10 Laundry Room Essentials, Straight From Our Home Editor

We’ve teamed up with LG STUDIO to share our top tips and tricks for laundry success, starting with the appliances. Our pick: The LG STUDIO WashTower, which has built-in technology that selects just the right cycle for your wash-and-rinse routine. And don’t forget their Styler steam closet—it’s the perfect laundry room plus-one for refreshing your favorite garments, pillows, plush toys, and more.

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While my new building’s communal laundry room is a big step up from the zero-laundry situation at my old apartment (hauling a 30-pound laundry bag up and down four flights of stairs was my biweekly workout), I can’t help but dream about what my laundry room could look like one day. Think: endless counter space for folding, a deep sink for rinsing, plenty of storage space, and sparkling new appliances with all the bells and whistles—like the sleek LG STUDIO WashTower and their very cool Styler, which uses steam to de-wrinkle, sanitize, and freshen garments (plus bulky, hard-to-wash items, too).

A decked-out laundry room of my own might not be in the very near future, but that doesn’t mean I can’t stock up on products to make doing laundry easier and more effective. And for that, there’s no better person to ask than Arati Menon, our editorial lead for Home52 and a total laundry pro. Here are a few of her go-to laundry products—from a laundry starter set with eco-conscious detergent to a wicker basket for shuttling clothes around the house.

1. Five Two Wool Dryer Balls

These nifty dryer balls help your laundry dry 25 percent faster, keep wrinkles and lint at bay, and smell great, too—just add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil to the dry balls, and they’ll share the fragrance as they spin. Better yet, they’re reusable for up to a thousand loads.

2. Solid Maple Hardwood Laundry Rack

This heavy-duty laundry rack made from solid maple hardwood can hold your heaviest pieces with ease. “One of the main reasons I bought this rack—because, let’s face it, there are cheaper versions—was because it’s made of solid wood that is untreated,” Arati explains. “I also love that it’s large enough to hold a lot of clothes (not having a machine in your home means bigger piles when you get to it!), and the fact that it isn’t wobbly or unstable when you load it up.”

3. Modular Snap & Separate Laundry Bags

Pro tip: Separate your laundry before laundry day. Luckily, these snap-and-separate bags make staying organized a cinch.

4. Laundry Starter Set

“In the past couple of years, I’ve been making a concerted effort to reduce waste from packaging,” says Arati. “Blueland’s cleaning products make it a little easier to be eco-friendly with everyday products—like these naked laundry tablets that come in compostable paper pouches.” Once you’re all out of detergent tablets, simply restock them as needed.

5. Stain Removal Brush

Don’t let a pesky stain ruin your favorite clothing, sheets, or linens. Keep this stain removal brush handy for pre-treating even the toughest stains, then pop ’em in a high-powered washing machine—like the LG STUDIO WashTower—to get ’em out for good.

6. Magnetic Washing Machine Organizing Rack

“What a great space saver for small-footprint laundry areas,” Arati says. “Store all your washing BFFs together—just an arm’s length away from your washer and dryer!”

7. Fine Micro Mesh Washing Bags

Protect your more delicate laundry items with these fine micro mesh washing bags, which will never snag or catch on fabric. They come in two sizes, small and large, so you can even use them for sweaters.

8. Pilo Fabric Shaver

Nothing makes a sweater look worn out like little lint balls. Using a top-quality washer and dryer will help keep them at bay, but if a few sneak through, this compact fabric shaver makes quick work of getting rid of them.

9. Wicker Braided Storage Laundry Basket

Shuttle dirty laundry or freshly folded clothes around the house with ease using this portable wicker laundry basket. The durable handles have metal wiring, so they’ll never start to sag or break.

10. Wooden Clothespins

“In our previous apartment, we had a patio that got pretty windy,” Arati says. “After having to retrieve too many clothes too often from my neighbor’s backyard, I decided to invest in these clothespins. Despite not having outdoor space anymore (insert sad face emoji), I hold on to these because they’re so well made—and because I hope that we will be able to sun-dry our clothes again someday.”

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What are your laundry room must-haves? Tell us in the comments below!

Reinvent your laundry routine with smart appliances from our friends at LG STUDIO. Their space-saving WashTower is perfect for laundry rooms big and small, thanks to a compact vertical design and neat features like the TurboWash™ 360, which powers through even your largest loads in a swift 30 minutes. To keep your garments (and other treasured items) clean and fresh in between washes, the LG STUDIO Styler steam closet has you covered—it uses the gentle power of steam to deodorize, sanitize, de-wrinkle, and then some.

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