These are the laundry systems and products that genuinely changed the way our family functions day to day.
Laundry Systems We Use Every Single Day
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🧺 Sneaker cleaning bags for washing kids’ shoes
🧺 Wall-mounted drying rack for small spaces
🧺 5-drawer organizer for weekly outfits
🧺 Mesh garment washing bags
🧺 Miss Mouth’s stain remover spray
🧺 Dreft stain remover for baby/toddler stains
🧺 Folding drying rack for overflow laundry days
These are the products and systems that genuinely made our laundry routine easier, more functional, and less chaotic as a busy family of four.
My Laundry Room Might Be My Favorite Room in the House
My laundry room might be one of my favorite rooms in my house.
Yep, you read that correctly.
When we first moved into our house 9 years ago, the basement was an unfinished disaster. The laundry area had crumbling concrete floor and nowhere to work.
Between the tile, my favorite paint color ever (Benjamin Moore Aegean Teal—you’re welcome), and the systems I have created, the laundry room is my favorite.
We do a lot of laundry. A lot.
My two girls have extracurricular uniforms, school uniforms, play clothes—the works!
My husband is a first responder and tree climber. Messy uniforms aplenty. And the volume of laundry he creates is simply incredible. (Just sayin’.)
I am a teacher who does not dress casually for work—so there are two sets of clothes for me daily, too.
All of this used to add up to giant piles of laundry all over the floor, overflowing in laundry baskets (both clean and dirty), and rarely getting into the drawers up in our bedrooms on the second floor.
The Systems That Changed Our Daily Life
My laundry room is one of my happy places because of the systems I have created to keep our daily needs met.
Every morning, I wake up and make coffee and head down to the laundry room to fold the clean clothes in the dryer and fold them in peace. This is some of my most productive, quiet thinking time. I’ll even bring my planner or a pen and paper downstairs with me just to jot down whatever comes to mind.
Doing at least 1 load of laundry a day has been life changing, and I couldn’t even explain why! It just keeps things flowing.
The 5-Drawer Outfit System That Changed Everything
One bottleneck I did discover was that our clothes seemed to linger in the laundry baskets rather than make it to the dresser drawers in our rooms. One solution for my children was to buy a 5-drawer organizer, one drawer for each day of the week. (A 6 drawer option is linked here and I wish I had bought this one for some extra space for sweatshirts/extracurricular unifroms.)
It used to live in my dining room upstairs, but when I was cleaning for a birthday party, I moved it to the basement right outside of the laundry room and never looked back. This was genius.
I’m no longer lugging the girls’ laundry up and down the stairs. They are more independent and can use the drawers to grab their uniforms and pajamas every day—and even pack their play clothes when they need them for after school.
When I’m doing the weekend reset routine, they will often come downstairs with me to pick out their outfits for the week and put them in the drawers. Whatever clothes remain get carried up into their bedroom dresser.
If you’re trying to simplify your weekly routines too, you can read more about my realistic working mom reset systems in my Weekend Reset Routine for Busy Moms post.
What the Drawer System Taught Me About Buying Less
One thing this taught me was that we don’t need SO MANY clothes. We need a few outfits a week. When we have less, it’s so much easier to wash and wear. From the washer/dryer, folded, into the drawer, and back out again. When we have excess, the clothes just sit and then the kids outgrow them before the clothes can be worn more than once.
The drawer system has absolutely changed the way I buy clothes for my kids—and has saved us so much money over the past 2 years.
Recreating These Systems in Our New House
I’m a little sad that we will be moving from our house to a new house within the next year and I’ll be leaving my laundry room behind. The good news is that we are completely renovating the “new” house (built in 1888 and a complete gut-job), and I plan to recreate all of the systems in our new laundry area.
Our Folding Deck and Small Laundry Room Layout
One of my favorite features is the folding deck my husband installed off the wall. It’s the perfect height that we measured together, which doesn’t hurt your back when you’re standing there folding laundry. It helps me fold and organize clothes simultaneously—which is really helpful given we are a family of 4.
I love that it’s high enough to slide laundry baskets under the deck so they don’t take up floor space. I had wanted to invest in laundry baskets on wheels, but with time and money as factors, I have stayed with our tried-and-true… and very old… laundry baskets.
