10 Tidy Tips for Little Laundries That Can
When it comes to efficiency, a small laundry can wash the socks just as well as a big one. Here's how to make the lack of space work for you
The laundry seldom features in a ‘my favourite room’ list. Most of us would rather utilise the space for more attractive places in the home where we spend enjoyable, relaxing and social time, so laundries are usually behind the door when the decorating dollar is being spent. But these compact laundries have a few tricks up their sleeves for stealing extra room, to make an unexciting but necessary chore that little bit easier.
Ensure the machine doesn’t shake itself to pieces within the cabinetry during the wash or spin cycle. Most machines come with brackets and adjustable feet designed to reduce damaging vibrations, movement and ‘walking’. To serve the same function, the machine base within cabinetry must be perfectly level.
TIP: If you stack the washer and dryer, measure the height that the top controls will sit at – will they be way above your head? Many modern electric tumble dryers are designed to be turned upside down so that controls are at the bottom – you can even invert the logo!
TIP: If you stack the washer and dryer, measure the height that the top controls will sit at – will they be way above your head? Many modern electric tumble dryers are designed to be turned upside down so that controls are at the bottom – you can even invert the logo!
Make the case for baskets
In a small wash space, containers that can be moved around, carried to the clothes line and taken to other rooms make good sense. They can be left in bedrooms for dirty laundry collection, and clean clothes are easily transferred elsewhere for sorting and ironing. Choose canvas or cane hampers, plastic tubs or lightweight boxes.
TIP: Handles and wheels like those on the hampers seen here make moving them even easier. A plastic lining helps keep them clean, and they even look good.
In a small wash space, containers that can be moved around, carried to the clothes line and taken to other rooms make good sense. They can be left in bedrooms for dirty laundry collection, and clean clothes are easily transferred elsewhere for sorting and ironing. Choose canvas or cane hampers, plastic tubs or lightweight boxes.
TIP: Handles and wheels like those on the hampers seen here make moving them even easier. A plastic lining helps keep them clean, and they even look good.
Handles with care
When every centimetre counts in a narrow area, protruding drawer and door pulls add up to wasted space. Keep cabinetry profiles sleek by using one of the many handleless options around. With no handles to bump into or snag clothing, push-to-open systems, cut-out notches or finger channels moulded into the door or drawer front are worth considering in a squeezy laundry, and they take top marks for clean good looks.
See the advantages of going handleless
When every centimetre counts in a narrow area, protruding drawer and door pulls add up to wasted space. Keep cabinetry profiles sleek by using one of the many handleless options around. With no handles to bump into or snag clothing, push-to-open systems, cut-out notches or finger channels moulded into the door or drawer front are worth considering in a squeezy laundry, and they take top marks for clean good looks.
See the advantages of going handleless
Be open-minded
Where practicality trumps aesthetics – and let’s face it, laundries are seldom oil paintings – open shelving is a logical choice. At a glance, you can grab what you need without having to step out of the way of an opening door. Open shelves also keep air circulating, and stop those mysterious musty smells that sometimes develop in closed compartments.
TIP: Keep laundry products on higher shelves away from little hands, or store in a childproof container.
Where practicality trumps aesthetics – and let’s face it, laundries are seldom oil paintings – open shelving is a logical choice. At a glance, you can grab what you need without having to step out of the way of an opening door. Open shelves also keep air circulating, and stop those mysterious musty smells that sometimes develop in closed compartments.
TIP: Keep laundry products on higher shelves away from little hands, or store in a childproof container.
Choose your weapon
Be realistic about how big a machine you need. Don’t waste space with one that you never use to capacity. A 5-8 kilogram capacity machine, suitable for average households, comes in at about 575 millimetres in width. With a 10 kilogram capacity model, that goes up to almost 700 millimetres. Compact models, handling 2.2 kilogram loads, are about 440 millimetres wide. If you do small frequent loads, a compact machine saves space and power costs. Calculate your needs: one shirt plus two towels (dry) weigh approximately one kilogram.
