I bet you know how tiring it is to walk around a house that’s filled with dirty clothes. Especially when everyone is working from home, it feels as if you are constantly washing your kids’ clothes. Or, if you’re single and suddenly became obsessed with baking banana bread (or any bread for that matter), maybe you’re sick of seeing all your shirts and pants covered in flour?
Unless you live in a cave and only own two t-shirts, you probably have too much laundry to do. Not worry, we’ve got you covered with 13 laundry sorting ideas that are sure to make laundry room design, and laundry sorting, a piece of cake.
1. Don’t Wait Until It Piles Up
Waiting until the last minute to do laundry is the biggest mistake you can make, second only to washing your whites in the same load as your reds. Sure, a full load is nice, but letting your clothes pile up endlessly can lead to dirt building up in your laundry basket. If you want to avoid the bacteria, don’t wait until it piles up.
Doing laundry multiple times a week isn’t the worst thing if it saves you time and space in the long run. Save water by doing small loads on the “Eco” setting. And instead of chaining yourself to the laundry room for an entire day, be smart about the times you start a load. Start it before you leave the house, go for a jog, or make a snack. Once you’re done, so is your laundry!
Shorten the amount of time that you will need for laundry even more by pre-sorting your laundry. Instead of a traditional hamper, try using a hamper that has separate compartments made for sorting out whites, colors, and delicates, for example. Then, when the time comes to throw them in the washer, the job is much easier.
2. Prevent Mold & Mildew in the Laundry Machine
Skip the bad smells, without needing to remind your husband to leave the washing machine’s door open. (This must go in the same category of my husband’s head as “don’t forget to put down the toilet seat.”) Luckily, the Prop-A-Door is designed to hold the door in place and prevent it from being accidentally or intentionally shut.
The Prop-A-Door not only helps you from bumping into the door, but it also prevents the growth of mold or mildew in the washer. That way, the laundry will be finished the first time, without smelling like mold after the wash! So many laundry day benefits!
3. Use Mesh Bags for Socks
One of the most time-consuming parts of laundry day is sorting out the odd socks. As if finding the matching sock to make a pair wasn’t enough, you’ve also got to peel the AWOL socks off blankets, sweaters, and other things that attract static. Mesh bags kill the two birds with one stone.
I use mesh bags to wash all sorts of delicates like bras, underwear - but most of all - socks. These handy organizing compartments will save you loads of time when it comes to sorting socks, as all things of the same sort are in the same bag.
4. Color-Code Things
Make it even easier to sort out whose socks belong to which person by color-coding them. If you have kids, for example, you can save so much time simply by knowing that the red ones belong to Noah, and the blue ones to Alexis. (Excluding, of course, the time spent convincing Noah to like red socks, and Alexis to like blue ones.) If you want to make it even simpler, don’t bother folding them, just give each kid the right basket, and they can learn how to sort and fold.
5. Teach your Kids How to Do Laundry
Which brings me to the biggest time saver of all: teach your kids how to sort the laundry. As they grow, your children should learn how to do their laundry from A-Z. Teaching them to sort their own laundry will give little ones some independence, teach life skills, and, in the meantime, give you the much-needed time off.
6. Fold Clothes Right Away
We know how tempting it can be to just leave the dry clothes in the basket and to think about it later… But that’s a trap. Instead, make sure to fold or hang your clothes right away to avoid them crowding up your house. If you don’t have the space to fold and hang clothes in your laundry room, make it!
Hangers and ironing boards are absolutely essential inside every laundry room. You can either hang a clothing rack or drying rack from the ceiling or install a bar or below cabinet walls, to put up all your hangers. With little effort, you can also install a hanging shelf above front-loading machines, which can be used as your new sorting and drying station.
7. Install a Pegboard
A wall mounted utility board is a one-stop solution for all your laundry sorting needs. Hang a pegboard in your laundry room and then keep your brushes, brooms, rollers, and other light equipment organized in one place. Do not underestimate the power of a pegboard when it comes to decluttering your laundry room space.
8. Use a To-Do List
By now, you’re probably thinking, “How can I install all these new storage solutions when I don’t even have time for laundry?” Well, if you don’t have the time for a complete laundry room makeover, did you know that you can use whiteboard markers on most washing machines? Check this on your machine, before writing down a whole list. When you’re sure that it works, use a dry erase marker to add and cross out items that need to get done in your laundry room.
9. Put A Lint Bin on the To-Do List!
Regularly checking and replacing your lint screen will increase the efficiency of your dryer and reduce the drying time. A sleek lint bin is a fantastic reminder to change the lint (and a super space saver.) A magnetic lint bin will stick right on a washing machine, to free up floor and countertop space. Plus, you can do some pretty nifty DIY tricks with the old lint.
10. Upgrade the Dry Sheet Holder
If you’ve got limited space, then upgrade to a magnetic dry sheet dispenser; a compact, magnetic backing, sleek-looking dry sheet holder. Mount the holder to the side or front face of your dryer or washing machine and free up space for cleaning and laundry supplies inside the laundry room. Having your dryer sheets or dryer balls at arms reach can make your workflow faster with less hassle.
11. Keep Pocket Treasures Safe
Laundry rooms often see a clutter of miscellaneous items like coins, bills, toys, keys, and receipts lying around. How do you effectively store and keep them safe? Use a magnetic Pocket Treasure bin collector to keep all these items safe and secured. With a strong magnetic strip, you can conveniently and easily hang the bin from the side or front of your washer or dryer. It’s a simple, easy, and cost-effective hack to free up laundry room space. Don’t forget to check those pockets!
12. Keep Closets Tidy
This one is easier said than done. Set yourself up for success with fool-proof storage solutions like floating shelves. In the bedrooms, make sure to get rid of all the clothes you don’t wear anymore. Even if you’ve got the space, you might try on old clothes, leave them on the floor, and may wash them for no reason. For kids, it’s even worse because they keep growing out of their clothes! Make a fun activity out of it and get them to do a fashion show every season, then sort out whatever pieces of clothing they won’t be wearing again.
13. Use Clear Labels
In the laundry room, you need a lot of items – detergents, stain remover, bleach, and so on. Store them in glass jars with clear labels outside. You can then group things together or stack them together in an area of the room, saving you more space and time. We’ve even got a free label template for you to use in your laundry room!
Everyone is bound to use the laundry room sooner or later. We each leave the room in a variety of conditions and sometimes, leaving it more cluttered than it should be. A simple solution is to label everything clearly; from the detergents to the boxes, to the folding and drying areas. The use of preprinted waster resistant labels or printing your own and applying them could potentially help you quickly identify, organize, and better manage your laundry room space.
Conclusion
We hope that this was helpful to you! Make sure to stay on top of your laundry with our no-nag reminders.
Who says you cannot organize and free space inside a small laundry room? Taking a few minutes to carefully consider your space and apply some helpful tips can literally transform the mess into a neat and well-organized room.