Combining Two Great Ideas for a Clean Laundry Room

How does your laundry room floor look right now? Are there clothes in piles around it, stacked up on the washer or dryer or shelf if they’re clean, scattered across the floor if they aren’t?

Laundry’s just another part of housekeeping, but somehow, it always ends up being one of the most unorganized. This idea will help you claim back your laundry room—if you’re comfortable enough with a hammer (or know someone who is!).

No, you aren’t going to go hammering down your laundry room just yet, but you are going to build a system that makes so much sense, it’s a wonder every laundry room doesn’t have one.

Ana at Ana White built a dresser to hold her laundry baskets. She can slip the baskets in and out as needed, but when they’re in the dresser space, they are a perfect spot for her to sort, organize, and put clothes to be folded.

• Choose Your Basket. Ana details exactly which basket and which dimensions to use to copy her style, but if you’re crafty enough to make your own, you’ll want to start with the basket because you need to build the shelves around it. Make sure the baskets are all the same size and shape.
• Build the Shelf. Measuring the width of your baskets as a guide (and remember to leave room for the runners), build a simple shelf case, minus the shelves!
• Add runners. In a dresser, there are often two metal strips on which the dresser drawers roll or slide. This is exactly what you’ll need to make your laundry dresser, and they’re available at any hardware store.

Once you’ve done that, you can slide your baskets in and start using it!