Laundry room help?
Question:I have a very small laundry room. I have a washer and dryer and above I have 3 very small cabinets with a hanging rod in the middle. I have so much stuff (irons, bleach) in my microscopic cabinets that I have no room for my static free sheets and my wash liquid and my clothes pins.. I need ideas on how to make my laundry room functional and in pristine condition being the size that it is.
Answers:
I have a small area for my laundry too. It's a closet, literally.
I have no room for my iron and ironing board. The old iron was donated and the new iron and board hang on the inside wall of my front closet. I bought a storage unit that mounts onto the wall and my board hangs from it. There is a shelf for the iron as well.
I also found products that multi-task various cleaning issues, since I need to keep my household chemicals in the same closet. Example, Dawn dish soap works on most of the stains that I've come across. I also have Oxi-clean in a small tub if I need it.
I no longer have cabinets in my closet, but two shelves are the best thing in the world. My shelves are deep, so they can hold a lot of things. I also installed smaller shelves on the sides of the closet. The additional space has been wonderful because I can put my wash liquid almost directly above my washer.
I also have plastic drawers where I can keep little odds and ends (like your clothes pins). They are organized as well as easy to access. I only need to pull the drawer out that contains what I need instead of digging through a big box.
I have a tension rod mounted at about the same height as my second shelf. This makes hanging things easy while still closing the door.
For a quick fix. You could get a length of ribbon or yarn and attach your clothes pins to it. Suspend them from from rod in the middle.
Buy smaller containers for detergents. Keep the bulk size container in the garage and fill the smaller container when you need to. Also consider trying out high efficiency (HE) soap. You don't need to have an HE washer to use use it. However, use 1/4 to 1/2 of what you normally would with HE soap.
remove the existing cabinets and replace them with a deeper higher set. If you need a hanging rod, mount it under the cabinets
There is a cart that is made for laundry product storage. It has 3 shelves and is very narrow. The intent is that it goes between the washer and dryer. If that fails-
You could buy a hanging basket that would go under the cabinet for your fabric sheets. One in particular has been made so that two wires sit on the bottom shelf, it goes between the door and the basket sits under the cabinet. No mounting required.
Laundry soap ideas: You could buy another new product like the oxy clean balls that do 'x' amount of loads. They would sit inside the washer at all times.
Clothespins could be hung over the door in a caddy or hung on your clothing rod.
Maybe considering magnetic hanging products would help your situation. Clips or holders with heavy duty magnets are available at stores like, Bed Bath & Beyond or similar home stores.
I too have a very small laundry room and am used to a larger one. When we moved into our patio home, the first thing my husband did was to run a retractable clothes line behind and above the washer/dryer under the three cabinets. (I bought it at WalMart.) That way I can hang delicate items by draping them across the line. You could clip your clothes pins to the line.
Then, hanging on the backside of the door is a rack for hanging the ironing board. On the wall that the door opens against is a rack that is designed to hold mops, brooms, etc. I use it to hang clothes that need to air dry or need ironing.
For your static free sheets, why not remove them from the box and get a mesh bag and hang it from the cabinet knobs with the sheets. Pour your washing liquid into smaller containers like a liquid dish washing bottle. Keep the cap from the original container for measuring purposes.
I live in a mobile home and have my w/d in the hall with 2 small cabinets above for storage--I have a tension rod hung for hanging clothes straight from dryer. I sewed up the bottom of one of my boys tees when they were little, hung it on a hanger & voila! a clothespin bag that hangs on the tension rod. I just keep my dryer sheets on top of my dryer. Maybe not too chic, but it works for me!
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