Living in a smaller home can make the space feel cosy and more intimate. However, it can also pose a challenge when it comes to performing household chores. A smaller house means less room to move around and fewer spaces to fit cleaning supplies or appliances.
Among the various household chores, laundry is one of the harder ones to accomplish in a compact home. Washing machines, dryers, and traditional indoor laundry drying all take up significant amounts of space. If your kitchen is already small, adding these bulky appliances gives you less room for cooking and can make the place feel all the more cramped.
To help you out, we have come up with some invaluable tips to help you get your laundry done even in smaller living spaces, while still maintaining the charm of a cosier home.
1. Hand Washing
Before the advent of washing machines, hand washing laundry was the only available option for most people. Even today, delicate fabrics like cashmere and silk are best washed by hand to avoid ruining the fibres. It also means that you can do away with washing machines and utilise the space for something else. This works especially well if you have smaller laundry loads.
However, even if you hand wash your clothes, you still need space to dry your wet laundry. You can choose between buying a dryer, hanging them outside where they are subject to weather conditions, or you can dry them indoors, where they might develop mildew or musty smells. None of these options provides ideal solutions, especially when there are space constraints to consider.
2. Utilising A Compact Drying System
An elegant solution to your indoor clothes drying woes can be found by installing retractable laundry systems. These hang from the ceiling and drop down whenever you need them. They can be used to great effect to save space in the kitchen or service yard.
When such laundry systems are paired with either hand washing or compact washing machine models, they can create a great combination that is a perfect fit for cosier homes. Beyond saving space, they also give the interior of your home a sleek, more modern aesthetic. Especially when compared to bamboo poles or clotheslines which tend to be more of an eyesore.
Certain models of automated laundry racks in Singapore also come with features that improve the entire experience. Air circulators along with solar clothes dryer functions provide even heat distribution that can dry clothes quickly and more reliably than indoor or outdoor drying.
Steigen’s Solar Pro retractable laundry system even takes things up a notch with ionisers that remove odour-causing airborne allergens, along with an ultrasonic dust mite repeller that prevents dust mites from breeding on your laundry.
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3. Renovating The Space To Fit Your Needs
Sometimes, to really get maximum utility out of smaller spaces, you have to get creative with your renovation choices. Some long-term planning coupled with good decision making can result in a house that uses space efficiently without compromising your ability to perform household chores.
Clever use of carpentry can save space in many ways. Incorporate bulky laundry appliances like washing machines and dryers into your kitchen by doubling them up as countertops for you to use while cooking. This is a great tip if you do not have a service yard and have to find space for your laundry appliances.
Another household chore that cramps your style and space is ironing. Ironing boards are bulky and rarely ever match the decor of a house. To get around this problem, you can hide a compact ironing board within the carpentry. They can then be pulled out whenever you need to use them and neatly put away when you are done.
If you have a smaller house then clever little space- saving tips can go a long way in ensuring your kitchen does not feel cramped. Investing in products like a garment steamer or an automatic clothes drying rack in Singapore can transform the way you do laundry, add to the decor of the home, and free up valuable space for you to repurpose.
In the market for a retractable laundry system for your home? Sign up to enjoy $80 storewide off and stack up to $50 off when you trade an automated laundry system of another brand.