I’ve written about laundry before, but for some reason, the problem isn’t “solved” yet. LOL We all did laundry last week. We’ll do it again next week. Do you think of laundry as a dreaded chore or a moment of zen? Let me introduce you to the art of laundry.
As a child, the first house I remember had a dark, cavernous basement laundry room. Lighting was bad. Even the washing machine seemed dirty (it was rusty). My early apartments also had that “serial killer behind the water heater” vibe. No wonder so many of us hate doing laundry.
My first pro tip for making laundry easier is to make the laundry room nicer. Today’s laundry rooms are often as nice as a high-end kitchen. Crown molding. Artisan counters. Gleaming appliances. This laundry room is actually the mudroom of this brand new house, as many senior homes are designed today. It’s a walkthrough space to the garage that you use every day, so why not make it beautiful, right?
The cabinets mean there’s space for essentials. The trick is not to overload the cabinets.
How nice to have everything right where you need it, even if you never actually use the iron.
Tools nearby. Odds and ends corralled in a bin. It looks lovely and makes laundry day very zen.
If a laundry room reno isn’t in your future, you can still have a lovely basement laundry with just a coat of paint, color coordinating your accessories, and some strategic organizing.
I have a confession to make. Somewhere along the way, I’ve come to actually enjoy the 15 minutes it takes to fold and hang my two loads of laundry per week.
Only two loads? Yes, because I’ve spent years training my family members to do their own laundry. You wear it, you wash it.
My own laundry “room” is a cheerful closet in the middle of my galley kitchen. My absolute favorite thing is the ceiling-mounted hanging rack I added a few years ago. Check out my laundry space here.
You have to find your own groove when it comes to laundry. Your home, your people, your wardrobe, and your routine will all be different than mine, but this one little tweak to your laundry routine might be magic.
A star-studded list of professional organizing colleagues contributed to this great article on Mastering the Art of Laundry from Porch.com. There are literally too many great approaches to mention, but I particularly agree with smart cookie, colleague, and CPO Julie Bestry: make your overwhelming laundry routine smaller, with smaller loads and defined steps that take minutes instead of all day.
I made laundry simpler at my house last year when I broke our iron. I haven’t replaced it and haven’t missed it yet. 🙂
I hope you find at least one new approach to laundry that saves you time, money, or frustration.
What’s your best laundry tip? Leave it in the comments below.
