I like to organize the laundry room and laundry load rotation so that I don't have to think much from day to day, just put in the load I want (or need). I do one or two loads per day because I find it fits in well with a busy day with young kids. Loads can be started, transferred, folded, and put away in short bursts between kid activities.

Whatever your laundry schedule, the layout of your laundry room or closet can be the difference between a cheery, productive room and a dreaded dungeon of undifferentiated dirty clothes. Start with shelves. If your laundry area has no shelves, you will probably want to construct, hang, or improvise at least one shelf for laundry cleaning products. Multiple shelves and cabinets are much better and more convenient.

Along with a cabinet, two laundry baskets, and a repurposed cooler, I use a rolling cart and a cheap rolling laundry center with four sorting bags and a hanging bar. There are versions that are more expensive and sturdier, like this one. My cheaper items have worked well for me as long as I am willing to frequently reconnect plastic tubes.

Each bedroom in our house has its own hamper, and on a good week I sort all the laundry from each room into my laundry room sorters on Monday. My laundry routine includes separately washing nine types of loads. Linens go into the repurposed cooler, warm and cool regular clothes go into a laundry basket, non-bleachable whites and cool delicates are sorted into my rolling cart, and warm delicates, bleachables, cloth diapers/accidents laundry, and towels are sorted into my laundry center. In an ideal situation, I would have one location to hold all nine types of loads, perhaps two rolling laundry centers side by side.

A little wall cabinet perfectly holds: fabric softener sheets, disinfecting wipes, laundry detergent, Oxi-Clean, Dawn dish soap, vinegar, an ironing spray, borax, and an iron. (The dish soap and vinegar are used on cloth diapers.) On top I place a little basket of clothespins.

For a finishing touch, I recommend placing a vase of flowers or a cheery framed picture in your laundry area, just to put you in the right mood for doing laundry.

This kind of organization works well for me, but I still feel discontented when I go into a dirty laundry room. Once a week—again, on a good week—I clean up the laundry room following this list adapted from Flylady.net :

1.    Wipe the top of the washer and dryer.

2.    Clean underneath the washer lid.

3.    Throw out empty bottles and boxes.

4.    Empty the garbage can.

5.    Check supplies for replacement.

6.    Sweep and mop the floor.

7.    Remove the cobwebs.

8.    Look around appliances for things that have fallen behind, between, and beneath.

So to me, laundry organization means three things: a routine, laundering equipment, and a weekly quick-clean of the room itself.

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