An Organization Expert Tells Us The Best Place To Start When Decluttering Your Laundry Room
Entering your laundry room can be unsightly once clothes and other items begin piling up, intertwining themselves to create a stinking heap that only the bravest of individuals could dare to take on. But once sneaky socks start peeking out of the laundry basket, and miscellaneous items are gobbling up your counter space, you may realize all too fast that a swift cleanup is in order. But where do you start? Speaking exclusively to House Digest, the Founder of the residential organization company The Baer Minimalist®, Maria Baer gives us a few handy pointers. "A big clutter culprit is the basket of mismatched socks. If a sock has been there for more than a week, it probably won't find its match again. If the basket is overflowing, it would be a project in and of itself to try to match everything up once again. Consider donating those to a textile recycling program in your city (or a national one like those offered by For Days, H&M or Smartwool)."
While this whole process may take a bit of digging, it will help you to organize your clutter. If you're starting with socks, you can use your countertop space to lay them down and pair them together as you go along. When you're done you can either leave them out or pop them into a smaller storage bin to keep them out of the way. Alternatively, you can toss them into your washing machine for a wash.
What area should be decluttered next?
If your laundry room is still a mess after organizing your clothes, then you may be wondering where is best to declutter next. While it may feel overwhelming to start, there are some logical places you can move onto, according to Maria Baer in her exclusive interview with House Digest. "The next place to tackle is the hard to reach spots (high shelves, deep cabinets, and cluttered closets) and consider what is being stored in the space. Like some of the other major storage areas in the home (attics, basements and garages), there may be a lot of items in your laundry room that are no longer useful in your home." For example, this could include a broken ironing board, outdated cleaning products, and old shoes or toys, to name a few. Rather than shoving the clutter away elsewhere, there is a logical process you can follow to eliminate unnecessary items and keep things tidy.
Speaking to House Digest, Baer dives into more detail. "With any organizing project, we pull items and put them into the following categories: keep, donate, recycle, sell, toss or return. Once items have been categorized, consider if the items in the Keep pile are best suited to stay in the laundry room, or if they would be easier to access in another space in your home." When you're done, you should be left with a laundry room that looks brand new and mess-free.
Prevent clutter from building up
Now you've organized your laundry room, you may be feeling rather smitten. However, there are a few steps you can take to minimize your chances of having to complete this mammoth task again. During her exclusive interview with House Digest, organizational expert Maria Baer recommends taking the following precautions. "A stackable washer/dryer can create the opportunity for much more accessible storage. If you do have overhead cabinets above a side-by-side washer and dryer, consider adding turntables or baskets with handles so that you can grab items more easily. One of the most important things when organizing any space is to add labels so that you can remember what is stored where." By implementing these ideas, your laundry room space should work much more efficiently and save you time when searching for things. However, that's not all.
In addition, she adds, "Also consider the amount of backstock you have on hand – whether it is detergent, paper goods or cleaning supplies. Consider pausing your subscriptions while you work through some of your existing stock, which will ultimately allow your cabinets to breathe a bit better too." If all of this seems overwhelming to fit into one day, start by doing one section daily until you're satisfied with the outcome.