Ahhh, the Laundry Room...

If you are like me, you spend a lot of time in the laundry room. And if your house is anything like the houses in my town, you have a washer/dryer in your downstairs bathroom, inside what otherwise would be a magnificent closet. They are side by side on the floor, leaving you with just the space above them for all your "stuff." 

Recommendation #1: Shelving. I put mine together from leftovers, but it sure can hold a lot. I use ALL of the space afforded me. I did not run each shelf all the way across. If you look to the far left, there is some stuff that would have been too tall for the shelves otherwise. And using this shelf type enables me to move them, if necessary. Also, they are vented, so nothing gets overheated or overly dusty.

On the walls to the left and right, I put up very cheap shelves you can get almost anywhere. They are intended to mount on doors, but they are perfect for this application and they hold a lot of the smaller stuff and keep it right in reach.

Recommendation #2: Tension Rod. Take the nasty old one out of your shower now (if you have one) and replace it with a new one. Take the old one and make it your laundry room's best friend. Keep it ready with hangers for those things that come out of the washer and should not be dried, like bathing suits, bras, underwear, and anything with Lycra. I keep a bunch of multipurpose hangers handy so I can hang these things to dry as soon as they come out of the wash. The bonus is that I can close the doors, too, so the whole world does not have to look at my handing sports bras, bras, and underwear.

I also keep the pant hangers with the clips from clothing purchases. They are great for when I wash area rugs and so on. I do not dry them, particularly if they have a rubber backing. I just hang them from the tension rod. This setup is so convenient. 

The other bonus is that setting up the shelves at only 12-18 inches deep leaves lots of space on the tops of the machines themselves for laundry baskets or spreading out clothes to treat and spray stains.

















Recommendation #3: Reuse Old Containers. I LOVE the ones that dishwasher tabs come in, as well as baby wipe containers. Never buy the refills. Always get the containers. They are SOOOO usefel. The green one on its side is a dishwasher tabs container. I keep extra new sponges stored in it. And the baby wipes containers have travel tissues packages in them. Note the Little Mermaid can on the bottom. Its a coin can for all the money I find while I do the laundry!

And last, I keep a small stool in the bathroom. You may think it odd, but I sit on the stool to do my laundry. I get my stain removers and sort the laundry, switch the washer load to the dryer, and reload the washer all from a sitting position. It's much kinder to my back.

"See" you tomorrow!

Patty