How to Make a Laundry Room Multi-Functional

It makes sense to put the laundry room in your most convenient place.

Making the most of the space in our homes is an ongoing task for sure. New trends make media rooms and extra game rooms tempting, so doubling up on the space we have makes perfect sense. The laundry room has a distinct purpose to begin with but lends itself to other functions. Place your laundry room in an area of the house where it can be accessed for other needs. Organization is the key to using a room for more than one function. Dream big and plan carefully to have no wasted space.

Instructions

1. Locate the laundry room's extra space. Take an empty wall and build shelves or add hooks to turn the space into the newly popular mudroom. This is a great combination since wet, dirty clothes can be deposited right where they need to be. If the laundry room is located near a garage or a back room in the house, dirty clothes don't need to be dragged through the rest of the house.

2. Make cubbies or lockers for each member of the family to give them a place to store hats, gloves, book bags or sports equipment. Organize the laundry room as the family's central hub. Have a place for keys and mail. Each family member can have his own box for important papers and bulletin boards to keep track of events.

3. Consolidate all the cleaners and other laundry products into one space. Storage is always at a premium in any home. With your laundry needs all in one cupboard, the other cupboards can be used for games, or linens or even extra can goods. The laundry room is turned into a pantry or spare closet.

4. Share a laundry room in the basement with a family room. While the laundry is going the family can watch TV, play games or do crafts. This tedious chores won't seems so bad if everyone is around to pitch in or at least be near by.

5. Plan a laundry room upstairs near the bedrooms whenever possible. Your clothes are already there and you'll save many trips bring clothes up and down the stairs. Share space with a bathroom or closet conveniently giving way to storage areas for extra towels and bedding. Create a pass-through closet from a laundry room and a bathroom to easily transfer towels.

6. Create space in the kitchen for a laundry room with a stacking washer and dryer. Do laundry while dinner is cooking. The easier it is to access the laundry room the less behind you'll get on that chore.

References

• Ideas for a small laundry room

Resources

• Ideas for the laundy room