How to Organize Your Laundry Room Before Holiday Guests Arrive

"Yeah, right, like anybody's going to go into the laundry room."

When you're tidying up for guests during the holiday season, your laundry room is probably the last room on your mind. After all, there's no reason anyone from outside your household would need the laundry room… right?

Think again! If you've got guests staying for an extended period of time, odds are high that your laundry room will need to be open for business. If your guests are light packers, they'll probably have to do at least one load of laundry during their stay. Heck, it doesn't even need to be an overnight guest - one wrong move with a wine glass during a cocktail party or dinner, and any of your guests could have a stain emergency on their hands with an article of clothing that has to go into the wash right away. Preparing your laundry room for a high-traffic time of year in your home is never a bad idea, so here are three tips for getting your laundry room in proper order before guests arrive.

Tidy Up

First order of business, of course, is ridding the room of all the laundry-room-specific debris that tends to build up without you really noticing. Grab a vacuum and hunt down every bit of lint, pet hair, used dryer sheets, and anything else that's accumulated. Take a close look for any stray patches of spilled detergent and mop those up. Clean out the interior drum on your washer and your dryer too. Make sure all detergents, softeners, stain sprays, and any other laundry ingredients are in proper order and easily accessible. It might not be a bad idea to invest in some small baskets or organizers to keep all of your laundry goods in order.

Do the Maintenance You've Been Putting Off

Once you've made your laundry room fit to be seen, now it's time to turn your attention to the technical stuff. We're all guilty of ignoring those maintenance reminders on the washer or dryer with a shrug and an "Eh, I'll take care of it later." Well, "later" is now! Give your washer and dryer a once-over and inspect the hoses, connections, and door seals. Clean out the dryer's lint trap, including washing out the screen. Clearing any lint out of the dryer vents is a good idea too, just from a safety perspective. Incidentally, if you're looking for some dryer safety tips, check out our article Avoid Fire Hazards with These Dryer Venting Options.

Replenish Your Toolkit

Laundry detergent is just like any other bulk-buy household item: You've got plenty, until you don't! It's easy to go through the laundry motions without realizing you're almost out of the key ingredient, so make it a point to check. Take ten seconds to pick up each container of detergent, fabric softener, stain spray, and whatever else you've got in your laundry arsenal, and give it a quick shake to get an idea of how much is left. If you need more, you've got plenty of time to just add it to your next shopping list.

Laundry rooms tend to be neglected during cleaning, so it's worth taking a little time to get yours in order for the busy holiday entertaining season. Even if nobody ends up using it during the holidays, you deserve a clean and orderly laundry room in your life!