If You Don't Have Drawers Under Your Front-Load Washer and Dryer, You're Missing Out on a Major Storage Opportunity
Clutter comes in many forms. There's the tiny, knickknack clutter your grandmother was famous for, there's the sentimental clutter that you just can't part with, and then there's the I-don't-know-where-to-put-this clutter that nearly all of us deal with on a daily basis. The greatest source for my clutter without a home all relates to either my dog or ugly cleaning towels and rags that I need nearby but cannot (and will not) keep in my pretty linen closet. The solution? Splurging for pedestal storage drawers for our front-load washer and dryer.
Whether you're planning to buy new laundry appliances or are looking to add some lift and storage to your existing units, I can't urge you enough to go ahead and add pedestal drawers to that order. When my husband and I bought our washer and dryer we were just starting out, so tacking on an additional $600 to our already pricey front-load appliances was not in the budget. We circled back a year or two later when my husband hunted down a particularly good open-box bargain that matched our units.
Getty/Lepro
At first, I wasn't sure that we really needed the drawers. The deal was very enticing, so I went with it and soon found myself loading up those drawers and marveling at how much they could hold and how organized other areas of my mudroom suddenly became. The washing machine's drawer quickly became a catchall for our pet supplies: extra bowls, grooming tools, shampoo, you name it. Because our drawers have handy, sliding dividers, I'm able to separate the dog items from my cleaning towels and rags. It feels like two drawers in one.
The capacity on our drawers is massive. For the longest time I just used the washer side, having no need for the dryer's pull-out. Two kids later, we now have filled the second drawer with beach towels and other random things. You might choose to use yours for dryer sheets, detergent, fabric softener, cleaning supplies, or presents you're trying to hide from the non-laundry-doers in your family. Whatever you choose, you'll soon be calling it your greatest storage secret. Prices start around $250 and go up to around $330 for fancy, chrome options.
If storage isn't your problem, but too much laundry is, brands are now making compact pedestal washers like this one that fit under your machine and pull out like a drawer. Genius? We think so too.
