Washing, soaking, drying, folding, ironing — it can be monotonous. With the average household doing over four loads of laundry per week (300 loads every year), a lot of time is spent within the four walls of your laundry room. And for those with small laundry rooms, the drudgery can pile up as much as the loads. Here’s how you can make laundry day a lot more enjoyable — or at the very least, more efficient.
Spick-and-Span Spin Cycles
For those looking to keep their time in the laundry room to a minimum, rewashing loads can be a nightmare. If your clothes are coming out of the wash dirty, it may be time to install a water softener. Minerals like calcium and magnesium contribute to water hardness, which can make cleaning your clothes (and anything else in your home) more difficult. The built-up residue caused by hard water not only makes clean laundry feel rough, it also shortens the lifespan of your appliances and plumbing. Installing a water-softening system is an easy upgrade that’ll benefit your daily life and can save you thousands in the long run. Plus, Enercare’s rental option offers free installation and repair coverage for the lifetime of the water softener, which means you’ll enjoy more efficient cleaning and spend less time worrying about maintenance. So keep your clothes brighter, cleaner and softer for years to come by washing them the most efficient way — in water that’s been treated by a water softener.
Space-Saver for Small Laundry Rooms
If space allows, unstack your washing machine and dryer to allow for working counter space and functional shelving. This reconfiguration will give you a place to fold and sort your laundry plus provide you easy access to items you need frequently like laundry soap, fabric softener and wool drying balls. Installing cupboards above your washer and dryer can also provide a safe space to store household cleaners you’d like to keep out of reach from children and pets.
If you’re in the process of remodeling, consider keeping your laundry room central to the areas of your home where you produce the most dirty laundry. For many, this could be off the kitchen or near the bedrooms. You’d be surprised how much time centralizing your laundry room can save.
Related: Scott McGillivray Reveals 8 Tips for Designing the Perfect Laundry Room
Better Drying Solutions
While it can be tempting to chuck an entire load of laundry in the dryer, it’s not very energy-efficient and may take more time to dry items. There’s also nothing worse than discovering a fresh load is completely wrinkled from sitting too long — or worse, still damp and smelly from sitting in the barrel for longer than you’d like to admit.
Air drying clothing will make your laundry habits more efficient — and having multiple air drying methods is best for efficiency. While a laundry horse can be great for bigger loads, you may find having a permanent clothing rod helpful for drying smaller loads or storing items waiting to be pressed. If you’re in the process of revamping your small laundry room, you might want to consider invisible drying drawers or a retractable drying line. For items that require machine drying, try swapping your scented dryer sheets with wool drying balls for an eco-friendly alternative.
Related: 18 Laundry Room Ideas That Are Beyond Stylish (and Super Functional)
Functional Finesse
Superfluous shelf styling has no place in a small laundry room. To keep your clothing workstation functioning efficiently, try decanting your laundry essentials. Not only do matching jars and baskets do something good for the soul, they can also be huge space savers. While it’s important to note that some cleaning products shouldn’t be decanted, storing items like laundry detergent, fabric softener, dryer balls and clothing pins in matching containers will do wonders for decluttering while keeping items in plain sight. Plus, decanting your products provides a great opportunity to visit your local refillery shop the next time you run out of essentials.
Related: The Easy Laundry Room Organization Hack You’ll Use From Now On
Take a Load Off
The best way to make your laundry day more efficient is by not having one. Many of us don’t have a regular ‘laundry day’ nowadays, and that’s truly the best policy. Rather than let laundry pile up for even a single day, it’s best to squeeze in a load when you can to keep cycles moving efficiently. Large piles of laundry can make your small laundry room feel even smaller. Plus, you shouldn’t let sweaty gym clothes sit for too long in a laundry basket anyways. This can cause bacteria and smells that are far more difficult to get rid of than if you had just started a load sooner.
You don’t need a large laundry room to take the drudgery out of washing your clothing. Leveling up your laundry game with small upgrades like a water softener from Enercare and more efficient drying solutions will save you time, money and space. Now that’s something we can all get on board with!
