Having a washer and dryer in your own home is a luxury that many of us too often take for granted. It is easy to forget what a pain it is wasting a good chunk of your day at the Laundromat when you consider the state of your own laundry room. Most of us don’t have the benefit of extra space for proper laundry facilities.

We cram washers and dryers into closets, kitchens, and dingy basement corners. Detergents and dryer sheets end up scattered all over the place. There is nowhere to hang dress shirts. Your family’s clothes are constantly getting mixed together. Your precious space is becoming such a mess that you almost miss the days of spreading out in a nice roomy coin-op laundry.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be that way. Today there are many cheap and easy ways to organize your laundry area, no matter what size it may be. Here are a few great examples of simple ways to reclaim your valuable space.

Suction Washer Shelves

Make the best out of even the most minimal laundry area with suction utility shelves. They are easy to assemble and even easier to mount. In fact, you don’t need any tools at all. Simply moisten the suction cups and pop them right onto the side of your washer or dryer.

The bi-level steel shelving unit hangs over the side of your machine, but it suctions on top so that there is no worry of heavy bottles of detergent or bleach causing it to fall. It measures 16 X 8 ½ X 23" so there is plenty of room for all of your laundry essentials and cleaning supplies. Don’t let big bottles of bleach unnecessarily clutter your house. Put them in their place with convenient suction washer shelves.

Washing Machine Wire Shelf

Of course, mounting shelves on the side of your washing machine is not always an option. Some people have their washer and dryer stacked in a closet, or so close to each other that there is simply no room on the sides. Extra space in a lot of laundry rooms can be like developing real estate in New York City.

Oftentimes the only place to go is up. That is why this handy wire shelf attaches right on top of any washing machine. Another advantage of this design is that by keeping your cleaning supplies on top of your washing machine you are also keeping dangerous chemicals out of reach of any curious young children. The steel wire frame of the shelf has a white vinyl-coated exterior so that your appliances won’t get scratched up either.

Overdoor Laundry Hanger

Folding or hanging clothes immediately after they are done in the dryer is a great trick to avoid having to iron them later. But in many laundry rooms, there is simply nowhere convenient to hang anything up.

The overdoor laundry hanger is a great addition to any laundry room. It can be folded closed when not in use, making it perfect for even the smallest laundry area. The sturdy chrome beam has ten holes so that you can immediately hang shirts, pants, or other garments fresh out of the dryer. When you are done, simply fold it back down and forget about it until next time. This handy hanger isn’t only at home in the laundry room either. It is a perfect addition to any room that doesn’t have a closet, or has too little closet space.

Chrome Laundry Center with Hampers

Laundry accidents happen. White t-shirts turn vaguely pink when you mistakenly mix your red socks in with them. Sweaters shrink because they somehow got thrown in with your delicates. Luckily, you can prevent these casualties of clothing with a laundry center that has it all.

This chrome organizer is a garment rack, a storage shelf, and a laundry sorter combined into one. Resembling a bellhop’s dolly, it has the addition of three separate heavy-duty canvas bags located beneath the area where you hang your clothes. If you live with multiple people, you can each lay claim to your own hamper, or if you live alone you can use them to separate colors from whites or normal material from delicates. This deluxe laundry center also has a shelf on top of the garment rack for additional storage of clothes or cleaning supplies. The whole thing is conveniently mounted on wheels for easy mobility around the house.

Washing your clothes is a chore. There is no way around that. But keeping your laundry area nice and neat doesn’t have to be. You can maintain a clean, well-organized laundry room with any of these innovative storage solutions.