Our new town home will not have cabinets or shelves in the laundry room as we decided to design it ourselves. I do not need a sink in there, so my thought is to have lower cabinets on the short wall (5 feet) with a solid counter top for folding and such. Most likely I will do either open shelves or cabinets on the wall above, and the same above the washer/dryer.
I am trying to figure out what would be the best storage and what I will keep in these cabinets as we have limited storage in this home. In our larger home, the laundry room cabinets have cleaning products, light bulbs, rags, as well as other odds and ends. I like the look of the deep drawers used in kitchens now instead of just doors with one shelf behind it. I was thinking maybe to use the drawers for the bottom cabinet on the short wall, but then if I have something taller, I wouldn’t have a place to put it other than overhead. I can’t decide it this would be a mistake.
I know I will use open shelves for above the w/d for ease of reaching the laundry detergent and other supplies; still can’t decide on the uppers on the other side.
What do you love or hate about your laundry room storage? What would you do different if you could? I have looked at designs online, of course those usually are of laundry rooms that are larger than my family room, so not a plan I can follow!
I have drawers of uneven size in my laundry room. The bottom drawer is taller to accommodate bottles of Tide etc. , the top one is much shorter. Works just fine! I like drawers better than shelves. Or you can get a cabinet with doors with one half of the cabinet being pull out shelves and the other - regular shelves that can be moved up or down.
We have a cupboard under our deep sink. The washer dryer are in our kitchen and there is a countertop where laundry can be folded opposite these appliances. We have windows above the washer and dryer, so no shelves.
I use open shelves above W/D for a couple of seldom used laundry baskets and detergents, etc. The wire shelves allow me to hang clothes to dry between (and formerly above the W/D). Now that I have front loaders on pedestals, not as much hanging space above. Pedestal drawers store little; the washer has a tray under it that precludes opening that drawer. Mostly use the pedestals to raise machines. Also have narrow cabinet storage for odds and ends, with room to open an ironing board.
Laundry location matters as if it is near main baths and bedrooms, you may use baskets for transport less and fold some items in bedrooms or hang them directly. I also have a divided 3 compartment hamper between the W/D.
I don’t iron often… but when I do, I appreciate having the ironing board/iron/spray bottle, etc. right there in the laundry room. Also room to fold, whether that be a separate table or simply the top of the dryer, that’s a must.
I have open shelves above W/D and wish I didn’t. They collect dust too easily and I wish I had cabinets to hide stuff in. As it is, I use baskets so it looks neater.
I was going to change from the wire shelves to closed cabinets, but i am short and would never have reached stuff. At present, with wire shelves, i can pull stuff with a hanger through the shelving. Not attractive, but functional.
Old house had the laundry tub built into a cabinet, new one does not. Current one is also the passage to the garage. I really like having a laundry tub. Here we can put our flip flops under the sink to slip on for going outside (Florida climate). Replaced old cabinets above with ones that extended the extra inches to the ceiling- open storage gets dusty. Under appliance storage that elevates washer and dryer to more convenient heights is not deep enough to store the extra Tide/Downey bottles upright, but they are tightly closed and do not leak.
Remember that laundry drying will cause some lint that escapes and becomes the dust in the room. It is nice to have counter space for folding et al. Consider those lower cabinets with adjustable slide out shelves instead of drawers so you can have one with enough height for detergent bottles and easy access to the rear portion. I use one set of three cabinets for laundry related supplies, one for cleaning stuff and the other for other chemicals and the unopened extra supplies used elsewhere. Limited storage here, sigh. The good news is that I can’t keep a lot of useless stuff.
I keep the iron (seldom used- retired) in a cabinet but the ironing board in the coat closet (ranch house). Have a broom closet in the kitchen for vacuum cleaner et al. Since we elevated the front loaders they are too high for regular countertop use to/from the garage.
First house had a laundry closet with a secondary hallway in front of it (would have redesigned that ranch to have overlarge/wasted space half bath across that hall incorporated with it for a real laundry room). Consider where you will put those wet/need to be washed items that you don’t want in your closet laundry basket. On top of the 36" high counter? I sometimes have a few items on top of the washer or dryer that need washing but also need to be separate from the rest of the dirty stuff.
I never use my laundry room for folding. I bring baskets of washed stuff upstairs and fold it while socializing with Mr. or watching TV. Having a separate laundry room is still important - that’s where the machines and cat boxes are kept out of sight.
