Expert: Jamie Novak - 8/15/2007

Question
QUESTION: i think i'm blessed with about the worst laundry room ever. i like my washer and dryer (yea!), but the floor is disgusting, there's hardly room to put baskets down, no room to fold things, and i could take out the sink that's next to the laundry machine (maybe), but i don't think it would help much. maybe a folding table on the other side of the washer? any help appreciated

pics at http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=2

try http://home.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user&MyToken=47b1d70f-b3b0-41fc-a8c if that doesn't work

thanks a million.

ANSWER: Hello thanks for submitting your question.

I know we'll come up with great ideas for your space.

I'd like to see the pictures but the links take me to my space, I think I need your address there.

Also a little more info would help. What are you wanting to do in the laundry room? Some people sort there, some fold, some iron etc...

Others prefer to sort and fold elsewhere, like in front of a TV.

How do you envision using the space? Once I know that we'll make it great! Thanks :)

-Jamie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Try this site (the pics are all that's on there) http://mccusty93.piczo.com/?cr=2&rfm=y

I would like to fold & sort, and pretreat stains (i can water from the washing machine) in the laundry room. I do ironing upstairs. I can't move much (if anything
) in the laundry room out of it. Also, if there's something I can do about the floor- it's this yucky textured concrete.

Answer
Hello again, thanks for the pix, this time they worked.

You have a great space; I’m going to suggest some simple ideas to maximize the space you have.

1.   The large cabinet with shelves seems to have great storage space, I’d pull everything out, then put back just what you use. Label each of the shelves so you know what goes where. You can use baskets or boxes to store items on the shelves so they stay together and don’t tip over.
2.   I want you to be able to easily open the doors of the cabinet so you can actually use it. So the items in front of the door need to be moves. Can you hang some things on the wall? I think you’ll find that you’ll have a lot more space simply by organizing.
3.   Toss anything that is true junk, like used bottles etc.
4.   Do you have a trashcan there? If not consider one that is big enough to hold the items you generally throw away when in that room.
5.   Can you add a piece of wood with a sheet covering it to place over the utility sink to use for storage or folding?
6.   They make a laundry butler that is a three shelf rolling cart to hold detergents stain sticks etc. This is a large version from target http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1187291719/ref=sr_1_1/601-482643
7.   For sorting I like triple sorters which allow for the separation of whites, colors and darks or dry cleaning http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=sc_ri_1/601-4826439-8391311?ie=UTF8&asi
8.   You have great cabinets above the washer. Are you able to reach them? If not you may need a step stool. If so then use them for items you don’t need to reach everyday.

You have a lot of great space to sort, fold and pretreat. It will be a lot easier if you can reach everything you need. Start by pulling everything out to give yourself a fresh start. Contain like items together, label everything and laundry will be a lot more fun!

As for the floor, there are some options:

1.   can you paint it?
2.   if you don’t have water issues you can put down a rug or these floor squares so if one gets messy you can replace it http://www.florcatalog.com/ or floor tiles from your local home store
3.   these floor tiles are rubber and high up, this person is willing to ship them to you http://bellingham.craigslist.org/for/392961283.html
4.   even an area rug might help

I hope this helps, fondly, Jamie Novak more tips at www.JamieNovak.com

PS the hangaway is one of my favorite things! So easy to use, give you lot of space!
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.detail