How to Reorganize Your Laundry Room - A Before and After

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Have you done your Spring cleaning yet? March 20th is the first day of Spring and with it, we will cast away the winter woes of colds, lethargy, and dark skies. Spring cleaning is a pro-active way of changing your environment in a positive way. Here are 3 easy steps on exactly how to do that and 6 ways of styling with a case study: my laundry closet!

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

How to Reorganize Your Laundry Room - A Before and After

I truly believe that if your environment around you is clean, you will be less stressed, save money, have a clear mind, and can get more accomplished than if your environment is cluttered.

I have found time and time again this tactic of organizing is a way to positively affect your mind and environment totally works.

Here's why:

1. Less Stress - You won't get annoyed looking for things you know you have but can't find, you won't feel the stress of looking at a messy space every day. Stress Lifted = Good.
2. Save money - Who wouldn't want to save money? You won't have to re-buy things that you already have but didn't know you have. Don't you hate it when that happens? Another way to save a lot of money over time is to buy in bulk, I'm a Sam's Club member and I got my Makers Mark® Ultimate Clean Laundry Detergent in Fresh Scent pictured below, on the first shelf from Sam's Club. My laundry has been smelling great since I have been using it. There was a savings of $2 off and I paid $11.98 ($12.96 with New Jersey tax) for 115 fl oz (1.38 gal) 5.23 L - that's 115 loads! I do a lot of laundries, at least one load a day or more - just 1 of these containers should last me almost 4 months!
3. Get more accomplished - Since you can find everything easily in a well-organized space, this will save you time because you won't waste time endlessly looking for things.

I make sure to do this practice of organizing in my home every time an area is not working for its function or just getting cluttered, this might be every season or every couple of seasons - it depends and there are no strict rules - as long as it is done when one is ready for the positive change!

Here are my simple 3 Steps:

1. CLEAN | I took everything out, thoroughly cleaned, vacuumed & dusted the space.
2. SORT | Sorted out what I needed to stay in the laundry closet.
3. ARRANGE | I identified what didn't belong and kept only what needed to be there for the function of this space, plus added some fresh styling elements to tie the space together.

This is key, I strictly defined what needs to be in the laundry closet for this Spring cleaning exercise which in my case is:

• Laundry cleaning, drying & organization, including Sam's Club Member’s Mark Ultimate Clean Laundry Detergent in Fresh Scent, my iron & ironing board, and clothespins.
• Storing dog toys, accessories, and care products.
• Storing household necessities that need to be at hand, like light bulbs, candles, batteries, hardware, some everyday crafting things like tape, twine & scissors, etc.

Below is a side by side collage of our laundry closet before and after this Spring cleaning reorganization.

The before the picture is, a little, well...yikes!

It's amazing how one can get used to living with clutter - even me!

Do you know why this happens?

It is because clutter slowly accumulates over time and one gets used to it.

You can see in the before photo the remnants of previous organizations' attempts which were at the time successful - for that time.

The labeled shoebox bins holdings various things, pairings or similar bins for holding stuff, a utility hook on the wall holding the ironing board, the new (almost a year old - still new to me) washer and dryer, the stacked hand washing buckets.

All of these elements are "good" in and of themselves but have gotten jumbled up and strayed from their original usefulness because it's not tidy and organized anymore - that is until now!

The house came with this closet, lit with a long, florescent light and the open shelves and it's located in the middle of the house which is so useful when you have a young child to raise - everything is at hand.

However, because it's in the middle of the house - right off the dining room, in fact - this is all the more reason to need the closet to be tidy since I need to access it on a daily basis.

The fact remains that people, over time, change the way they use a space because they and their needs demanded of that space evolve too.

Every few seasons, the needs for this space could change slightly, and with those changes come style changes that are needed and welcome to freshen up and enliven this well-used space in our home.

