Optimize your small space & learn trick how to organize your dryer sheets, laundry room cabinet & other laundry room essentials.
Maximize Small Laundry Room
These small laundry room ideas make the most of what little space you have in your laundry or utility room. Discover ingenious storage ideas for organizing your detergent, dryer sheets, and other laundry room essentials. With your small space better organized, you might actually be able to fold clothes in your laundry room.
Behind-the-Door Shelves
The space behind a door is a storage spot that’s often overlooked. Build a set of shallow shelves and mount it to the wall behind your laundry room door. The materials are inexpensive. Measure the distance between the door hinge and the wall and subtract an inch. This is the maximum depth of the shelves. We used 1x4s for the sides, top and shelves. Screw the sides to the top. Then screw three 1×2 hanging strips to the sides: one top and bottom and one centered. Nail metal shelf standards to the sides. Complete the shelves by nailing a 1×2 trim piece to the sides and top. The 1×2 dresses up the shelf unit and keeps the shelves from falling off the shelf clips. Locate the studs. Drill clearance holes and screw the shelves to the studs with 2-1/2-in. wood screws. Put a rubber bumper on the frame to protect the door.2 / 20
Install a Shelf and Clothes Rod
This project will save you hours of ironing and organizing. Now you can hang up your shirts and jackets as soon as they’re out of the dryer – no more wrinkled shirts at the bottom of the basket. You’ll also gain an out-of-the-way upper shelf to store all sorts of odds and ends. Just go to your home center and get standard closet rod brackets, a closet rod and a precut 12-in.-deep melamine shelf. Also pick up some drywall anchors, or if you have concrete, some plastic anchors and a corresponding masonry bit. Fasten shelves to the wall and add the closet rod for instant laundry room storage.3 / 20
Sponge Holder
Wet sponges always end up the ledge of the utility sink. They never dry properly and become moldy and smelly. Here’s a better idea. Screw a sieve to the back of the sink to hold the sponges. They dry nicely, they’re out of the way, and they last forever.
Create an Ironing Center
To keep your ironing gear handy but out from underfoot, make this simple ironing center in a couple of hours. All you need is a 10-ft. 1×8, a 2-ft. piece of 1×6 for the shelves and a pair of hooks to hang your ironing board.
Cut the back, sides, shelves and top. Align the sides and measure from the bottom 2 in., 14-3/4 in. and 27-1/2 in. to mark the bottom of the shelves. Before assembling the unit, use a jigsaw to cut a 1 x 1-in. dog ear at the bottom of the sides for a decorative touch. Working on one side at a time, glue and nail the side to the back. Apply glue and drive three 1-5/8-in. nails into each shelf, attach the other side and nail those shelves into place to secure them. Clamps are helpful to hold the unit together while you’re driving nails. Center the top piece, leaving a 2-in. overhang on both sides, and glue and nail it into place. Paint or stain the unit and then drill pilot holes into the top face of each side of the unit and screw in the hooks to hold your ironing board. Mount the shelf on drywall using screw-in wall anchors.5 / 20
Under-Sink Shelf
Tired of moving all that stuff under the sink every time you mop the floor? Just buy a melamine closet shelf from a home center and a length of suspended-ceiling wall angle (sorry, it only comes in 10-ft. lengths, but it’s cheap and you can have it cut for transport).
Also pick up four 1/2-in. No. 8-24 bolts, washers and nuts. Attach it to the underside of your laundry room utility sink for a handy place to store old painting supplies and more.6 / 20
Skinny Laundry Room Cart
A lot of laundry rooms have a narrow wasted space either next to or between the washing machine and dryer, and it’s usually a hideout for socks and lint.
To take advantage of this space, build a simple plywood cart on fixed casters to hold detergents and other laundry supplies. Get more easy organizing ideas.
7 / 20
Instant Laundry Room Cubbies
If you don’t have cabinets or shelves in your tiny laundry room, buy inexpensive plastic crates at a discount store and create your own wall of cubbies. Screw them to the wall studs using a fender washer in the upper corner of each crate for extra strength.
The crates hold a lot of supplies, and they keep tippy things like your iron from falling over. Here are some more ideas for small space storage solutions.8 / 20
Clothes Hanger Holder
If you have shelves or cabinets above your washer or dryer, you’ve got the perfect spot to store clothes hangers. Just mount a towel bar to the bottom of the cabinets. This puts hangers at your fingertips so you can hang up shirts and slacks fresh from the dryer.
