Is there anyway to get the washer and dryer straight and next to each other? If you can take more wide angle pictures you might get suggestions for shelving etc so you have a place to put things away.

Several suggestions, as follows: 1. Avoid (if possible) using this area for transient storage, unless it's at least an 8'x10' room. When clothes are finished washing, take them where they reside. If dirty clothes in hampers must be stored here, put them in the least obtrusive location, preferably behind a screen. 2. Add several tiers of shelves on the walls, but nothing under 48" (preferably 60") off the floor. Most laundry rooms are small, and yours already holds the water heater. Floor space is usually at a minimum. Storage is difficult. Use walls as much as possible, without compromising floor area. Wall cabinets 24" tall would be best, but open shelves will also work. Go with as many levels and as high as you can manage. Use all vertical space. 3. Consider a fold-down table, mounted on the wall, to be used as a folding or sorting station. Not sure if anything is commercially available, but I've made several for clients over the years. 4. Add a hanging rod about 18" - 24" long (maybe above the fold-down table), to use when permanent press items come out of the dryer. Keep the length limited so you won't be tempted to "hang and forget." 5. If possible, orient the washer and dryer so they are parallel to each other. The triangle-shaped hole between them now is where 98% of stuff will drop, and retrieval is frustrating. 6. Consider using this room to hang brooms, dusters,and mops when not in use. If they are already living here, don't pile them in a corner. Get some broom hangers from the hardware store and use wall space. They won't project out into the usable floor area much. Depending on room size, it might be possible to enclose them in a structure like a cabinet with a door to hide. 7. Place a solid shelf near or over the W/D to hold detergent, fabric softener & sheets, bleach, and whatever other items are used when washing or drying clothes. (You might be able to span the window, if you don't have a lot of weight). Keep those items in the immediate vicinity and easily reachable. Be sure any such shelf allows the top of the washer to open fully, and does not violate any local code restrictions. Store other items not used in W/D on other shelves. About shelves... wood is better than wire for any sort of liquid container. Melamine surfaces (looks like you are using now) are easily wiped up and resist staining if something spills or drips. So an economical, ideal choice for a laundry room would be melamine-coated particleboard, mounted on brackets, or melamine or MDF cabinets that are usually stocked at Lowes and Home Depot. On any shelf or cabinet you install, screw the brackets or cabinet into the studs. Drywall alone will not hold any weight! If the hanging rod and shelf pictured now are actually a closet, you must be really cramped for space. If they represent current "laundry," put those things away as soon as they are done. Enlist the help of others in the household to maintain order in this and other small spaces.

Buy space saver w/d. Get stuff away from water heater, it needs to breathe. Put up more shelves. Go through what to keep/ rid. Hampers take up less space than baskets. Keep us posted with your progress.