Check out the 6 ways I added style elements to freshen up my laundry closet in this Spring cleaning project

Here are 6 ways I added style elements to freshen up my laundry closet in this Spring cleaning project:

1. I used various chalkboard signs, stickers, and tags to label the contents in every bin - I love these because I can easily change the labels if I need to and there is consistency in the type of label (chalkboard) even though they are different which help to unify the different styles of bins that I have. Here's an idea, anything or surface can become a chalkboard sign with chalkboard paint, give something you already have a fresh coat of paint - the possibilities are endless!
2. I added a galvanized, mini wash bin to hold clothespins for hanging clothes - a little element, adding an industrial, practical feel. A used and cleaned coffee or tea tin would be a good choice too.
3. I added an over-sized mason jar to hold any change from pockets to the first shelf, within easy reach. I love mason jars anyway, so it was a natural choice for a container but I wanted to play with scale a little, so when I saw this over-sized one, I thought it was perfect. I also think it would be cool to have an antique or colored-glass mason jar as a suggested alternative or even just a re-purposed pasta sauce jar, they look just like mason jars anyways, I love re-using things and being resourceful!
4. I added neutral, warm grey, linen curtains with grommets at the top to have a more streamlined, updated, modern look that is easier on the eye 😉
5. I changed the ironing board cover (my ironing board is from my college days, circa the early 2000s) to a metallic and iridescent grey and white. This easy change that refreshes the space and a simple, geometric pattern match the new curtains, yet still adds some interest.
6. I added a striped, warm, and colorful throw rug which goes with our terracotta-ish, red tile (sometimes, a hard thing in our house to match!) and ties in all the other colors like cyan, blue, orange, etc. in the various elements on the shelves. Aside from being a stylistic addition, it also is much more comfortable to stand there while changing the laundry or folding. Check out my Spring Cleaning 3 Keys to Success below!

Above is a picture collage showing where at Sam's Club you can find my laundry detergent.

I have found (I have been using it now for a couple of weeks now) that it performs really well and can be held to the task of cleaning copious amounts of laundry in a household with two adults, a young child, and two dogs!

I value saving money in our budget wherever possible, so I'm also happy with the price too 🙂  

I also found out that this laundry detergent was developed with a patented Ultimate Clean Technology that locks on tough stains and lifts them out in all temperature settings which is good for cleaning clothes of all different colors and it is specially formulated to deliver top cleaning performance and improved brightening and whitening.

The dispenser has a convenient button that actually stays clean and the dosing cup ensures accurate measurement for all load sizes and for pretreating stains, so I am never second-guessing if I used the right amount.

And just to let you know, the detergent is HE compatible and safe for all washing machine styles.

I remember when we got our washing machines and they were a significant upgrade from what we had before, I was like "HE what?

Yes, certain laundry detergent needs to be High Efficiency compatible with your washing machine!

This is good to know if you don't know already and have an HE washing machine.

Spring Cleaning 3 Keys to Success:

1. Spring cleaning isn't easy SO make sure you are mentally ready to tackle the project, sometimes space has to get to a "certain point" before you realize it needs a makeover, once you reach this point, you are motivated to see the project through to the end!
2. Don't be afraid to make a mess! When you are seriously organizing, you have to go through everything, and sometimes that involves making a room look 10x worse before it looks 20x better! Just keep that end goal in mind and visualize how you want your space to look.
3. Done is better than perfect!  If someone "thinks" a lot about how something needs to be a certain way or needs it to be perfect to them, I guarantee that project is not getting done - then nothing is accomplished - and we don't want that 🙂  Know that your space is going to change again further down the road and get it done - because our lives are always changing - and be happy with your space now.

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Sara Maniez

Owner at Life's Little Sweets

Sara is an architectural designer turned work-at-home Mom. She lives in New Jersey by way of New England and New York, with her husband and 3 kids under 8. She loves design, being creative, and spending time with family and friends. She loves checking out local businesses and eats and being apart of the local farm to table community.

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