DIY Laundry Cart

I made a DIY laundry cart. Why? Ever since I got my new washer and dryer I have struggled with dropping clothes on the floor. Soon I’ll share a laundry room stenciled rug that helps when I do drop items, but now that I have a laundry cart it rarely happens anymore.

After getting the new appliances, I polled my friends and asked “do you drop laundry on the floor when you transfer it from the washer to the dryer”? The answer was always YES! Good to know I’m not the only one. I thought about the design for the laundry cart for weeks. I did make one small mistake. I’ll explain as I go so you can avoid making the same mistake.

Rip boards on table saw

I ripped some scrap 1x’s down to size to match the size of my spindles. Your project may differ.

See the two tall bedposts? To the right of them are some porch spindles I chose for this laundry cart project. This view is in the shed after it got cleaned up.

Measure the laundry basket you plan to use

This was the design stage. It all had to be based on the size of the laundry baskets I would be using. I wanted the basket to rest on the inside diameter of the cart.

Pin It!

Drill pocket holes for assembly

The simple construction of the cart stars with my favorite Kreg Jig. I marked the holes on each end of the board so that I don’t mess up and drill them on the wrong side of the ripped 1x4. Voice of experience talking.

Whenever I make an apron or a skirt for a project with legs, I use a scrap piece of wood as a spacer so that the apron is positioned in the middle of the leg (spindle) instead of the very front or back. With the scrap wood in place I secure the two pieces with pocket hole screws.

You should have two matching sections

I made a set of two identical leg sections using four boards and four spindles cut to size.

Affix Side Rails

After securing the two sections, I cut more ripped 1x4’s to size for the top and bottom sides. I secured these the same way as I did the others. I couldn’t wait to slip the laundry basket in place to see how it fits! Voila! Perfect!

Mark and install wheels

I marked the holes for the wheels/casters.

You can’t have a cart without wheels, right? I picked these up a few months ago on a trip to IKEA just to keep on hand. Smart move!

It’s best to pre-drill holes in such a tight space to keep the wood from splitting.

Slowly secure screws to hold wheels in place. HINT: Do this AFTER you paint. I was so anxious to see this project come together I sort of got ahead of myself.

Test fit of diy laundry cart

I immediately took it to the basement to try out the design. Oops! Here is where I miscalculated and made a slight design mistake. I wanted the door to swing freely with the cart in place but because the laundry basket has such a large lip the door will not swing. That’s okay, I love it and I’ll go with it.

Paint Laundry Cart

I grabbed a bright blue spray paint and did a couple of light coats.

I decided to go with a darker navy blue. You can see I have the wheels taped off to prevent overspray.

I use it to load the washer, take clothes out of the washer and to remove AND fold clothes from the dryer.

After folding my clothes in the laundry basket I just grab it and carry it upstairs. That leaves me two more baskets loaded in the laundry cart for the next load. I LOVE it. I no longer dread doing laundry. Folding and putting away clothes is my very least favorite thing to do. But now that I do it as I pull it out of the dryer, I don’t have baskets of laundry all over the house waiting to be folded.

Do you think a DIY laundry cart like this would keep you from dropping laundry on the floor?

gail

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