How To Get Started on Organizing Your Laundry Room, According to a Decluttering Expert

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Your laundry room is likely one of the most-used spaces in your home, but it's also a room that causes many homeowners grief when it comes to organization. Depending on the set-up, it can be a room where "form meets function" style beautifully melds or it can be an overflowing mess you'd be embarrassed for houseguests to see.

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Though washing clothes is a chore, laundry rooms can certainly be stunning, and when searching for laundry room organization ideas, it's easy to fall into a Pinterest inspiration hole that lasts for weeks. Meanwhile, your laundry room keeps piling up with kids' athletic clothes, pajamas worn one too many times, and blouses that are so deep down in the hamper you thought they were lost ages ago.

Perhaps you've been meaning to set aside a weekend to organize your space or have considered hiring a professional organizer to do it for you. Dana K. White, decluttering expert and author of Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies to Keep Any House Under Control says it doesn't have to be that hard. You can start right now.

"The tendency with a laundry room is to open the door, think 'I can't do this,' close the door, and walk away," says White. "But your laundry room is a space that gets used constantly, so you can't ignore it."

While some organizers might recommend pulling everything out of the room or setting aside 72 hours to tackle the project from start to finish, White recognizes that approach is not realistic for many people. Whether you have twenty minutes or two hours, she says it's essential to work in a way that consistently makes helpful changes to your space.

How do I jumpstart my laundry room organization project?

"Start by decluttering," says White. "But do it in a way where you're going to make progress."

An easy way to immediately make progress? Take out the trash.

White says to grab a black trash bag and your recycling bin and start picking up the trash that's hiding in your laundry room. Old broken hangers, discarded packaging or price tags, and even empty laundry detergent bottles are likely sitting around your space.

"Even if you think there's no way there's trash in there, you'll find it. This will help you get moving and start to see the individual items in the space instead of a mass of stuff," says White.

"You'll make legitimate progress, and if you get called away in 15 minutes, it's okay because you've made progress."

—DANA K. WHITE, AUTHOR, PODCAST HOST, AND DECLUTTERING EXPERT

White adds that after you've taken out the trash and picked through items that can be donated or put away where they belong, you'll be able to see what's actually in your laundry room and can then decide what's helpful to keep and what's not.

How do I maintain an organized laundry room?

Since you likely have a laundry routine in place already, White says to focus on that routine and see where you can add in a few minutes of reset time.

Taking five minutes to put the laundry detergent away, clean the lint filter, and pick up that stray sock will go a long way in helping you stay on top of your organization. White says she also prefers to keep the top of her laundry machine clear so she can fold clothes immediately once they're finished drying, which helps keep her routine on track.

Once you've started your laundry room organization project, you don't necessarily need to buy The Home Edit's 5-Piece Laundry Edit if it's not going to help you stay organized. Still, there are a few items that can reduce the effort it takes to keep a laundry room clean and organized. Read on for some helpful picks for your space.

Honey-Can-Do Rolling Laundry Hamper

"I actually avoid having a lot of laundry baskets. In reality, a rolling hamper that you can roll straight from your room to the laundry room is more useful because it eliminates the in-between process," says White.

Transporting different laundry baskets from your bathroom, bedroom, and kids' rooms to a separate hamper or basket in your laundry room creates more work. If you want to overhaul your dirty laundry transportation from several rooms, opt for a 3-pack of easy-to-roll hampers with lids.

Laundry Pod Canister

If your laundry room is perfectly organized, but you have a leaky, bulky bottle of laundry detergent sitting on top of your machine, that can immediately be discouraging. However, a classic glass canister full of laundry detergent pods not only simplifies your washing process, but elevates the look and feel of your space as well.

However, if you have young children in your house, opt to keep the pods in their twist-and-lock container for safety reasons.

T-shirt Folding Board

White admits that piles of clean laundry lying around can even feel worse than piles of dirty laundry. "The key is to get things straight out of the dryer and fold them immediately," she says.

If folding clothes isn't your favorite activity, consider investing in a t-shirt folding board. These boards create a flat surface to fold clothing items and ensure that your shirts are folded to the same dimensions every time so you can neatly stack them or put them away in your drawers. Plus, they're fun to use.

iDesign Stackable Organizing Bin

If you're looking to organize the cabinets in your laundry room or if your space also houses a utility closet, consider adding some clear bins. One bin could house dryer sheets and dryer balls, while another could hold your stain removal products. Or, if you're devoted to traditional bottled laundry detergent or fabric softener, use a bin to house those items so that you can contain the mess if they leak.

When purchasing bins for your space, it's always important to measure your cabinets first. These bins come in a variety of sizes, so you'll be able to find one that's right for you.

Follow White's tips and you'll be well on your way to a more functional, and more attractive, laundry room today.