Laundry Basket Dresser

My mom sent me a link to this picture of what is apparently called a "laundry dresser" back last summer.  She knows my disdain for laundry.  (Which, ironically, I am not folding in lieu of writing this blog.)

I liked the look of it, but I didn't like the idea of having to pull out baskets to sort each thing when I am sorting dirty clothes for wash.  I just toss.  It seemed like a way to make it prettier, but more complicated.

I did know that for our new laundry room, I wanted a laundry basket for each kid.  I had discovered that sorting a massive pile of clean laundry into baskets for each person makes folding go 10x faster - you're only folding one person's clothes at a time, so no more having 15 stacks around you while you fold.  I got a couple more square baskets and for two months, I sorted clothes into the baskets..... Which stayed parked in front of the freezers.  (I did fold them occasionally.)  One basket for Nathan, one for Jacob, one for Zadie, one for Gideon, one for Paul and I, and one for towels.

That takes up a lot of floor space, folks.  

Right before Thanksgiving, I couldn't take it any more.  Light bulb!  That laundry stacker...... for clean clothes!  Paul was going to the lumber store, and I made a list.

It fits perfectly in the little niche of space between the freezers and the spiral staircase!

I don't do step-by-step how-to's with photos.  Basically, my process was measure my basket, allow two inches clearance for each basket, plus two inches off the floor.  We built each side (looked like a ladder), then set a basket on it and measured to determine how far apart and how much wiggle room to leave for the handles.

I used 2x4s for the legs, and 2x2s for the handles.  We put a couple 2x4 braces across the back and across the floor, and then topped it with 1x6s.
(If you are thinking about taking on the project and know anyone even minorly handy, have them take a quick look at the photos and it should be enough to figure it out.)

I actually did most of this project.  I designed it, but I had Paul double-check my calculations and make the shopping list.  I did the cuts, although he had to re-do a couple cuts for me (they were millimeters off, but enough to wobble).  I made him do all the screws, because I would have taken entirely too long with my over-analyzing each move.  I wanted to get it done the same day. :)  Then I stained the whole thing and put it to work!  (In retrospect, staining before assembling would have been MUCH easier.)
It's not making me any better at folding clothes, but it does keep them organized in a way that the kids can find them.  They pull out their basket, dig around, and put it back (usually).  When they were all lined up on the floor, they'd pull them out of their basket and toss them into the ones next to it.  And it takes up a quarter of the floor spaces as my laundry basket parade!
So there's my laundry dresser!  Pinterest project, minus the Pinterest account. :)