Sorting it out one load at a time ...

Ok – so I am still working on my full house clean out. I like to move around my house clockwise from the front door when I clean out. It just makes sense to me. Anyway – my first space up on the docket (after getting the paper situation figured out) is our wee lil laundry room. Personally, I am just thankful to have a laundry room in an apartment. But it can get cluttered. I find we use it for laundry stuff, cleaning stuff, garage type stuff and of course it is where we keep the cat box.

Here was my original shot of the space before I started cleaning. Not too bad but pretty cluttered. I followed my philosophy of clearing the space, cleaning, reviewing each item to donate, toss or keep.

For starters, I took all the hubby’s car cleaning stuff and decided that would fit better under the sink. I also put all my cleaning stuff there too since half of it was there and half of it was in the laundry room. I removed the hubby’s battery operated fishing lantern and put it in the storage cabinet. I tossed a bunch of hangers that I never use and put away the laundry that was sitting there. And I dusted everything. Laundry rooms get sooo dusty!

Now if I had my way I would love to have a laundry room like one of the ones below …. I have been taking notes for whenever we can get out of “the situation” and into a house.

1. First, you need some shelving.

From Houzz - Martha Stewart Laundry Room design

Ah Martha – you do it every time. Only Martha can make a non-high efficiency non-front door loading laundry space look chic. I like that there is a curtain to cover it up your storage space, but what is also great is that if you needed to hang something there it would work and wouldn’t “pool” on the washer. (One of my gripes about our current laundry room.)

2. Some place to fold things

Rhoda's traditional laundry room design

Rhoda’s laundry room is fantastic! Love the green wall color and note the bar so you can actually hang things. But the best part is this lovely little table that you can fold things. I really want to have a folding space in my laundry room in our next home. Check out her post on exactly what went into her laundry room here.

3. An Organized Space

eclectic laundry room design by housetohome.co.uk

Ahhh … Don't you just feel calm in here. Laundry doesn’t overwhelm you in this space. You become one with the zen of folding. First, I love the ironing board hanger and magnetic board. Second, the pull out drying rack way up top – brilliant. Third, the laundry powder in clear glass jars and the organized baskets – beautiful. But the icing on the cake here is the three-sorter-hamper – is the perfect compliment to my obsessive laundry pile habit! (I must sort everything out according to water temperature, wash cycle and washing liquid type.)

4. All of the above 

traditional laundry room design by toronto interior designer c3d design

Ok – so this is about the most brilliant space I have ever seen. I love that they stacked the washer/dryer so that they could really maximize the rest of the space in the room. It has it all, storage, hanging space, folding space and it is well organized to boot. Bonus points – there is a great sink to hand wash all your delicates in.

So let’s take this one step further and pick out some elements that you can add to any space to help get some of these qualities. (And for my FTC peeps – I have not been given any incentives in any way for featuring the sites and or products show below.)

If your short on space but still need shelving, this over the washer shelf will work in a pinch! At $13.99 it is also an affordable solution as well.

Another great option is the Antonius System from Ikea. You can built your own combination that includes shelves, baskets, hampers, fold down drying racks and work tops. This is one of their biggest pre-configured combos and it is $264.42. However, just getting the drying racks – that I am in love with – would run you a little under $35. Love it! Head over to their Laundry main page for some more great combos and ideas.

If that is a little modern for you but you would still like a great space to fold laundry or iron, check out this great fold up table from Fingerhut. It is $49.99 and will mount to your wall and then fold up to provide you with the necessary space when you need it and stay out of sight when you don’t.

You can get your sort on with this 3-Section Laundry Sorter from Walmart for $34 plus you can get 4% cashback available through Bing.com.

And of course, if you need some super cute baskets to organize your laundry space – you can always enter to win my giveaway for a set of three! You get to pick your colors - check out some options below. 

So what do you look for/dream of in a laundry room? If you could change just one thing – what would it be?

I am linking this up with AnNicole @ Our Suburban Cottage for her "I'm An Organized LUFF" party. BTW - a LUFF is Lazy, Uninspired, Frugal Folks! Too cute!