TIP: Front loaders provide a handy top surface, side by side with a dryer. A basic bench over the machines prevents ‘lonely sock syndrome’, the tendency of rogue socks to slip through the gap. Front loaders can also be stacked with a dryer, freeing adjacent space for other tasks.
Be realistic about how big a machine you need. Don’t waste space with one that you never use to capacity. A 5-8 kilogram capacity machine, suitable for average households, comes in at about 575 millimetres in width. With a 10 kilogram capacity model, that goes up to almost 700 millimetres. Compact models, handling 2.2 kilogram loads, are about 440 millimetres wide. If you do small frequent loads, a compact machine saves space and power costs. Calculate your needs: one shirt plus two towels (dry) weigh approximately one kilogram.
TIP: Front loaders provide a handy top surface, side by side with a dryer. A basic bench over the machines prevents ‘lonely sock syndrome’, the tendency of rogue socks to slip through the gap. Front loaders can also be stacked with a dryer, freeing adjacent space for other tasks.
Although it sounds like a dream machine for saving space, the all-in-one washer/dryer combo isn’t for everyone. Do your homework on consumer sites before investing in one. Choice recommends them for small households that do small loads, holiday homes where time isn’t an issue, in an environment where a dryer is rarely used, and where mobility issues make transferring loads from washer to dryer unworkable.
Double up
Multi-functionality and small space design are the architectural catchcries of the 21st century. The best way to reduce space taken up by a laundry is to do away with one altogether. Here, washer and dryer sit beside the fridge in the kitchen – no doubt there is a tub nearby too. It’s a common practice in apartment-dwelling Europe, where living small is an art form, a timely tip for space-strapped urban dwellers anywhere.
Multi-functionality and small space design are the architectural catchcries of the 21st century. The best way to reduce space taken up by a laundry is to do away with one altogether. Here, washer and dryer sit beside the fridge in the kitchen – no doubt there is a tub nearby too. It’s a common practice in apartment-dwelling Europe, where living small is an art form, a timely tip for space-strapped urban dwellers anywhere.
With plumbing already in place, a bathroom is another logical spot to install laundry appliances. Get professional plumbing advice on what effect this will have on your water pressure – you may not be able to shower and run the machine simultaneously without a separate supply.
TIP: A generous-sized ceramic sink could do double duty as a vanity basin and a tub, allowing you to hand-wash small items such as socks and underwear.
Find out how to squeeze a laundry in
TIP: A generous-sized ceramic sink could do double duty as a vanity basin and a tub, allowing you to hand-wash small items such as socks and underwear.
Find out how to squeeze a laundry in
There’s no such thing as a beautiful washing machine. If you don’t want to see it every day, shroud it in mystery with cabinetry that matches the rest of the room. Pocket doors that slide back into cavities are a neat solution, especially if leaving the doors open during the wash obstructs traffic. In this bathroom, pocket doors slot neatly out of the way on washday, and a work table folds down.
TIP: Although convenient, pocket door joinery costs more than conventional hinged doors.
TIP: Although convenient, pocket door joinery costs more than conventional hinged doors.
Could you multi-task a study spot? If most laundry loads are done during the day, it won’t interfere with homework times and if you work from home, you could schedule washing for when you take a break from desk work. Check out the garage too - it’s often overlooked as a potential laundry area, yet most garages have concrete floors, which absorb vibrations effectively.
TIP: You will probably need building consent if you are changing the purpose of a room and installing plumbing in a ‘dry’ area.
TIP: You will probably need building consent if you are changing the purpose of a room and installing plumbing in a ‘dry’ area.
Tuck it in a tricky triangle
The angles of an under-stair space are a good fit with a washer, dryer and a compact storage cupboard and sink. Call a plumber and put this cosy corner to work. Hiding it away might call for some ingenuity though, if you don’t want it in full view.
TIP: Venting to outside may be possible, depending on the layout of the area, but condenser dryers are suitable for non-vented spaces.
What to do with the space under your stairs
The angles of an under-stair space are a good fit with a washer, dryer and a compact storage cupboard and sink. Call a plumber and put this cosy corner to work. Hiding it away might call for some ingenuity though, if you don’t want it in full view.
