Do you know what’s worse than doing laundry? Doing laundry in a room that doesn’t fit your needs and actively makes it uncomfortable or difficult. There’s no room to move, you can’t find the detergent when you need it and it’s impossible to fold anything. Who says it has to stay that way though? Instead, take a look at each of the small problems, and let’s see how to tackle them. Let’s figure out how to take your laundry room from miserable to workable.

Lighting

Is that a spot or a shadow? If you can’t see what you’re doing, whether it’s before or after washing, how are you supposed to know if something is clean? So you end up leaving the room, trying to see it in different lights. Then you get distracted and have something else that has to get done, and the laundry takes even longer.

An image of four lightbulbs, one in white, one in red, one in yellow and one in blue, representing how each of these will affect how clothes look in your home and how it will affect your ability to see if clothing is clean. — Courtesy of sinisamaric1

The fix then is having evenly space, and clear, white lights in your laundry room. A second, brighter light (or series of lights) set under your cabinets or over your folding area would also be useful.

Visually Appealing

A paint roll brush painting a wall a new shade of blue. — Courtesy of Stux

If you’re having to do laundry at least once a week, do you want to be in a room you hate? No. So why not make your laundry room somewhere you enjoy being. Whether that’s a projector or a soothing shade of paint this way it’s fun to look around. You migh also consider putting in a phone or tablet stand and a dedicated power outlet so that you can listen or watch as you fold or sort laundry. It makes it far less boring mentally when your brain is preoccupied.

Cabinets

You’ve got detergents, treatments, detergent boosters, dryer sheets, lint rollers, and materials to clean your machines. All spread out, anywhere and everywhere in the room. And that’s not even taking into account trying to /find/ everything when you need it. So, the fix? Put in cabinets with raised shelving inside them so that you can maximize the space inside and sort out all of the tools you need.

Counter Space

A matched washer and dryer are topped with a wooden counter with a raised edge at three sides, allowing for a space to fold laundry.

Once you have all of your laundry goods stored away, hopefully, that leaves you with space. Having a consistently clean space to fold clothing is something we need find important. Not only does it mean you don’t have to fight for working space, but it also means you can fold and sort one item at a time as you go, rather than having to leave the room. If you can’t install counter space in your laundry room, you might consider a butcher block counter on top of your machines or a fold-away table that folds into the wall.

Sorting

To us, there’s nothing more annoying than having to sort clothes at the machine. Doing it that way you can all too easily end up dying your clothes pink. (Ask us how we know that one!) A great way to get around this is either a) elevate your machines, you can then install baskets underneath them that slide out as needed. This is great for smaller households where you can toss in your clothes at the end of the day and wash as needed. If that doesn’t work for you, you can always go with option b) put baskets in each room. Then everyone can sort their laundry however they like and it’s still easy to move when needed.

Hanging Rack

Going right along with the last one, having a space to hang items that can’t go in the dryer. We’ve seen all sorts of options including:

-A curtain rod that pulls tight to the ceiling when not in use using a retracting system.

-A hanging rack that folds against the wall when you’re done with it.

A rack that extends from the wall to allow for clothes to be hung to dry and fold away when not in use — courtesy of pottery barn

-An A-frame rack that fits between the counter and the machines.

All of these are easy to work with and best of all, get out of your way when you’re not.

What do you think? Could you work in a laundry room like this or did we miss a few problems? Let us know over on our Facebook page.

If your laundry room stresses you out because your washer is broken or your dryer is screaming, we can fix it. You can give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or go to our contact page and set up an appointment there.

We’ll work with your schedule to find a time that works for you and have one of our trusted techs come. At Appliance Rescue Service we don’t stop until the problem is solved or you tell us you’re satisfied.