I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My Messy Laundry Room, and She Revamped It

published Aug 1, 2024
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Clothes in laundry baskets before organizing.
Credit: Laura Wheatman Hill

The laundry never seems to end in my home. And if I could control what happens with artificial intelligence, I’d have it do my laundry. I don’t need it to write screenplays; I need it to fold and put stuff away. Since I haven’t gotten my robot laundry helper (yet), I have to deal with the mountains of clothes and linens that seem to accumulate at a breakneck speed. 

As a result of the amount of laundry I have to do, my busy schedule as a single mom, and my overall lack of interest in the process, my laundry room has become a cluttered mess that’s disorganized and inefficient. So I reached out to Jean Prominski of Sparkle Home Organizing for her help to get this space working more efficiently, and hopefully, to motivate me to keep it more orderly.

Credit: Laura Wheatman Hill

Edit and organize the hampers and supplies.

I have an elaborate laundry system in which, at any given moment, there are six to eight hampers in rotation around my home, from my older kid’s bedroom to the kitchen downstairs. This has helped me stay focused on one room or person at a time.

The big, deep shelves in the laundry room, while great for holding baskets of dirty clothes, also house other items, making it chaotic and messy. For instance, there are categories of items, “needs a button,” “hand-wash,” or “doesn’t fit the kid” all commingle on a shelf along with a Halloween bucket of things found in pockets (mostly rocks and Lego pieces). On a shelf beside the washer, there are detergents, stain removers, and fabric softeners.

Credit: Laura Wheatman Hill

It was easy enough to take the time to do an edit of the random bits and bobs I keep on my shelves. Then, I got clear bins to hold the laundry supplies by the washer. They allow me to see what’s inside and they are easy to clean. 

I have a lot of “to-do” piles, which are things that I need to address before they can be washed or worn again. They’re not ready to go into the main hampers. I organized these piles into four categories: “to be hand-washed,” “to be donated,” “to be stain treated,” and “to be fixed,” and put them on the shelf above the hampers along with my basket of sewing stuff and buttons. 

Credit: Laura Wheatman Hill

Create a hang-dry space.

I cannot affix things to the thin walls of my home unless I want to make a hole in the drywall and I’m not skilled enough to install things, even with a stud finder. I wanted to add a solution for air-drying clothing. However, didn’t think I had enough room. So Prominski and I brainstormed ideas and came up with these solutions: an over-the-door foldable drying rod and a hanging drying rack

The hanging rack folds away when not in use and fits on the shelf or can be held up by the drying rod when in use. Unlike something on the wall, I don’t have to worry as much about overloading the folding rod with heavy, wet items. 

Credit: Laura Wheatman Hill

Find motivation for clean clothes.

My biggest problem when it comes to laundry is that I get no satisfaction from putting laundry away. I do not delight in folding and get overwhelmed the moment I put all the clothes away because I know there’s plenty more waiting for me in the laundry room.

Prominski sympathized, and she helped me find ways to stay motivated. She and I looked at what’s currently working for me, and her stamp of approval helps motivate me to keep up with the current systems in conjunction with the new organization methods I’ve just added.

Instead of neatly folding clothes away, I can use bins in drawers to keep items separated and opt to hang them instead. At her suggestion, I created more dividers within my and my son’s drawers and added clear bins to my son’s room. 

Credit: Laura Wheatman Hill

My Final Thoughts

The overall laundry room transformation has helped ease my mental clutter when I have to tackle these endless tasks. I realized, too, that this space will always be in transition from one mode to another, and that’s OK. The changes were inexpensive, took up little space, and made a big difference in increasing efficiency within the space. I’m glad I took the time to reorganize.