Our Best Laundry Room Storage Ideas

Use a Rolling Cart

Laundry room with rolling storage cart — GETTY IMAGES

Rolling carts are a great storage solution in laundry rooms—especially in small spaces where there isn't room for installing cabinets and drawers. "They are a sleek and simple storage solution to make accessing supplies more convenient," says Jean Prominski, certified professional organizer, member of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, and owner of Seattle Sparkle. "They can be conveniently moved to where the supplies will be needed and then moved back to where they belong so that they’re not in the way."

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Hang Floating Shelves

floating shelves laundry room — evgenyatamanenko / GETTY IMAGES

Make use of vertical space in your laundry room by hanging floating shelves. Not only do they allow you to see what you're storing, but floating shelves make it easy to add storage to oddly shaped spaces, says Prominski. "If you have a lot of small items to store on floating shelves, use containers to group like items. This organizational technique will also make your shelf look more aesthetically pleasing and make it easier to keep clean," she says.

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Keep a Hamper in Your Laundry Room

Laundry room with hamper — didecs / GETTY IMAGES

Keep a hamper in your laundry room to separate clean clothes from dirty clothes. "There are times when we don’t have the time to finish our to-do list in the laundry room, so we need a place to put the clean clothes after they come out of the dryer," says organizing expert Tamar Prager, founder of tamarprager.com and host of the podcast The Paper Weight. "Or perhaps it’s used as a place to store an overflow of dirty laundry that has nowhere else to go while it waits its turn to get washed."

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Stack Your Washing Machine and Dryer

stacked washer and dryer — gerenme / GETTY IMAGES

If you have a front-load washing machine (rather than top-load), stack it on top of your dryer to conserve floor space. "In apartments and other small spaces, stacking your washer and dryer may be the only option," says Prominski. "Make sure that the machines you purchase can be stacked, as not all models are stackable. You can also purchase washer and dryer combos that come as one stacked unit."

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Hang a Drying Rod

drying rod laundry room — dit26978 / GETTY IMAGES

Hang-drying clothes is essential for some garments, but the process can take up a lot of space in your laundry room. To conserve square footage, mount a rod from the ceiling. "Clothes can be hung on hangers and then hung on the rod so they can dry," says Prominski. "This method takes up zero floor or wall space." You can also mount rods to the wall, but this may cut down on potential places to install shelves or cabinets.

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Utilize Sink Storage

If your laundry room has a sink, put the area under it to use by storing extra laundry supplies there, like detergents, stain sticks, clothespins, and fabric softener sheets, says Prager. Be sure to clean it off first (if it hasn't been used in a while).

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Install Hooks

laundry on hooks — Beeldbewerking / GETTY IMAGES

Hooks allow you to store items vertically, which is especially ideal if your laundry room is really narrow. "For instance, if you have a really narrow space and something that could be stored there (like a portable drying rack), you can use hooks to store it," says Prominski. "Hooks can be a great solution for hanging cleaning implements such as brooms, dustpans, mops, and dusters."

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Install Cabinets

If you have the space, cabinets are the ultimate storage solution in laundry rooms. "They are a wonderful way to make it easy to organize your things and find what you need," says Prominski. "If cabinets are deep, install pull-out shelves on the lower cabinets, and use bins to contain like items on the upper cabinets, so it’s easy to pull them out and see what you have."

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Use a Garment Rack

Garment rack in laundry room — onurdongel / GETTY IMAGES

Use a foldable garment rack for hanging up clothes that need to dry or pieces that are waiting to be dropped off at the dry cleaners. When it's not in use, fold it up and put it in a linen closet or under your bed.

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Use Baskets

laundry baskets — Liudmila Chernetska / GETTY IMAGES

Corral laundry supplies, like detergent and stain remover, in baskets to keep your laundry room organized. "To make the most out of your space, look for baskets that are square or rectangular rather than ones that are circular or ones with tapered sides," says Prominski. "Use baskets that are finely woven rather than ones with a wide mesh where things can fall out easily."

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Decant Laundry Supplies

Bulky liquids and powders can take up a lot of room in your laundry room. Conserve storage space by decanting these items into smaller containers and storing the back stock in an area with less valuable real estate (like a spacious linen closet), says Prominski.

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Opt for a Wall-Mounted Ironing Board

Wall ironing board — onurdongel / GETTY IMAGES

Having a way to get wrinkles out of clothing is a worthwhile addition to any laundry room, but an ironing board can take up precious floor space. An easy workaround? "Purchase a space-saving ironing board that can be mounted to the wall, or fold up your free-standing ironing board and store it out of the way," says Prominski.

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Keep a Trash Can in Your Laundry Room

garbage bin in laundry room — Liudmila Chernetska / GETTY IMAGES

Keep a small trash can in your laundry room for a convenient way to throw away miscellaneous items, like a threadbare sock, lint from the dryer, empty detergent containers, or any garbage found in pockets, says Prager.

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Use Labels

laundry supplies labels — May Lim / GETTY IMAGES

Laundry room cabinets can quickly become a hub for random items you don't have space for elsewhere, which is why labels are helpful. "It’s a good idea to create labels for where things belong, so the real estate doesn’t get hijacked," says Prominski.

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Have a Laundry System

organized laundry area — onurdongel / GETTY IMAGES

Creating stations in your laundry room will help keep the space organized, even when you have multiple loads of clothing to wash. "When we’re running on auto-pilot, having consistent stations helps streamline our work," says Prager. "It feels supportive to know exactly where to dump the dirty clothes vs. the clean clothes, the whites vs. the darks, or where all the bedding goes."

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15 Storage Ideas for the Laundry Room That Will Make It Easier to Use