where is your laundry room?

[smilequeen]

I like my laundry closer to bedrooms. We have a big laundry room on the second floor and then in my closet (main floor) I have a stacked set. I’ve had the laundry next to the garage (mud room set up) which was fine since it had the space for folding but I like not having to carry laundry up and down stairs. We had a basement set up growing up and I hated that.

[jgenie]

I adore my laundry room. I enjoy doing laundry and it is one of my favorite rooms. My contractor refreshed it a few years ago and I smile every time I enter the room. I have side by side machines and we replaced the dingy utility sink with a kitchen cabinet and sink. My laundry room is right off my kitchen. I have a wall of shelves custom made to hold laundry baskets below the counter and cabinets above the counter. The wall above my machines has 5x7 photos of our travels since kids were born. The opposite wall is a framed floor to ceiling cork board where we put all those candid shots that rarely see the light of day.

We had a basement laundry room in our previous house and it was fine. I took laundry down to wash and brought it upstairs to fold and put away. I think any space can be spruced up with a bit of paint.

[essnce629]

I think it depends how you do laundry and I think everyone's preferences are different. In our house we have a separate laundry room off our hallway (no basements in CA) that I MUCH prefer over our last house which was stacked units in a tiny closet off the kitchen with zero storage. Our current laundry room is pretty small and ideally I'd double it's size. Right now one wall is the front loading washer and dryer with an aftermarket counter on top. Overhead we have built in cabinets that go to the ceiling and a built in sink next to everything. On the opposite side I put in a hanging rack with a triple laundry sorter beneath. All clothes that get hung up go from dryer to hangers on the rack immediately. Next to my hanging rack I have a shelving unit. On each shelf is a full size laundry basket for clean clothes. One for me, one for DS2, and one for DS1 (who is now moved out). I haven't done DH's laundry in over 10 years. He does his own and has his own system (throws everything in a basket and folds it on our bed). DS1 also did his laundry on his own when he was still here. So I only do mine and DS2's laundry. The triple laundry sorter under my hanging rack is for dirty colored clothes, whites, and then towels/linens/napkins. On the bottom shelf of my shelving unit I also have small trash cans that act as mini hampers. One for wet items (like mop pads) and 2 for microfiber towels/reusable dusters. When I do laundry everything that gets hung up goes on my hanging rack, then as I pull each item out of the dryer I fold the regular clothes (shorts and pants) and put them directly into the laundry basket and then put away. Underwear, pajamas, socks, and layering tanks just get thrown into the laundry basket since I don't care if they get wrinkled and sometimes I'll fold them and put them away or I'll be lazy and just grab them from the laundry basket as needed. So I'm not the person who's takes a basket of clothes to the living room and folds while watching tv. I prefer to fold directly from the dryer. When I start a wash load I often forget an item and will go back a minute later to pause the load and add the item. If my laundry was in the basement that would be annoying. I like all the cabinets in my laundry room because they store all my cleaning and laundry supplies plus some of our less used kitchen appliances since our kitchen is super tiny (galley) with no extra storage or pantry. I also like the full size laundry room sink since that's where I give our cat a bath (no bending over) and where DH washes his grill racks, etc. I will say that the counter over my washer and dryer is never used for folding and is basically a catchall for all things in my house that don't have a home! But at least I can close the door and not have to see it!

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[carolinamama]

Mine is downstairs right off the kitchen. It is convenient that it's located in a central location for changing loads but can be a pain to drag laundry up and down stairs. It's not a huge room but I had cabinets built above the washer and dryer and shelving where I keep bins for sports uniforms. I don't usually fold in the laundry room and prefer the couch or to use the dining room table. My biggest gripe is getting my kids to take their clean clothes upstairs and put them away, but that has nothing to do with it's location

[KpbS]

At the bottom of the stairs, right off the kitchen and garage. It’s an optimal location and quite large but also has been an overflow/catch all for too long. I need to get in there and pitch things and organize it again.

[KpbS]

Many/most builders and plumbers refuse to put a laundry room on the second floor due to the risk of flooding.

[Snow mom]

Ours is in the basement. It's a big room so I call it a multi-purpose room rather than a laundry room but I'm also one that doesn't need a gorgeous laundry room. I prefer in the basement on concrete rather than upstairs over all the hardwood floors and drywall walls and ceilings. I'm not the fittest person on earth but I can certainly lug the laundry up and down without issue.

[gatorsmom]

I think it boils down to family preferences. We currently have a washer/dryer on our main floor as well as a laundry room between our kids' bedrooms on our second floor. I far prefer the upstairs washer and dryer for the simple fact that I hate carrying loads of clothes up or down the stairs. In our last house, the washer/dryer was off the kitchen. But every house before that had the washer/dryer on the floor below our bedrooms and closets which meant lugging around loads of clothes. I absolutely hate that. I could see missing the space to dry things out flat but it wouldn't change my opinion. I would happily fold clothes on my bed if it meant keeping the w/d upstairs. All of my kids are heavy sleepers so I can run the washer dryer in the early morning or evening without any complaints. Mainly I run it during the day because i have that luxury as a sahm. Those are all things to think about.

If we didn't have an outdoor pool and use an obscene amount of pool towels, the main floor washer/dryer would probably only be used to occasionally wash basement guest room linens as well as kitchen towels and winter coats. Now that my kids are washing their own laundry, they are the only ones who really use the main floor w/d.

[gatorsmom]

Many/most builders and plumbers refuse to put a laundry room on the second floor due to the risk of flooding.

Yes to this. The room with the washer/dryer must have an infloor drain. Especially if it's above the main floors. That's pretty important.

[mom2binsd]

Ours is off the kitchen, sort of in the "middle of the main floor". Super handy as I spend most of the time in kitchen/family room (also super helpful place to put stuff out of sight when entertaining). It has upper cabinets that also store extra small appliances, light bulbs, cleaning stuff, paper plates and lots of other stuff. I fold when watching tv so helpful and just carry upstairs when done.