I also prefer the laundry on the main floor- more likely to be there to check if things are done than to want to go upstairs to check. If we had a cat not sure where the litter box would go- under the laundry tub? Would pass it every time went to garage to leave or put stuff in the recycling bin. We use the bed for sorting clean laundry (retired so H gets to fold/put away his own). Use the open, close by dining room table for any sorting of the dirty stuff. Chest freezer there too. With once or twice a year use of that room it serves other purposes than just dining…
We do often sort and fold clothes on our bed, sometimes the floor, couch, or any other large, clean, flat surface. Have a dedicated folding space is not something that we value in this household.
It is funny, I have always had the laundry room on the main level; folding was done on the sofa while watching tv, or at the kitchen table while husband or kids ate after a late evening activity. In the new home, and almost every home we looked at, the laundry room is upstairs. While I know this is what most people want, to have the laundry by the bedrooms, I prefer to have it by the hub of the house so I can go back and forth without climbing stairs all day. This will be a change for me; not a bad one, but my habits will have to change.
While I do little folding in the laundry room, I still want a counter top for quick folds, to pretreat stains, or a place to set the laundry basket.
Another benefit to a main floor laundry, especially since they are often located right at the entry from the garage is that if you ever do yard work, gardening, heavy exercise and other outdoor activities that result in sweat/dirt, it’s easy to peel off clothing right there and not track yucky stuff through the rest of the house.
Our laundry room is off the entryway, so no through traffic. Cat boxes go under the counter in there. I do like the fact that we can drop our garden clothes there without dragging them through the entire house. An upstairs laundry room would have required some serious habit adjustment. Hope it works out for you, snowball!
Our laundry is in the hall bathroom on our second floor where all the bedrooms…and dirty clothes are. I love it there. No schlepping things up and down stairs…except dish towels…and winter jackets every so often.
We had a basement huge laundry room in a rental…and I loved the space…but I did not like carrying everything down…and up three flights of stairs to the bedrooms.
I typically do laundry in the morning or at bedtime…so I’m upstairs anyway.
Agree…a dedicated folding area isn’t essential…put the clean clothes on the right bed…and fold them there.
Our laundry room is also on the main floor. When we return from traveling, we take out the dirty things and put them in the laundry room right when we get in. Then we take the lighter suitcases upstairs. Also often fold laundry in front of the tv, etc.
I don’t schlep dirty stuff down - I often drop it from the second floor into a basket placed under the second floor landing. Mr. B has the privilege of schlepping things back up.
H put upper and lower cabinets along one wall, put a counter above the W & D, and put cabinets over that.
The cabinets keep the miscellaneous carp - extra cereal, apple juice, nespresso pods, to seldom used small electrics and entertaining stuff. They close so I don’t have to see it.
Detergent etc is above the sink. High horizontal cabinet above a drying/hanging rod holds plastic ware, sponges, swiffer things.
The cabinets are from ikea and are a style/color match to what’s in the adjacent kitchen. The countertop is laminate that looks like the quartz in the kitchen. If the door is open, it all flows.
I like the counter for folding what comes out of the dryer. It’s a good landing spot for wet clothes that are hung to dry. When entertaining, we put extra dishes, serveware, food until it’s time to use.
It’s almost an extension of the pantry.
With lint and dust, open shelving was a non-starter. I want to see what’s there easily, so no baskets. The shelves are all adjustable so no problems with varying heights of things.
Since H did it himself, he was able to customize the space - instead of one lower cabinet, he left it open and there’s a tall hamper that fits. There’s a spot to put the folding IKEA hampers we use to sort clothes so they stay contained. He removed a section of toe kick big enough for a folded step stool.
The narrow counter between lower and upper cabinets is where we put clothes for each of us to take upstairs.
Our laundry is off the master bedroom. I got tired of spending money so it doesn’t have folding tables or cabinets. I just put stuff on top of the washer or dryer. DH and I fold together on the bed which is pretty high so it’s quite comfortable. The room is just a little too short for the ironing table to stay unfolded. One of the things I didn’t spend money on was one of those built in cabinets with a fold down table. I’d blame the architect, but it was me!
I do love the second floor location. If anything were truly dirty, we could use the basement laundry machines which are still hooked up.
Mr. B has the privilege of schlepping things back up.