Laundry rooms are fickle friends. They offer us vital space to get important chores done, but on the flip side, they can quickly become a dumping ground for clutter.
Whether you have accumulated a build-up of linens, or are stockpiling cleaning products, the more stuff you have in there, the more difficult it is to get through your to-do list without wanting to tear your hair out.
To simplify the process again, professional home organizers and laundry experts have shared the six things you can declutter from a laundry room without a second thought to instantly organize a laundry room.
Things to declutter from your laundry room now
Lauren Saltman, professional home organizer and founder of Living.Simplified. begins, ‘Laundry is a never-ending chore and we want to be able to make it as pleasant as possible. This might be different for each family, but the basics remain the same. We want to have easy access to laundry soap, stain removers, and a place to put the dryer lint. You may want a place to hang wet clothes to dry, a sink, and a counter to use when folding the laundry.’
To access these easily, however, you need some quick, low-effort decluttering tips.
1. Anything not related to laundry
If it is not a laundry room essential, it needs to go. Lauren Saltman says, ‘Keep the focus on your laundry, to stop your laundry space becoming storage for other items in your home. It's the key to making the laundry room usable, clean, and accessible for everyone in your household to take part in laundry chores.’
If you are struggling to work out what should and should not stay in your laundry room, try the co-worker, cousin organizational hack to find a home for every item logically, and make to-do lists less overwhelming.
2. Damaged or mismatched items you can't fix
We are all guilty of hanging onto odd socks hoping its partner will reappear magically the next time you open the drum, or clinging onto a stained top hoping just ‘one more wash’ will restore it. However, the likelihood is they are lost causes.
Lauren Saltman says it might be time to declutter clothes fast if you have been hanging on to anything like this for longer than six months. It will instantly make your laundry room less overwhelming and is a great organizing tip to make laundry easier.
3. Old or empty products
Whether you have tried all seven of the secret laundry products experts swear by or have gone through a few detergents to find the perfect one for your skin, there are usually always some products you can cut back on to make space on your laundry room shelving ideas and simplify your routine.
Guillaume Drew, founder of Or & Zon recommends, ‘dispos[ing] of any feather duster or cleaning agent that you have not used in ages, or the ones that have expired or gone bad. These tend to accumulate and take up space in your storage ideas – a few essentials allow those areas to be brighter and more functional.’
4. Toxic detergents
On that note, you should also look to declutter any toxic products – items high in chemicals that damage your skin, laundry, appliances, and the environment.
The laundry experts at Branch Basics suggest, ‘Detoxify and declutter your laundry room by replacing those toxic, scented laundry products and stain removers with eco-friendly alternatives, such as Branch Basics’ fragrance-free laundry detergent.
‘While you are at it, Laundry rooms are a prime spot for toxic dust build-up; especially if you’ve been using conventional laundry products or storing cleaning products here. Decluttering and home organizing is a good time to tackle this often-neglected room.’
With TrulyFree, you by refills that are made up with water, limiting your plastic waste.
Tide free & Gentle is formulated to work at lower wash temperatures to help you save money on laundry without sacrificing results.
Ecover has become a staple for many of my family members. I use it to keep eczema and acne under control, my mom uses it to help psoriasis, and my grandmother uses it to avoid setting off my grandad's breathing problems
5. Clean laundry
Sorting clothes for laundry doesn't stop when the load goes in the drum. As soon as the cycle is complete and clothes are dry, you need to pack away the fresh items to make space for more, reminds Lauren Saltman, professional organizer. ‘Clean laundry that hasn't been put away is one of the most common causes of clutter in a laundry room,’ she says.
Try to avoid simply moving a full hamper to another room and get into a routine of folding laundry as it comes out of the dryer, so it can be easily carried to your closet and stored away in one go, following the one-touch tidying rule.
Using a folding laundry basket means you can tuck it out of sight when not in use, reducing the urge to throw laundry in there and let it sit there for weeks.
6. Trash
It should go without saying that trash has no place in a laundry room. This includes old product bottles, tags from washing new clothes and linens, and old dryer lint from cleaning a dryer vent, reminds Lauren Saltman, professional organizer.
Consider taking inspiration from how to hide a trash can in a kitchen to keep a concealed waste bin in your laundry space, ready to collect any bits as you come across them, rather than letting them accumulate on the counter. Given how often you need to clean dryer vents, it is a time-worthy investment.
You only need a small trash can in a laundry room. This stylish swing lid bin will tuck neatly in the corner of any utility space to catch lint and tags.
Decluttering your laundry space is just one of laundry pros' top laundry tips for streamlining your routine.
While you’re at it, don’t forget to clean a washing machine and clean a tumble dryer to maximize efficiency and ensure your laundry comes out clean every cycle.
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