We went to Lowe’s and picked out a pattern we liked. It was super affordable and easy to install both for the folding deck and as countertops for the lower cabinets we bought for extra storage.
Affordable Laundry Room Upgrades That Were Worth It
When my husband suggested we use peel-and-stick tile as a backsplash to the slop sink and machine area, I was really not into it. He was trying to offset the cost of the very expensive floor tile I was obsessed with (and still am). While I was skeptical, he was adamant—and absolutely right. They get the job done and look just fine!
The cabinets were also from Lowe’s—affordable and functional. I store all of my laundry supplies in them—like mesh garment bags, stain removers, extra detergent, and my new favorite laundry hack: sneaker cleaner bags.
The Stain Removers That Actually Work
When my girls were infants and toddlers, I always used Dreft stain remover. It was the best product I could find to get rid of formula and pureed food stains (ew).
Recently I did try Miss Mouth’s Messy Eater Stain Treater Spray and it has worked great on everything from tomato sauce to grass stains. My kids are not neat. There are many, many stains.
For the WORST stains like chocolate and greasy sauce of any kind, I go old-school and pour straight-up Dawn dishwashing soap right on the stain and then wash in warm water as soon as possible. Works like a charm every time.
The Sneaker Cleaning Bags That Saved Us Money
Did I mention my kids are typical messy kids? My latest obsession is these really fun and surprisingly effective sneaker cleaning bags.
My girls are the sparkliest, princess-dress-wearing tough nuggets around, and their sneakers get absolutely filthy. Our favorite sneaker brand is Stride Rite, which runs about $60 a pair (not cheap for us!) and lately my older daughter has loved more lightweight brands from Cat & Jack and Amazon. We can’t afford to run out to get new sneakers every time the girls turn them black with dirt from their adventures.
I was skeptical about these sneaker cleaning bags, but was desperate to find a solution to the sneaker issue. I bought them on a whim from Amazon and they have been life changing. By washing my girls’ shoes twice since I bought the bags 3 weeks ago, I have saved money and prevented having to purchase new ones. My mom even borrowed the bags to try to clean her sneakers and they came out looking brand new!
All you have to do is put the sneakers in the bags and toss them in the machine. (Definitely do some quick research on your sneaker brand and any washing instructions so you don’t accidentally shrink your shoes.)
Check out these before-and-afters!
I would like to invest in a brush of some kind to pre-treat the sneakers next time before washing to see if more dirt comes out of the nooks and crannies, but I’ll have to test it out and check back later.
The Wall-Mounted Drying Rack I Use Daily
Once all of the clothes come out of the washing machine, most of what we wear can get tossed right into the dryer on low heat. But, as I mentioned, my husband is a first responder and I’m a teacher, so we have many clothing items that need a place to air dry. As you can see from the photos, our laundry room is not tremendous, so we needed a solution to air-drying clothes that didn’t take up a ton of floor space.
I saw this wall-mounted drying rack on Instagram and was absolutely influenced to buy the exact one. It’s amazing. I can fit 7+ items on it at one time and they dry quickly. When not in use (though I feel like it always is!), it stores flat against the wall. It’s absolutely perfect for smaller spaces and takes up zero footprint or valuable floor space. I have another rack that I keep folded up for when I have to wash a lot of items and there is overflow—but that’s rare with my 1-load-a-day routine.
Why Functional Systems Matter More Than Perfection
While my laundry room may not be “Pinterest perfect” at any given moment, it works for us. Laundry is never truly “done” in a growing family—someone is bound to be on change of clothes #3 by lunch time, so it was critical for me to create a space that is functional for our family systems and beautiful at the same time. I love the tile, drying rack, folding deck, cabinets, paint color—so much so that I plan to recreate the systems and the vibe in our new house. It’s a non-negotiable. If we don’t have systems for the ongoing tasks like laundry, daily life is exponentially harder and much more chaotic.
If you are looking for simple solutions to daily friction in your laundry routine, take a look at your space and see if one of these features could work for you—and fill the space with color that makes you happy.
You won’t regret it—and your laundry room just might become your happy place for morning coffee and peaceful thinking time.
Spruceprints 