This is how we do it (sort laundry, that is).

Part of living in the DC area means settling for less space. With no linen closet, no coat closet on our first level (seriously, who designed this place?!), and no separate laundry room, we have no choice but to be creative when it comes to storage.

Our stacked washer and dryer are tucked away in our kitchen, and whatever left over space we had there we used to set up a pantry (did I forget to mention that we also don't have one of those?). I've always liked the idea of having a separate laundry basket for each type of load, like the ones you see on pinterest, where the baskets hang neatly in a corner of a laundry room the size of a small bedroom. Maybe one day....but for now I make due with a complete under the bed laundry sorting system.

Using large under-the-bed Savannah baskets from Pottery Barn, I can easily separate my dirty clothes into lights, darks, whites, and delicates. Then, when a basket is full, it's easy to carry it downstairs and throw into the wash. When I'm done, the clothes fold right back up into the basket for easy transfer to my upstairs closet.

Easy to sort and then hide away! Savannah underbed baskets start at $24 for the small size, Potterybarn.com

For those of us who live in small spaces, we understand that floor space is valuable retail. Using a larger hamper cuts into that, and you still have to sort through everything to separate your loads. This under the bed sorting has proven to be a great system for me. And maybe one day, I'll hang my baskets in a glorious, dedicated laundry room.

My ensemble of baskets!