Add a countertop.
A butcher-block slab morphs the top of your machines into usable workspace. Plus, pull the cute curtains, and your utility room is suddenly just cozy nook. It’s a clever trick for holiday party season — washing machines aren’t exactly festive.

Hang handy baskets.
No room for a shelf? These little caddies are the perfect size for your cleaners, and they can fit on even the bittiest bare wall.

Try tilt-out drying racks.
If a standalone version is out of the question (this blogger’s laundry room is in her bathroom), line the walls with racks instead. Hinges help them tuck neatly out of the way when you’re done.

Float a shelf over the machines.
Much like a sofa table can offer a much-needed spot to rest your coffee, this handy ledge turns the top of your machines into storage – without requiring much extra room at all.

Go up (up, up!).
First of all, this might be the loveliest garage laundry space we’ve ever seen. But it also reminds us to hang shelves and cabinets as high as they will go — no vertical space left behind.

Maximize narrow spaces.
Even the diagonal ceiling in her laundry room didn’t stop this blogger. She took advantage of the awkward nook by hanging lay-flat drying racks that flip up when not in use.

Sneak in your shelves.
Shelving tends to offer more flexible storage than bulkier bookcases. And anchoring shelves on the side of a laundry closet (instead of bracketing them to the back wall), will allow you to hang the widest ones possible — and claim every inch of empty space.

Squeeze an ironing board in the wall.
Make extra space magically appear by adding a hidden closet in-between wall studs. This one holds a recessed ironing board, so it can alway stow completely (and we mean completely) out of the way.

Choose shelves with hooks and rods.
Souped-up shelves work much harder than their sleek floating cousins. This set has hooks (great for holding lingerie bags as you stuff them) and a rod that makes the teeny space between the machines available for hanging shirts as you press them.

Install a pegbaord.
In a small laundry room, not even wall space should go to waste. This blogger installed a pegboard that serves as storage for all of her tools and dirty clothes baskets.