Professional Organizer Tips for Managing the Laundry in an NYC Apartment

Especially for city apartment dwellers, laundry can be a major chore. Hunting for quarters, locating detergent, sorting lights and darks, and lugging your load to and from your laundry room or (if you aren’t fortunate enough to have in-building services) the laundromat can add up to quite the headache. Procrastination can take a hold, and this somewhat simple task mushrooms into quite the ordeal. While consistently doing laundry every week theoretically is the best solution, many of us simply do not have the time for that! Never fear, Our NYC Professional Organizer has some first hand, tried and true home organizing tips to help make this least favorite chore more manageable.

• Pour liquid detergent by the capful into old plastic water bottles or plastic containers with lids and mark the containers accordingly or measure powdered detergent into re-sealable plastic storage bags if you prefer. This way, you will have perfectly measured amounts for each load ready to go. Don’t forget to label your containers!  You can leave that huge bottle of detergent that was such a great buy in your apartment and more easily juggle the detergent and laundry bags.
• A foldable drying rack for those items not suitable for dryers minimizes the number of surfaces needed for these items. Some can be attached to a door or wall, and drop down into a drying rack or flat surface for sweaters or ironing.
• Designate a small bag, change purse or even empty prescription bottle for quarters and place it on your dresser or spot where you empty your pockets/handbag. When you come across spare quarters, simply drop them in.
• Another common problem is finding an appropriate container to collect your laundry. One of our top laundry related home organizing tips for city dwellers is to look for laundry hampers with wheels. When it comes time for washing, just throw your detergent and other items on top and wheel it down the hallway. A collapsible, cart with wheels is also great to throw bags into (and can be used for more than just laundry). Depending on how much you may have, a gift wrap storage container may also be re-purposed as a hamper, and can easily slide into small spaces.

If a large hamper isn’t a viable option for you, consider shopping bags like those sold at Ikea. They are large, waterproof, collapsible, and not expensive.  Be sure to give thought to where you will be storing your laundry basket/bag while collecting the next load.  Ideally you will want this to be kept in a closet, corner of the bedroom or other out-of-sight spot.

• Store all of the laundry relevant tools like detergent, spot remover, hangers for those items not destined for the dryer, etc. in one place.  The objective is to be able to easily grab your laundry and related supplies and quickly head to the machines.  After all, no one wants to spend any more time than necessary getting the laundry done.

This is merely a sampling of different home organizing tips, and hopefully helps alleviate some of the stress associated with dreaded laundry day. Every apartment is different, and if you still find yourself struggling with laundry days our NYC Professional Organizer can customize solutions for you.