You may have read in my previous post that getting organized is part of my new year’s resolutions. Having a nine-month-old baby really turned my home upside down. There were toys everywhere! We’d literally forgotten where everything goes. Even the laundry room was out of control.

This is where our post begins.

The laundry room is probably one of the busiest places in the house. Between kids and pets, there’s always something in the washer or dryer. Our house is small. We don’t have the luxury of a giant laundry room equipped with endless shelving and counter space. We only have room for one shelf and a basket in the corner.

Since we also like to buy in bulk, the top shelf was a disaster. We had old towels, cleaning supplies, plastic bags and random storage just waiting to fall down every time I reached up. Something had to change.

So, we went straight to IKEA for storage containers. IKEA really is the guru in organizing small spaces. The store had so many storage options to choose from, it was pretty overwhelming. Since containers are so versatile, it made the task of shopping less daunting.

We looked at all the room examples to see how they cleverly hid things away. We knew we needed multiple sized containers for all of our crap. What we actually found worked best for our towels and stock items were large dog food containers. They come with flip open lids and are very compact.

My favorite find was storage for our plastic shopping bags. We snagged this plastic container that hides discreetly under the sink. It’s perfect for shopping bags, washcloths, sponges and towels. No longer do I fear an avalanche of Smiths bags crushing me when I go to restock a trash can. I can just open the kitchen cabinet, grab what I need, and safely go about my day.

With just a little help, our laundry room was transformed. If you are reinventing your space, get creative! Maybe you have room for a coat rack on the wall. Maybe you can fit two hampers to split the loads. Maybe you can install some cabinets. Work with what you have and make it beautiful.

Read my previous post on how to get organized for more tips on meeting your organizational goals.