Many of us don’t even bother considering how to organize a laundry room. We see the space as just a catch-all utility area: a place to dump clothes, tools, boxes, and miscellaneous junk.

For those of us with busy schedules, it can also be fairly common to see a mountainous pile of clean, dirty and unfolded clothing and clutter strewn about.

But, the laundry room has serious untapped potential as a versatile, useful part of your everyday life.

“It’s a great space, a workhorse of the house,”; says Stephanie Boyd, a professional organizer. “It can be a command center when you have a space doing double duty, especially with a large family.”;

Read on for advice from our organizing experts on how you can create and reinvigorate your laundry room space at home!

Identify Your Laundry Room Goals and Space

When you’re considering a laundry room refresh, think about how you want to use the space, where it will best fit in your home, and how you want it to feel—from high-energy to calm and relaxing.

“Because it works so hard doesn’t mean it can’t look good,”; said Boyd, who operates S.T.O.R.E. By Steph and who has a “Live, Love … Launder!”; message painted on her laundry room wall at home, along with other whimsical, laundry-related signs.

“If you’re spending time there, why not have something that makes you smile?”;

Experts like Boyd and Scott McCafferty, who helps manage Closet Solutions, have seen all kinds of laundry room layouts work well in all kinds of spaces: in a basement or garage, off a kitchen, in a hallway behind bi-folding doors, under a staircase, or in a closet. So keep an open mind as you work to site your laundry space.

And remember you’re not alone. For McCafferty, laundry room redesigns are becoming more frequent.

“People are trying to cram more and more into smaller and smaller spaces,”; he said. “At the end of the day, it’s about maximizing the space they’ve got.”;

Laundry Room Organization Ideas

By definition, your laundry room is for washers and dryers, and depending on the room layout, these days you have the awesome opportunity to choose: either stacked or traditional side-by-side models.

Also, in addition to the obvious soaps and dryer sheets, and shelves for them, consider stashing ironing and sewing supplies, cleaning supplies, extra towels and rags.

If you can fit it, consider also carving out some flat space in your laundry room for folding or piling up the next load.

If you have limited room, you can even try for fold-down ironing boards, tables, hanging rods and racks—to make your life a lot easier. Having a bag in the room for donations and laundry sorters on wheels are also super helpful.

Some dedicated laundry rooms even have drains in the middle of the floor in case of spills and sinks for soaking.

But as we’ve already mentioned, you can make a laundry “room”; work anywhere, even in a garage. For one client, Boyd treated a garage corner as a sacred space dedicated to getting clean and staying organized.

“I put in an indoor/outdoor rug in front of the machine to create a visual space delineator,”; she said. “Create a zone and go for it.”;

She added open shelving above the machine with storage containers for “wash,”; “pre soak”; and “dry”; and a drying rack on the ground. Today, she said the garage feels like it has a dedicated laundry room within it.

If you have more space and a bigger budget, task lighting is also popular and can help you look for stains. For those who iron a lot, Boyd said she’s even helped clients make space for a television or music speakers.

It’s all about making it look as nice and be as pleasant as you can.

“There are no rules,”; Boyd said. “It’s whatever works for you.”;

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Boyd