Martha Stewart's Ironing Board Hack Is A Game-Changer For Small Laundry Rooms

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The laundry room is one of those hard-working spaces in the home where there never seems to be enough space. Between washing, drying, hanging, and ironing, things get claustrophobic fast. Luckily, you can rest assured Martha Stewart has a smart laundry room storage solution to maximize space. Rather than having a long ironing board that gets in the way, simply iron on top of any sturdy surface already in the room. Sharing tips to maximize space in a small laundry room on the Martha Stewart YouTube page, Stewart shows how you can gain back some of that much-needed room to maneuver in tight quarters without giving up any functionality.

The way this genius hack works is with an ironing pad. It totally removes the stress of wondering what you can iron your clothes on without an ironing board, eliminating the need to fold anything out or fill any more horizontal space. In fact, an ironing pad could expand your usable counter space beyond the edges of the surface it's sitting on. This is a great way to block narrow gaps between machines or between countertops and walls where loose change, odd socks, and other small items fall. Stewart uses a homemade product consisting of plywood, padding, and muslin to get just the right size and design. Sit the pad atop a storage cabinet, your sorting and folding table, or even your front loading machines — the best part is how completely customizable it all is to work with what you've got.

To create a small ironing board of your own, you'll need a plywood board the size of the surface you want to cover, scissors, a staple gun, basting spray (like WANJAO Basting Spray for Embroidery), cotton batting, and medium-weight cotton muslin. Some crafters even head to shops like Hobby Lobby for their wood plank selection and skip the plywood. Just remember to leave room in the batting and muslin measurements to cover the entire top side of the board and have an extra couple of inches of overhang on all sides.

To begin, wrap the wood in batting. Cover the top of the board, and wrap the edges of the batting around to the backside of the board, pulling it tight before stapling it in place. Spritz the front with basting spray to hold a second layer of batting in place on the front side. The spray is temporary but secures everything together until you secure it with staples. Wrap the board in cotton, folding the corners neatly, and staple those on the backside as well. If desired, you can add small rubber feet or a fabric backing to the bottom of the board. This is one of those cool hacks for your laundry room that looks great, doesn't cost a fortune, and saves plenty of space — thanks for the tip, Martha!