Most families choose to store their washer and dryer in the basement or garage to protect their home from the noise of these appliances, which often makes laundry feel like a boring and monotonous chore. Handling laundry without a proper space or structure, such as a laundry room, can be counterproductive as most of the unfolded laundry ends up in piles that clutter your home. Moreover, if most of your family members engage and help with this chore, it makes sense to try and create a family-friendly laundry room. 

Here are a few easy ways to amp up your laundry room to turn it into a light and productive space where your family can easily wash, dry, and fold clothes.

Create a Separate Laundry Room Space

The first step to creating a family-friendly laundry room is making your laundry room into a separate section of your house or room. If your washer and dryer are presently lying in the corner of your basement or garage, create a distinct divider to have a specified space only for your laundry.

If you have limited space to begin with, such as a laundry closet, you can still organize your space with the help of trendy dividers. That way, you can keep your laundry out of sight when guests come over. Luckily, many minimum effort and cost-effective ways are there to help you get creative with your divider situation. From curtains to bamboo panels to barn doors, there are various divider options that will suit your budget, goes with the laundry room layout, and blend in with your home’s décor style.

Choose and Install the Right Sink

You may not consider a sink as an essential part of your laundry room, but the truth is that no laundry room is complete without a well-placed sink. Installing a sink in the laundry room can be a great asset for your family while bringing about considerable improvement in your laundry room space.

Utility sinks are a top laundry room sink choice due to their large and deep basin that allows one to thoroughly rinse their clothing, including bulky items, such as sweaters and jackets. These sinks also serve many other household needs, such as bathing pets and watering plants.

Although these sinks are installed as standalone items, you can integrate them with the rest of your laundry room by installing creative coverings to create a flat surface over the sink to fold. If you don’t have the room or budget to install a massive utility sink, a small sink will also work to make laundry easier. However, you must ensure that you install the sink near the washer to accommodate for an easy transfer or wet items.

Install Good Lighting

Lack of adequate light can make a room feel dim and dingy. Laundry rooms located in the basement or garage can feel even dimmer because of the subpar lighting and lack of sunlight in these spaces. As with any other room in your house, you should never neglect the lighting of your laundry room. While you’re already in the process of remodeling your laundry room, it makes sense to make your space aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Although strong overhead and under-cabinet lighting are fantastic choices for your laundry room, you can also consider soft and subtle lighting coupled with lighting that is specifically dedicated to your work surfaces. If you have a large laundry room that also serves as a utility room or for other projects, make sure to account for this when deciding the lighting.

The bottom line is that good lighting can transform your laundry room into a space that you like spending time, rather than a place you feel obligated to visit.

Don’t Forget Your Storage Space

Creating storage space is an essential part of having an organized laundry room. Keeping detergent bottles and fabric softeners on top of your washer and dryer can make your laundry room appear cluttered, which can hinder your productivity during laundry. Putting away these bottles and other household items that are out in the open will help make your room look much more pleasant.

Luckily, there are numerous ways to set up your laundry room storage that works well for you.  Cabinets, cupboards, drawers, shelves, and hanging racks are just a few options. The best choice, however, is to install a combination of all these storage options. Install cabinets over your workstations, and place shelves and drawers in between. One of the best space-saving storage hacks is to install a hanging rack behind the door.

In the case of a small laundry room, a simple shelf above your heavy appliances is perfect for holding all your laundry room essentials. Moreover, you can also mount your washer and dryer to create storage space beneath them.

Regardless of whatever storage options you choose, make sure to dispose any empty bottles or other items that clutter up your space. That way, your laundry room will feel neat and tidy, and doing laundry won’t feel like a task.

Set Up a Folding Station

The most challenging aspect of laundry is the journey between the dryer and the cupboard. Folding or hanging clothes feels like an exhausting task, which is why many people often put it off, leaving their washed laundry lying around for weeks on their bed or their sofa.

The ideal solution to this dilemma is to create a folding station in your laundry room. All you’ll need is a flat and sturdy surface that can either be a section of a countertop or a separate table. Creating a folding station will help contain your laundry-related chores till the laundry room instead of taking over your home.

Here are some examples of different folding stations:

The Bottom Line

Organizing your laundry room can help streamline and maybe even help you have fun with this dread chore. Keeping your laundry operations limited till your laundry room not only makes the chore easier and faster to manage but also helps keep the rest of your home clean and clutter-free. We hope that the tips listed above help you create a family-friendly laundry room that you and your family enjoy.