From my experience, there are two types of laundry rooms: either a sleek, clean, minimalist space where you can freshen up your wardrobe in the warmth of fresh lavender-scented shirts, like you’re in a Snuggle commercial, or a veritable dump where the washer and dryer serve as surfaces upon which to throw piles of dirty clothes rather than clean them. Well, if yours resembles the latter and you’d love to learn some laundry room organization tips, you’ve come to the right place.

But why even bother to organize your laundry room? Well, chaos-loving angel, because a sense of order can make doing the laundry far more enjoyable and less stressful. “A laundry room is like any other room in our home,” says organizational expert and certified KonMari Method consultant Patty Morrissey. “We spend time there, so it should be a joyful place to visit, even if, or especially if, doing laundry is not your favorite chore. It’s one workhorse of a room, and organizing the space will make the task of doing laundry simpler and hopefully more joyful.”

Below, Morrissey shares how you can best declutter and decorate your laundry room.

7 laundry room organization tips and tools that’ll make doing your chores more enjoyable

1. Make sure you have a shelf

“Have a dedicated shelf for your supplies—detergent, dryer balls, stain remover,” says Morrissey. “Avoid using the top of your laundry machine as the storage area. If you have lots of little supplies, use a container to keep them together on the shelf.”

I really like these simple shelves because they have a dedicated safety bar. Nobody wants to get clunked in the head when they knock over dryer sheets while reaching for detergent, after all.

Shop Now: Audoc Floating Shelves Wall with Towel Bar, Set of 2, $22

2. Have hanging bars or hooks ready

“You’ll need a hanging bar or hook to hang clothes you’re ironing or letting air-dry,” says Morrissey. Again, I love the above shelves and towel-bar set because it comes with everything you need to dry your garments.

3. Make sure to have a trash bin for laundry gunk

This is mainly for discarding lint. Personally, I really like this cute, small, marble-print step bin, but if you feel like you’ll be tossing out a whole lotta’ lint, feel free to opt for something taller.

Shop Now: mDesign 5 Liter Rectangular Small Step Trash Can Wastebasket, $26

4. Keep several bins in your laundry room

“[You’ll need this] for donations, for items you’re selling through an app, for things that belong to other people, and for dry cleaning,” Morrissey says. “This keeps the items out of your closet out of your way until you have a chance to deal with them.” These specific outboxes come in three blends of neutral tones as well, the pastel shades that I prefer.

Shop Now: EZOWare Set of 3 Large Canvas Fabric Tweed Storage Organizer Cube Set, $22

4. Have other small storage containers ready

You know how you find little trinkets in your clothes pockets before you put them in the wash? (Or, less unfortunately, after you pull it out of the dryer?) It could be helpful to find a space for those odds and ends. “Keep a change jar and an empty bin to collect loose change and lost and found items, like hair ties that end up in pockets,” Morrissey says.

5. Store your paper goods in there…and keep them looking fun

“The laundry room is a great place to store surplus items like paper towels and toilet paper,” says Morrissey. “I recommend taking them out of the plastic wrapping for a cleaner look, or, better yet, get your TP from Who Gives a Crap that comes in fun paper packaging. Having extra paper towels on hand is also useful for cleaning up detergent spills and wiping down the dryer to keep it lint-free.”

Shop Now: Who Gives a Crap 100 Percent Recycled Toilet Paper, 48 for $48 

6. Have wheeling laundry carts

“The biggest mess in the laundry room is caused by the clothes themselves—oh the piles,” Morrissey says. “I [like] these Steele laundry carts, and they’re great for corralling all of the laundry. I recommend getting three, or using three laundry baskets to manage the constant stream of ‘to-wash’ and ‘just-washed’ dried laundry.”

Shop Now: Steele Canvas Elevated Truck, $154

7. Treat yourself to quality supplies

“Like a nice linen water to add a bit more joy to the chore of ironing or sprinkle some essential oils on your dryer ball to add a nice scent to your laundry,” says Morrissey. “The Laundress has some good stuff.”

3 quick decorating tips for the laundry room

Want to bring your laundry room organization to the next level? Think of it as an exercise in interior design. Since you want to treat the laundry room like any other room in the house, aesthetics matter, and it is possible to have a chic laundry room filled with life. Below, Morrissey offers three tips for how to bring yours to life.

1. Add some textured floors

“If your laundry room is in a basement or other unfinished part of your home, it helps to add a rug to define the space, and add some inspiring artwork to look at while you’re working,” Morrissey says.

2. Bring in some greenery

“Add plants to bring life force energy to the space and immediately upgrade the space,” says Morrissey. We always love bringing the outside indoors, but you might want to focus on plants that can thrive in low light, especially if this is a basement laundry room.

3. Do whatever you want!

“Guests will rarely visit your laundry room, so allow this to be an opportunity to display some of your personal items that you might otherwise not want to display in your main living areas: sentimental artwork, posters, vision boards, and so on,” Morrrisey says.

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