Can You Combine A Pantry And Laundry Room?

Pantries and laundry rooms are two essential yet typically small rooms in a house. To save space and square footage, is it possible to combine the two rooms into one? For your convenience, we've brought you the answer.

You can absolutely combine a pantry and laundry room. It is best to locate this room near your kitchen. As long as the room is big enough to accommodate a washer, dryer, and shelving, you should be just fine to set the room up this way. When combining a pantry and laundry room you want to try to keep the laundry components together and separated from your dry goods.

Continue reading to learn more about putting a pantry in a laundry room, whether or not you can put a washing machine in a pantry, and whether or not you can have laundry in a butler's pantry. We will also provide you with tips and tricks on how to organize your laundry/pantry to make the most of the space that you have available.

Combining A Pantry And Laundry Room

Combining your pantry and laundry room can be beneficial in several ways. Some people might want to combine these to be able to store food as well as have the washing machine and dryer away from the main area of the house.

There are a few ways you can go about making this happen. You can put a washer and dryer on one side of the room and shelving or cabinetry to store food making the most of the wall space.

Can you put a pantry in a laundry room?

You can add a pantry to an already existing laundry room as long as you have adequate space for shelving. Combining your laundry room and pantry will often allow you to have additional natural lighting due to having windows rather than a room that is closed off. This combination also gives you the opportunity to have one large walk-in area rather than two different closet-sized areas.

Ideally, you want your pantry and laundry room combination to be near the kitchen. This makes it easier to put away your groceries efficiently and to get out the dry goods you want to use while cooking. Having your washing machine and dryer close by helps make it easier for you to wash a load of laundry quickly while also cleaning up the kitchen. When these rooms are side by side, you can simply throw your kitchen towels into your washer as you dirty them.

How do I organize my laundry pantry?

When you have a combined laundry room and pantry, it is best to have a separate area for folding clothes and for storing dry goods. When you are organizing your pantry, you may have boxed goods, bagged dry goods, glass jars, and containers. In order to properly organize these, you should consider the height and width of each item.

To avoid the need to place your canned goods or dry goods in cabinets, you can use air-tight containers. Doing so will give you more options for where and how to organize the food you want to store in your pantry. You can use mason jars, clear air-tight containers, or Tupperware to help you stay organized. Place these from the tallest in the back to the shortest in the front so that you can see what you are working with.

Click here to see these containers on Amazon.

More Ways to Organize Your Pantry

Arrange your food items into zones. This means putting foods that are alike or will be cooked together near each other. An example of this would be to store your different types of pasta together or dried beans if you have a variety of them for chili or soups. Another example of keeping things that are alike together is to place your jars of sauces together to help make your pantry cohesive. Baking goods, snacks, cereal, and canned goods are also items that you want to keep categorized.

Using baskets is another way to successfully organize your laundry pantry. If you have bagged items, baskets are a great place to keep these. Since bagged items do not stack as well as boxes or containers would, placing them in a basket will keep them accessible while helping you stay organized.

Click here to see these pantry baskets on Amazon.

Labels help make the area easier to figure out at a glance as well. You can put the expiration date on your labels to help you keep track of when dry goods expire. If you want to keep household items or an emergency kit in a basket, this can also help keep you organized. You can have a basket with your markers, pens, tape, bandaids, triple antibiotic ointment, bug spray, and sunscreen in them so that they are easy to get to.

Click here to see these labels on Amazon.

Keep paper for a shopping list nearby or hanging on a wall to help ensure that you keep up with replacing items as you go through them.

Organizing Laundry in Your Laundry/Pantry

We have talked about how to organize your pantry items, but now let's talk about how to organize your laundry in the same area. Putting up shelves for your detergent, dryer sheets, and stain removal spray is one way to keep them together. Another way is to use a basket like we mentioned for pantry items.

For storing clean clothes as you take them out of the dryer, you can install a drying rack or hanging bar. This will help give you a space to keep your clothes between finishing the laundry and putting it where it belongs. Even if you dry your clothes in your dryer, this will still help you stay organized. If you have a bar spanning from one wall to another you can hang your clothes here for an easier transition when putting them away afterward.

Click here to see this retractable drying rack on Amazon.

Can you put a washing machine in a pantry?

You can put a washing machine in a pantry. If you want to combine your pantry and laundry room, you will just need to make a few adjustments to be practical. For example, keep your washing machine against one wall and your shelving on the opposite wall.

The main thing you want to be cautious about is how close your food is to your washing machine and dryer. Since the pantry area tends to be used for canned items and dry goods, it is best to keep them away from anything wet. Because your washer and dryer can add moisture to the air, it is best to store canned goods in a closed-off cabinet.

Can you have a laundry areanin a butler's pantry?

This depends on how much space you have and if you are willing to utilize the space for clothes rather than the typical things butler's pantries are used for. Since a butler's pantry most often has a countertop and cabinets, these can certainly be utilized for laundry purposes.

Some upgraded butler's pantries even have a small refrigerator or sink. With the counter space and sink, you can prepare food in your butler's pantry without filling up your kitchen. As for having laundry in your butler's pantry, if yours has a sink, you should be able to install a washing machine quite easily.

Incorporating a butler's pantry can add value to your home as well. Because a butler's pantry takes up a whole room to itself, it is almost as if you have a second kitchen. You can definitely be more organized when you have both. This gives you a separate area to either prepare your food or to use for organizing and storing laundry. You can use the counter space in your butler's pantry as a staging area to help you sort through your items as you organize.

In Closing

You can successfully combine a laundry room and pantry. In order to do this in the most practical way, you will most likely want shelves for your food items and a separate place to fold your laundry. It is helpful to have cabinets to store your food in so that it is up and away from any potential moisture. If you do not have the means to build cabinetry, shelving will work well as an alternative.

Before you go, check out the following links about making the most of your pantry:

Does A Pantry Add Value To A Home?

Can You Put A Freezer In The Pantry?