your Laundry Room Into Your Bathroom

14. Incorporate Your Washing Machine and Dryer into Your Mudroom

Combined Mudroom and Laundry Room: If people in your household generally come inside from outdoors looking grubby and covered in mud, it makes sense to incorporate your laundry area into your mudroom. That way, people can deposit their dirty clothes directly into the washing machine without tracking mud through your home. Photo Courtesy of Stephen Harris.

15. Install a Long Shelf That’s Convenient for Folding Clean Laundry

16. Hide Your Washing Machine and Dryer in an Out-of-the-Way Hallway Nook

So there you have it: Bunches of useful ideas for how to organize your laundry room to maximize your efficiency while you’re sorting, washing, drying, pressing, hanging up and putting away your clothes. We hope this information is helpful to you as you plan to organize your laundry room and figure out how you’d like to approach the ongoing task of washing your laundry.

More Organizing Ideas to Help You Get Your Entire Home in Order:

Decluttering at the Speed of Life — If you’re hoping to declutter your home in a hurry, this is the best book I know of for helping you understand exactly how to approach it. This system works for anyone, anywhere, no matter how much stuff you have, and the author guides you through the process without shaming or judging you.

References and External Links

At the Creative Commons Website: Some of the photos on this page were generously made available through a Creative Commons license.

Posted By: Amy Solovay

This page was last update on 10-10-2023.