SPONSORED CONTENT
The Best Toys to Keep Your Children Entertained This Season [Learn More]
By Walmart — Hand-picked, kid approved. Find out what toys are guaranteed to keep your little one engaged and entertained.9 / 20
A Laundry Workbench
This sturdy workbench is not just for carpentry – it’s also perfect as a potting bench or laundry room table. If you want a surface that’s easy to clean and protects against spills, apply two coats of polyurethane varnish to the top and the shelves. We used a water-based finish that dried quickly and was hard as nails by the next day.
10 / 20
Better Detergent Dispensing
To dispense liquid laundry detergent without lifting it, drill a 1-in. hole through the cabinet bottom directly under the spout. Replace the plastic cap between uses to avoid drips.11 / 20
Quick Washer and Dryer Shelf
Clean up the clutter of detergent boxes, bleach bottles and other laundry room stuff. Install a shelf that fits just above the washer and dryer. Screw ordinary shelf brackets to the wall and mount a board that just clears the tops.12 / 20
Laundry Organizer
Make laundry day easier with this shelf for all your detergents, stain removers and other supplies. Build this simple organizer from 1×10 and 1×3 boards. If you have a basement laundry room, you may need to cut an access through the shelves for your dryer exhaust.
13 / 20
Hanger Shelf
Sometimes you just need another place to hang clothes, like on the shelf over your washer and dryer. Turn the edge of that shelf into a hanger rack by predrilling some 3/4-in. plastic pipe and screwing it to the top of the shelf along the edge. Get more laundry room organizing ideas.14 / 20
Paper Towel Holder
If the roll of paper towels on the shelf in your laundry or utility room keeps falling off, try this: Slip a bungee cord through the roll and hang it from the wire shelving. And here are some tips for hanging a more permanent solution.15 / 20
Ironing Board Storage
Ordinary coat hooks on the back of a closet door keep your ironing board out of the way but close at hand when you need it. Keep your imagination moving and check out these garage storage ideas.
16 / 20
Minimize Liquid Detergent Mess
Dripless liquid detergent containers always drip just a little. Keep it under control with a special shelf on the corner of the laundry tub. Just cut a 1-1/2-in. aluminum angle long enough to support the front edge of the container, then glue it to the tub with silicone caulk.
Rest the container on the ledge and drips will just fall into the laundry tub instead of creating a gooey mess somewhere else.
SPONSORED CONTENT
Flat Iron Basics: 5 Secret Styling Tips
By Hot Tools — Flat irons can do more than simply “flatten” hair. Here are five new ways to use a flat iron.17 / 20
Utility Sink Shelf
Cut a section of leftover wire shelving and set it over the front of your utility sink. It’s the perfect place to set items to dry. Hang paintbrushes from S-hooks so they can drip right into the sink.
When you’re done with the shelf, hang it over the side of the tub so next time it’s right at hand.18 / 20
Pretty and Practical Box Shelves
These simple box shelves work equally well in a formal setting and a utilitarian room, like the laundry or garage. They offer an unlimited number of uses and arrangements.
Hang some above the washer and dryer to store detergent, dryer sheets, and other laundry room necessities without taking up any valuable floor space.
19 / 20
Laundry Room Wall Cabinet
Turn that wall space above the washer and dryer into a valuable dust-free storage space by adding a utility wall cabinet. Chances are, a dryer vent or some other obstruction exists right where the new cabinet goes. To solve this problem, simply cut away the back and insert a 4-in.
galvanized duct as a liner to give the cabinet a 1-in. clearance from the dryer vent, preventing heat from building up inside the cabinet. With the liner in place, the vent is isolated behind the cabinet, keeping everything inside cool and clean. Here’s how to install cabinets like a pro.20 / 20
To solve this problem, simply cut away the back and insert a 4-in. galvanized duct as a liner to give the cabinet a 1-in. clearance from the dryer vent, preventing heat from building up inside the cabinet. With the liner in place, the vent is isolated behind the cabinet, keeping everything inside cool and clean. Here’s how to install cabinets like a pro.20 / 20
Install a Laundry Chute
Save space in your laundry room by eliminating all of the extra clothes hampers. Install a laundry chute instead! You’ll love the convenience of a laundry chute. In addition to saving space, it’ll also save you time and energy with fewer trips up and down stairs. Here’s how to install your own laundry chute. (source: familyhandyman.com)