TIP: Venting to outside may be possible, depending on the layout of the area, but condenser dryers are suitable for non-vented spaces.
What to do with the space under your stairs
Ask a hard question
Do you need a dryer? If you live in a climate where you could line-dry 90 per cent of the time, compare the space a dryer takes up and the purchase and running costs (not to mention the environmental toll) against time spent hanging and bringing in washing. Condenser and vented dryers are voracious power chewers, while sunshine and pegs are virtually free.
While a dryer may be indispensable for a large family or in a high-rainfall area, a smaller household may manage mostly with a clothes line and fresh air in a dry sunny climate. For the rare other times, use indoor drying racks, reschedule laundry day or take a trip to your local laundrette.
Do you need a dryer? If you live in a climate where you could line-dry 90 per cent of the time, compare the space a dryer takes up and the purchase and running costs (not to mention the environmental toll) against time spent hanging and bringing in washing. Condenser and vented dryers are voracious power chewers, while sunshine and pegs are virtually free.
While a dryer may be indispensable for a large family or in a high-rainfall area, a smaller household may manage mostly with a clothes line and fresh air in a dry sunny climate. For the rare other times, use indoor drying racks, reschedule laundry day or take a trip to your local laundrette.
A drying cabinet, despite being twice as tall as an average dryer, may be a surprising space saver. As well as drying regular laundry in quiet, gentle heat, it also copes well with damp towels and outdoor clothes, including boots and shoes. With around 16 metres of hanging space, it could replace a dryer and line and be a mini-mudroom. (It’s also excellent for proving bread dough and making yoghurt). Asko is the major Australian supplier of free-standing electric models, expensive at around $1900, but costing less to run than tumble dryers.
Return to the fold
Collapsible systems like these basic drying and airing racks save space and hassle, and they are a breeze to simply flip down and fold away. In a narrow laundry area they top wrestling with a bulky, uncooperative clothes horse that also takes up floor area. Position one over the tub for drip drying. You’ll rack up energy points by using air power to finish drying clothes.
Collapsible systems like these basic drying and airing racks save space and hassle, and they are a breeze to simply flip down and fold away. In a narrow laundry area they top wrestling with a bulky, uncooperative clothes horse that also takes up floor area. Position one over the tub for drip drying. You’ll rack up energy points by using air power to finish drying clothes.
Enjoy ironing – and save space
If you choose to spend ironing sessions in the laundry, an ironing board that tucks away in a wall-mounted cabinet is a space saver. But if ironing in a cold, cramped, uninteresting laundry makes the task even less appealing, store the ironing board elsewhere in the house – in a closet, behind a door, on a hook or even under the bed – so you can (almost) enjoy ironing while listening to music, watching a program, chatting, keeping an eye on the kids or looking at a pleasant view.
Learn to love laundry day
If you choose to spend ironing sessions in the laundry, an ironing board that tucks away in a wall-mounted cabinet is a space saver. But if ironing in a cold, cramped, uninteresting laundry makes the task even less appealing, store the ironing board elsewhere in the house – in a closet, behind a door, on a hook or even under the bed – so you can (almost) enjoy ironing while listening to music, watching a program, chatting, keeping an eye on the kids or looking at a pleasant view.
Learn to love laundry day
It makes a lot of sense to iron close to where clothes will be hung or put away. If your laundry is pocket-sized but you have a decent walk-in closet or a spacious bedroom, have a folding board fitted there. It’s also incredibly convenient to do a last-minute press on a creased shirt without a trip to the laundry.
TELL US
How do you maximise the efficiency of a small laundry space? Share your tips in the Comments section
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Browse more compact laundries
TELL US
How do you maximise the efficiency of a small laundry space? Share your tips in the Comments section
MORE
Browse more compact laundries
Raising the washing machine and dryer off the floor with cabinetry leaves room for a storage drawer and has the bonus of reducing the physical strain of bending, lifting and crouching. If you’re not changing cabinetry but are considering new appliances, some machine and dryer models incorporate deep drawers underneath.
TIP: Get professional advice on the load-bearing capabilities of built-in cabinetry before construction.
More back-saving washday solutions