Home Organization :: Laundry

My laundry "room" is small.  It's really just a closet.  But, we've made it pretty functional.

We just saw an idea from Pinterest and plan on making some changes to make it even better for our family's needs.  I'll share them if and when it gets done.

In the meantime, we have done a few things that help me manage our laundry better.

We have three sorting bins for clothes.  We sort them: whites in the back, colors in the middle, and darks/jeans in the front.  This helps me avoid a giant pile on the floor in front of the washing machine...like this:

I created a bin for towels, wash cloths, bibs, etc that need to be washed.  I often have just one or two pieces dirty and they need to air dry before being tossed into a pile.  Plus, I like to wash them on hot in a load just for towels, etc.  I also created a bin (above the dirty towel bin) for dirty cleaning rags.

We hung a pole 1/2 way across the space so we could hang items as they came out of the dryer and also to hang items that need to air dry.  (We'll be moving this so it's not in front of shelves.)

We have our broom and mop hanging on the far right, a small trash bin hanging on the far left, and shelves holding all the cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, and extra household items (light bulbs!).

Most cool laundry room designs don't have top loading washers featured.  I don't like front loader machines, so I'm always looking for neat ideas that have top-loaders in the picture.

 I started use dishpans to sort folded laundry after seeing them at my friend Kristin's house.  Each kiddo has a bucket and when it's full they take it and put away their clothes.  This helps me a TON!  The idea I saw on Pinterest takes this one step further and does something I have been wanting to do for a long time...make a place for those buckets on the shelves in my laundry closet.  Soon....I hope!

 

Finally, I have to brag about this amazing couponing deal.  Back in March 2011 there was a great sale on Purex laundry detergent at CVS.  The combination of the sale price plus a coupon that was available made it just $1 per bottle.  I stocked up (getting some coupons through eBay) and bought 20 bottles!  I know...it looked crazy.  But, this is the last bottle.  I have washed laundry for our ENTIRE FAMILY OF SIX PEOPLE for just $20 for over 14 months!!!  Yes, sometimes couponing pays off in a big way.