You might think that moving into a tiny house means you will need to start doing your laundry at the laundromat.
Actually, you may be surprised by just how easy it can be to do your laundry in your tiny home.
People who are thinking about moving into a tiny house also sometimes assume they are going to have to massively downsize their wardrobes.
Nothing could be further from the truth. With the right tiny house design, there will be plenty of room for all of your favorite attire.
Features that Help You With Laundry in a Tiny Home
1. A washer/dryer.
We recommend a stackable washer and dryer unit. Many of our park model home layouts have a spot in the back hallway between the kitchen and downstairs bedroom specifically for a stackable unit.
Washers and dryers may have vented or ventless designs. Ventless designs are good for reducing moisture, but they take longer to get the job done. So, you will need to weigh their pros and cons and decide what suits you.
2. A hall closet.
A large closet in the hall like this one in the Champion Athens APH 518 can give you room for your hamper, laundry detergent, and other supplies. It could also contain the washer and dryer themselves.
3. A large sink.
If you hand-wash a lot of your garments, you may want to choose a tiny house that features a big sink in the bathroom or kitchen. Chances are good that you might not have access to a large communal wash basin if you are living at a tiny house park, in which case you will have to rely on your own sink. It may not sound feasible at first, but you will get used to it.
4. Ample storage space in the bedroom.
Finally, you will need somewhere to put all of your clothes. In the early days of tiny house design, we often saw tiny homes that did not include any sort of closet space whatsoever. Thankfully, tiny home design has evolved considerably in this department.
The downstairs bedrooms in our park model homes all feature roomy double closets with chests of drawers between them. Sliding barn doors make it easy to access the closets without intruding on the limited space in the bedroom.
The photo above shows you the Champion Athens APS 601. You can appreciate that this downstairs bedroom has some extra space around the bed. In fact, if you wanted, you could even install some more drawers where you currently see the bedside table so you could store even more clothes.
Tips for Doing Your Laundry in a Tiny House
Now you know what features can be helpful when it comes to doing your laundry and storing your clothes in a tiny house. Next, let’s go over a few simple tips that can make laundry easier when you are living in a tiny house.
1. Open windows.
You will discover that when you live in a small space, battling moisture can be a challenge. By staying ahead of it, you can prevent problems with mold and mildew.
If you go with a vented design for your washer and dryer rather than ventless models, it is important to open windows when you do your laundry so that the moisture has a chance to escape. This precaution becomes even more critical in a climate with high humidity.
You should also routinely inspect your home for mold, especially in the laundry area, and take quick action to remove it if you do encounter it.
2. Drip-dry garments in the shower.
Not all garments can go in the dryer without consequence. If some of your clothing is delicate, you will want to let it drip-dry instead.
If you are moving into a tiny house park, you might assume you can simply hang it out to dry on a clothesline. But many parks have rules against clotheslines.
The easiest solution is to drip-dry your clothes in the shower for a little bit. Once they stop dripping, you can hang them anywhere convenient in your home to finish drying.
3. Keep up with hand-washing.
If you do find yourself in the situation above, drying your clothes can become overwhelming pretty quickly if you have a large number of items you need to avoid putting in the dryer.
Even if you are doing the majority of your laundry all at once as a load, we recommend that you hand-wash and drip-dry items as you wear them throughout the month.
That way, you are only dealing with a couple of hand-wash items at a time, and you will always have room for them to dry quickly indoors.
4. Roll clothes instead of hanging them.
The spacious closets included in our park model homes give you plenty of room to hang garments. But what if you have a lot of clothes?
If you have a larger-than-typical wardrobe, there is a solution, and that is the fold up your clothes the way Marie Kondo does instead.
Just get some low-profile open shelves to install inside the closets, and stack up all your folded items inside. You will be astonished by just how much space this saves. It does not really take any longer than hanging your clothes either.
You might end up not needing to hang up anything this way. But if you do, you will still have enough open space in the middle of the closets for a few items.
In this manner, even the most devoted fashionistas will be able to enjoy dozens of garments while living in a tiny home.
That wraps up our guide to doing laundry in your tiny house. During your consultation, we can help you identify a floor plan that will include space for a washer and dryer along with plenty of room to store all your clothes. Please contact us today to get started.
