We spend more time than we’d like to admit in our laundry room or mudroom. When we get through our pile of dirty clothes, we look, and there’s another pile waiting in the wings. Regardless of room size, there are three things every mudroom should have: a place to fold clothes, a place to dry clothes, and ample storage. If you have a small mudroom or laundry closet, there are things you can do to achieve each of these; all you need is a little imagination to make the most out of the space you do have.
Folding space
Having a dedicated spot to fold clothes when they come out of the laundry isn’t just a nice-to-have thing, it’s a lifesaver if you’re doing laundry for an entire family and need to separate clothes into piles by person. If you don’t have the space for a countertop or standing table, check out this collapsible folding table that you can put in place when you need to fold and then collapse it back down against the wall when you’re done. There are a lot of options for sizes, so if this one is too long, there are options for shorter ones available.
Drying space
If you don’t want to risk drying your clothes because of shrinkage or worry about damage over time, you’ll also need a space to dry clothes. We love this Pully Maid drying rack that attaches to your ceiling. It’s waterproof, light resistant, and easy to clean. It won’t rust, and the three-bar design allows you to dry large items like sheets and towels with ease. It also comes with hangers for shirts, sports uniforms, and other smaller items you may want to hang dry.
Don’t skip on storage
If your laundry room doesn’t have space for over-unit cabinets to store laundry detergent, stain removers, garment bags, and other must-have items, consider a more compact option. We love this Container Store wire shelving unit because it’s easy to clean, can hold a lot of items in each drawer, and small items like clothespins won’t fall through. If you don’t have a lot of laundry items beyond the detergent and fabric softener, use the drawers to store things you don’t need every day, like batteries, lightbulbs, small tools, and cleaning supplies, so you have everything conveniently located in one place and ready to use.
Your mudroom should be a well-oiled machine. It’s not a place we often want to linger, so make sure you have everything you need within arm’s reach. With these three items, you can wash, fold, dry, and keep things organized so you spend less time in the laundry and more time doing something a bit more enjoyable.
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