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Laundry love

Sorting dark and whites might not be your favourite pastime and if you had a choice you’d be anywhere other than running your washer and dryer. But it’s a simple fact that we all do laundry. So why not ease the burden and make your laundry room more inviting?

Organization is key. Maybe you have some old cabinets from a kitchen renovation or an old armoire that got bumped when the guest bedroom became a home office. Use them in your laundry room. Hang cabinets to keep floor space free and fill them with detergent, stain sticks, dryer sheets and ironing supplies. Use armoires or old dressers for extra clothing storage. If you don’t have cabinets or dressers cluttering up your garage, check out a yard sale.

Maximize space. Wicker baskets can be lined up along a high shelf and used to store sewing materials and loose hangers. Use wall hooks to hang clothes and shelves for more storage. Install a fold-out ironing board. Laundry rooms can seem cramped, but taking just a few small steps can open up the entire space.

Let there be light. If you’ve got an older home with the laundry squirreled away in the basement, you know how dreary it can get. Install recessed pot lights or one of those new high-tech cables that suspend halogen bulbs. Even just placing a few lamps in shadowy corners can add a warm glow.

Paint by numbers. Industrial white has usually been the colour of choice for laundry rooms, but who says you can’t spice up your life with something unusual. Mustard yellow, sage green or cinnamon can all find a home in your laundry room. Use your shelves to hold a favourite family photograph. Hang a chalkboard on a blank wall and jot down a note when you run out of cleaning supplies or write your grocery list while you wait for the dryer bell to sound.

Wash day might never make you jump for joy, but it can become less of a chore. A few small changes and suddenly running the spin cycle doesn’t have you running for the hills.