If you’re thinking about remodeling your laundry room—or even giving it a little facelift just to get organized and stay tidy—this blog is a must read. First, designing a laundry room space isn’t an overwhelming task. It should be an exciting one—because you’ll finally be neat and organized! Secondly, we understand that not everyone has a spacious laundry room. We get that some of you may even have glorified laundry closets. But not to worry, this blog is for everyone. No matter the situation, a messy laundry room poses a problem for any person trying to use it efficiently. This blog teaches you how to maximize your space with five ways to organize your laundry room.

1. Countertops

Adding a countertop is an ideal solution for sorting laundry, removing stains, and folding clean clothes. For dedicated laundry rooms, consider a storage solution that offers countertop space generally 18 to 24 inches deep and extra deep storage shelves beneath it to stow large items like hampers. For a side-by-side washer/dryer combo in a tight space, consider adding a countertop just above or directly on top of your machines. Post folding and sorting, your hampers can be placed on top of the counter so they aren’t left out in the open.

2. Hanging Rod/Drying Bar

Drip-dry clothes. We all have them. The cotton button-downs that have a tendency to shrink, the delicate items that can’t be put in the dryer, and the dry clean-only items that you sneak into the washer (shh, we won’t tell). These all need to be air dried. Dragging a drying rack through the house trying to find an empty spot to put it is merely a temporary solution—and a mediocre one at that. Instead, opt for a permanent hanging rod where you can hang these drip-dry items by hangers. Bonus: If you have a sizable laundry room, this is also a great spot to iron clothes and hang the freshly pressed attire before returning them in their proper closet.

3. Open Shelving

Open shelving shouldn’t be overlooked here. While it’s great to stow things away and keep them out of sight to keep order, the convenience of just grabbing detergent or a dryer sheet without the added step of opening a cabinet is nice. With that said, it’s never a good idea to have super deep open shelving either. You can end up over stocking them which can lead to disorganization—not knowing where something is, having to search for it—and give the appearance of being cluttered. Our recommendation is to take an inventory of what you use in your laundry room—from the most used to the least used—and arrange these products and supplies accordingly. Regularly used items should go on the open shelves and anything else like extra jugs of detergent from Costco or stain removal sprays and scrubs should be stored away, which leads us to #4: Closed cabinets and drawers.

4. Closed Cabinets & Drawers

Laundry room cabinets and drawers are a really nice storage feature if you have the space. They are great for items you buy in bulk, items that are only used on occasion, and even a good place for additional linens for guests or seasonally used towels and sheets.

5. Adjustable Shelving

Just as we advise to stay away from overly deep shelving because it can lead to clothing chaos, we recommend using adjustable shelving for the very same reason. Over time, your needs may change in the laundry room. Remember when high-efficiency machines first started coming out and big, bulky jugs of detergent were replaced by compact bottles of higher-concentration detergent? You no longer needed big, tall shelves to store massive detergent containers, but rather more shelves with less height for the little bottles. We always recommend the ability to customize with adjustable shelves. It just makes everyone’s lives easier no matter the circumstances and eliminates the chance of wasted space.

Organizational Therapy

Walking into a tidy laundry room is like catching the aroma of freshly dried linens—warming and refreshing. It’s also therapeutic! In fact, there are dozens of studies demonstrating the positive psychology behind living in an organized environment—and the laundry room is no exception. In 2011, researchers at Princeton University found that clutter actually makes it more difficult to focus on a task. So stay neat with our laundry room storage tips above so you can breeze through this weekly chore and move on to something more enjoyable—like dirtying up more clothes while spending time with friends and family!