7 Clever Ways to Maximize Storage in Your Laundry Room with Custom Cabinets

Let’s be honest for a moment.

Laundry room wasn’t exactly designed to be the star of the house. The room where socks disappear, where stains confess their sins, where detergent lids mysteriously vanish.

And yet…This little workhorse of a space might actually have more storage potential than almost any other room in your home.

At Closet & Cabinet Experts, we’ve been designing and installing smart storage systems across Coastal Georgia and Low Country South Carolina. And I can tell you—after 30,000+ installs—there’s one room that regularly surprises homeowners once we redesign it: The laundry room.

Most families walk in for the first consultation, look around at their sad wire shelf, sigh, and say something like: “Honestly… I have no idea what to do with this room.”

Sounds familiar?

Today, we’re walking you through 7 clever, practical, real-life ways to maximize storage using laundry room custom cabinets—even if your space is tiny, awkwardly shaped, or currently decorated with a pile of “I’ll fold that later” laundry.

Why Laundry Rooms End Up So Underutilized

You move into a home. You open the laundry room door. You see… the washer, the dryer, and one lonely wire shelf that bows under the weight of mismatched detergent bottles.

And that’s where most people stop.

We see it all the time. Laundry rooms become the “good enough” space.Good enough to hold the machines.Good enough to stash cleaning supplies.Good enough to close the door when company comes over.

But with the right design—especially with custom cabinets built for your space—your laundry room can become:

• A storage powerhouse

• A folding station

• A cleaning supply headquarters

• A pet-care zone

• A mudroom overlap

• A calm little nook you don’t want to hide from guests

Seriously, even the smallest laundry rooms can hold an unbelievable amount of organized storage once everything has a place.

So let’s talk solutions.

1. Maximize Vertical Storage with Laundry Room Custom Cabinets

Here’s the thing most homeowners don’t realize: Your walls are doing absolutely nothing for you right now.

That empty space above the washer and dryer? It’s prime real estate!

Adding full-height laundry room custom cabinets turns wasted airspace into beautifully organized storage—perfect for:

• Detergent, softeners, dryer sheets

• Cleaning supplies

• Lightbulbs, batteries, household extras

• Towels, rags, pet supplies

• Holiday linens, you never know where to put

And because these cabinets are custom (not boxed in a warehouse somewhere), we build them to fit:

• Tall ceilings

• Narrow walls

• Sloped ceilings

• Odd corners

• Washer/dryer height differences

• Wishfully small laundry closets (yes, we can make those work too)

2. Add a Built-In Folding Station That Actually Makes Sense

Laundry rooms are notorious for one of two things:

1. No counter at all

2. A counter that never gets used because the laundry baskets live there rent-free

Here’s the fix: Install custom cabinets below a durable countertop—something built to hold your baskets, your folding piles, and your “I swear I’ll iron this later” stack.

This works in both small and large laundry rooms.

Picture this: A countertop that runs wall to wall, with cabinets below, shelves above, and enough room to fold clothes without elbowing the detergent jug. Functional. Pretty. Life-changing!

3. Hide the Hampers (The Game-Changer You Didn’t Know You Needed)

Nobody wants to walk past a basket of dirty towels on their way to the garage.

One of the most underrated custom laundry room cabinet ideas: Pull-out laundry hampers.

Imagine:

• A smooth, easy-to-open cabinet

• Ventilated design (no funky smells—hallelujah!)

• Separate bins for lights, darks, towels, or kid-specific piles

• Hidden mess = instant visual calm

So, if your laundry room currently feels cluttered, this one upgrade alone can transform the space.

4. Create a Slim Cabinet for Your Ironing Board & Cleaning Tools

This one gets people every time.

We install lots of slim, vertical built-in laundry cabinets—usually only about 6–10 inches wide—for things like:

• Full-size ironing boards

• Mops & brooms

• Vacuums

• Steamers

• Dustpans

• Extra paper towels

It’s the cabinet you never knew you needed until you open it and everything has a perfect, upright home.

5. Add Open Shelves for the “Pretty Stuff”

Not everything belongs behind a cabinet door.

Some things deserve to be on display—especially if you’re the type who buys the cute glass jars and labels your detergent like a Pinterest pro.

Open shelves are perfect for:

• Laundry jars

• Woven baskets

• Plants (laundry rooms love a little greenery)

• Towels

• Everyday grab-and-go items

Plus, shelves also add warmth and texture to a room that typically feels very… appliance-y.

Design note: We often pair open shelving with custom cabinets to give the laundry room a balanced, high-end look.

6. Install a Rod for Hanging Clothes (Trust Us, You Need One)

You know those items that can’t go in the dryer? Or the “this will wrinkle if I blink wrong” shirts?

Well, a small hanging rod—installed under a cabinet or between two wall units—solves that instantly!

A hanging rod turns your laundry room into:

• A drying area

• A wrinkle-prevention zone

• A prepping station for freshly ironed clothes

• A spot to stage tomorrow’s outfits

Even tiny laundry rooms can fit one.And in larger spaces, we can run the rod the full length of the wall.

One of the simplest upgrades we add to laundry organization cabinets, but it makes your routine noticeably easier.

7. Use Custom Cabinets to Transform Awkward Laundry Rooms

Now let’s talk about those layout “quirks.”

Laundry rooms are often:

• Narrow

• L-shaped

• Long and skinny

• Inside a hallway

• Tucked into a closet

• Shared with a mudroom

• Sitting next to the back door

• Housing the water heater (ah yes, the classic)

And that’s exactly where custom cabinets shine!

Because we’re building your laundry room storage cabinets specifically for your home, we can design cabinets around:

• Outlets

• Hose connections

• Water heaters

• Window height

• Odd corners

• Confusing depth

• Columns or ductwork

• Low ceilings

• Stacked washers and dryers

No wasted space. No awkward gaps. No “Well, I guess that sort of fits.”

How Custom Designs Make Even Small Laundry Rooms Feel Bigger

We’ve designed laundry rooms in downtown Savannah condos, Tybee beach homes, Bluffton new builds, and cozy Hilton Head cottages.

Here’s something we see all the time:

When the storage fits the room, the room feels bigger.

You can visually expand the space by:

• Going vertical with cabinets

• Choosing lighter finishes

• Using pull-outs instead of bulky baskets

• Hiding clutter behind doors

• Adding streamlined open shelving

• Maximizing every inch from floor to ceiling

Small laundry room? We can turn it into a major storage win!

Awkward laundry room? We’ll make it feel intentional.

Big laundry room? Prepare for it to become your new favorite “bonus space.”

Ready for Laundry Room Custom Cabinets That Actually Work?

Here’s the part we always emphasize—and genuinely mean: You don’t have to figure this out alone.

We can walk into a space and instantly see solutions homeowners never knew existed. If your laundry room feels cluttered, inefficient, or just plain blah… We’d love to help!

Everything starts with a FREE in-home consultation.

Absolutely no pressure. No obligation. Just smart ideas, friendly conversations, and a design plan that fits your life.

Contact Us Today