My Laundry Room Cupboard Organization
Decluttering and organizing your laundry room; using what you have to test it out; colourful bins; good-looking laundry room.
Have you ever thought of making your laundry room or laundry area pretty and organized so that it becomes fun to do the chore that is laundry? Here’s what I did with mine.
When we moved into our newly built house, I didn’t specifically plan out where I wanted things to go but I had a general idea based on how we functioned as a family. Once we moved-in, I tested a few layouts and eventually came up with one that works for us.
Make an inventory
Before you go an buy containers, cute labels and such to organize your laundry room, make an inventory of what you have. To do so, you will need to completely empty your cupboards, closets, bins or whatever you use to store any laundry related items. Yes, you heard me:
Empty it all!
Depending on your comfort level with sorting and organizing, you may want to do this in sections so that it’s not too overwhelming. Or else, it may take you the whole day to put everything back.
Group similar items together to get an idea of how many you have and what amount of space it will take once it’s put away in its designated area. Doing so, will give you a better idea as to what you need as far as supplies to make everything tidy and good looking. This will also give you the opportunity to discard anything that you don’t use or that shouldn’t be here.
Once that’s done, measure your area and write down the measurements to go get what you need (if you need to go to the store).
Try using what you have
Although it’s a lot of fun to browse through nicely organized laundry rooms on Pinterest and to imagine what yours would look like with all those nice bins and accessories, try focusing on what you have and how you can best utilize it to your advantage. This will save you time (no need to go to the store) and money and will also give you the opportunity to “try out” this new layout and see if it’s functional for you.
Test it out for a bit to see if you need to move things around before you commit to it. Here are a few things to consider:
- put items you don’t frequently use up top
- keep frequently used items at eye level (if possible)
- make sure your laundry detergent and/or powder is not easily accessible to children
- label your bins or containers (especially if they are not see-through)
- try “shopping” your home for decor to personalize the space; you could be surprised as to what you find in your own home (see post)
Our organized laundry room
When we moved in, we had so many things to do that the laundry room was not a priority. We lived with it for a while and kept an open mind for future ideas and projects for the space. As you can see below, we had a pretty blank slate.
After approximately 6 months, we ended up with this look. I absolutely love going into our Laundry Room/Mudroom to do laundry!
Inside the cupboards
Here is what the inside of our laundry room cupboards look like.
Upper cabinets
I felt like the main area (the cabinets over the counter) needed to be functional yet stylish. That was my personal preference so keep in mind that I could have gone with a much simpler or different style. Organize your laundry room based on your style. You won’t have guests peeking in this cupboard. Being that it’s only for you (or your family) so there is no pressure for it to be perfect. Go for function and practicality first and foremost.
I grouped similar items and then plopped them into bins with the most used on the bottom shelf and the not-so-frequently used items at the very top. Here is how I have it divided:
- oils
- sewing
- shoe care
- tools
- night lights & baby proofing
- felts & hooks
- cat stuff
- laundry
- laundry pods
- powder laundry detergent
I used these Sockerbit bins from IKEA for the majority of my items. I love them. They give a bit of a punch of colour yet are functional. I labelled them with chalk board stickers (if you are looking for some, I did see packs at Dollorama!) and a chalk marker to give me the option of changing the categories if I ever need to.
As for my laundry detergent pods and powder, I used empty protein powder canisters that I had on hand. I painted the lids black and added a label.
As for the top shelf above the drying rod, I added simple decor to add personality and brightness to the space. PS: Adding a nice bin or basket as decor can double as storage.
Lower cabinets
I added white plastic bins in the lower cabinet underneath the counter. The bins serve as hampers for dirty kitchen towels and Norwex laundry. I stack all our laundry baskets at the bottom for easy access.
Under the sink, I have a hand towel hung on a 3M Command hook (check out this post on 3M command hooks), my essential oils wooden box, a trash can and a watering can for interior plants.
Remember, there are no set rules to organizing your laundry room. Do what works for you and your family and change it when your needs change.
If this post gave you ideas and inspiration to organize your own laundry room leave me a comment of what you plan on doing to yours.
