Organize a Laundry Room With These 6 Ideas

Closet Rod and Shelf

This DIY laundry room project will save you hours of ironing and organizing. You can hang up your shirts and jackets as soon as they’re out of the dryer — no more wrinkled shirts at the bottom of the basket. You’ll also gain an out-of-the-way upper shelf to store all sorts of odds and ends.

Just go to your home center and get standard closet rod brackets, a closet rod and a precut 12-in. deep Melamine shelf. Also pick up some drywall anchors or, if you have concrete, some plastic anchors and a corresponding masonry bit. Then follow the instructions below.

Fasten the brackets to studs

Draw a level line about 78 inches above the floor and locate the studs behind the drywall. Fasten at least two of your closet rod brackets into wall studs four feet apart, then center the middle bracket with two 2-in. long screws into wall anchors.

Close up

If you can’t find a stud, use heavy-duty screw-in anchors.

Screw the shelf to the brackets

Fasten your 12-in.-deep Melamine shelf onto the tops of the brackets with 1/2-in. screws. Next, insert your closet rod, drill 1/8-in. holes into the rod and secure it to the brackets with No. 6 x 1/2-in. sheet metal screws.