Top 10 Ways to Make Your Laundry Room Somewhere You Want to Visit

Many home laundry rooms look like an institutional setting painted white all over, cool if not cold, and generally very unfriendly. Is there any way to make a laundry room more inviting? We think there is. You've got to spend a certain amount of time there every week so do what you can to make it less daunting. While it may never be your favorite room, here are the top 10 ways to make your laundry room somewhere you want to visit.

Add Color - The first thing to do is to paint the walls. Choose a mix of energetic colors and relaxing colors to give you the right kind of motivation. Sorting laundry, pre-treating stains, transferring clothes to the dryer, folding it and cleaning lint filters all take energy! What colors give you a sense of well-being? Which ones soothe you? Find combinations from those groups that work and you'll be on your way.

Decorate - Do you have kids? Why not let them add painted hand-prints to the walls? Put up their pictures here and there some of their cutest outfits. They might remind you that the dress you are scrubbing ice cream stains out of is the cutest thing you've ever seen on your sweet little gal. It will make the work go easier when you keep in mind the value of what you're doing.

Make Some Extra Space - A lot of home owners have a standard size water heater that is housed in their laundry room. Just think how much more room you would have if you replaced that big tank with a tankless water heater! While a tankless water heater can cost a bit upfront, you will save a lot of money in the long run by increasing the energy efficiency in your home. In addition, many home-builders rave about the benefits of green design while buying a new home or upgrading an existing one.

Play Music - Mix a music CD just for the laundry room. Will Who Let the Dogs Out help you fold laundry faster? It is definitely worth a try!

Keep the Room Temperature Comfortable - Laundry rooms in the basement are cold and damp in winter. First-floor laundry rooms can be hot and muggy in summer. Make sure the room has an air supply duct from the HVAC system and possibly a return duct too. That way, a basement laundry will be warm enough in winter and an upper floor laundry will be cool as a cucumber in summer, despite the dryer running. It will also help if your heating and cooling system is properly maintained so that it is in peak operating condition.

Include a Folding Table - Are you sick of trying to fold whites for 5 different family members on top of the dryer? A 6 foot table to fold clothes on can make all the difference. Here's another benefit keep a pillow handy in the laundry room and use that table for naps. Were not kidding. Mothers have reported to us that cranky babies doze off quickly to the soothing hum of the dryer tumbling clothes.

Shorten the Sorting Task - Do you do all of the family's laundry together? If so, get everyone's help in sorting it. Place 3 or 4 bins in the laundry room and label them whites, brights, jeans, dedicates, or whatever makes sense for the way you do laundry. Tell your family that you'll do the laundry that is in the laundry room. Its their responsibility to get it there and sorted into the right bin. The first time your 14 year-old daughter doesn't have her favorite top the day she wants it or your sons white dress shirt is a lovely shade or pink, you'll have their committed cooperation.

Fight Stains Intelligently - Keep an arsenal of stain-fighting products at your disposal. Have the right product on hand to combat chocolate, dirt, grass stains, coffee, blood, lipstick, sweat, oil, etc. Having the right tool for the job always makes it easier!

Turn it Into Quality Time - Why should you do all the work? Encourage your children to do their own laundry. After all, your goal is to raise children who will soon be adults, not adults who forever act like children. Give them their own laundry basket. Place a schedule on the wall of the laundry. When they need to do a load they can schedule it or use the laundry if no one else is in there. Then, when they folding laundry, join them in the laundry room. You will have some great one to one time to connect with your kids.

Get your Exercise - Fold laundry so fast it elevates your heart rate. Go up the stairs, stack of laundry in your arms, with determination. Ever see those pictures of women from the 1870s that look like they could chop a weeks worth of firewood as a way to unwind from heavier chores? Their laundry workouts where the key to their spry and comely figures, in our humble opinion. Does the laundry room have to be such a nasty place? Not at all.

Put to use these top 10 ways to make your laundry room a better place and they will take much of the dread out of the time you spend getting clothes clean, dry and presentable.