Do-It-Yourself Laundry Room Makeover

Before: Organizational Nightmare
Melissa and Martin Schweiter are do-it-yourself-ers who have renovated their older home and left the laundry room until last. The large, 16 x 13-foot room is poorly designed, with the washer and dryer on opposite walls, five windows and five doors — each painted a different color!

In addition, a large dog cage is located in the center of the room between the washer and dryer. The pantry is overflowing, and the coat closet is full of loose shoes from three children. Plus, the door to the tiny bathroom can't open properly because of poorly located cabinetry.

The greatest challenge professional organizer Richard Conway faces is relocating the dryer to the same wall as the washer. His plan involves dividing the room into five zones — the cleaning zone with washer and dryer, pet zone, pantry zone, coat-closet zone and bathroom.