The case for the basement laundry room

I don't blame you ONE BIT! We had to walk through the laundry room in our last house, and we hated it. I would love a first floor laundry room, just not a laundry/mud room. Big time pain in the butt. I say do what works for you!

We are pretty seriously thinking about moving our laundry to the basement as well... just so that we can have a dedicated mud room. With 4 kids and all their miscellaneous STUFF, I think the change makes complete sense for us, too.

Oh girl, walking up and down steps with laundry in my arms makes me tired just THINKING about it! But more power to you! Our laundry room is upstairs, and I loooovvvvveeee it. I will never, ever have another house without it upstairs (where all of our bedrooms are). We are a family of 6, so we have buttloads of laundry. The laundry room is right on the other side of our master closet, and I've thought of somehow combining them. But who knows. Can't wait to see how the whole basement turns out for you though!!!

Ok first I choked on my dt dr pep and laughter over the cookie comment. I buy them by the dozen too, and cannot leave them alone when those scrumptious Paradise bakery cookies come in the house. I'd put my fav but there are too many to list! First thing I thought of when you started with this is if you have a laundry shoot no prob, I think you will enjoy!

Sarah,

I see you have the same utila-corridor as we do. Just out of curiosity... what is behind the doors? Since we have no basement (only a crawl space) our dryer, washing machine, laundry hamper, water softener, furnace and water heater are all lined up in a row (from garage door to hall door.) Lovely...

In the past we had our laundry room in the basement and I LOVED it! Plus we had a laundry chute as well... sorta liked it but it was in a weird spot so if I wasn't careful I hit my head in the laundry room (and I'm only 5'2"!) But if I had to do it over again... I would still have the basement laundry room w/ a laundry chute!!

I can't wait to see the final results! In our old house we also had to walk thru our laundry room to get to our garage. We decided to move it upstairs and make a mudroom. It was the best decision! We are now in the process of building a new home and a 2nd floor laundry room was a must! My new laundry room is 11x13 and will also double as a craft room. Don't let it scare you, we never had any water problems. Andrea

I love the ideal of a downstairs laundry. My laundry room is also in my first floor bathroom. (Talk about multi-tasking) The joys of living in a 131 yr old house

My laundry room is in the basement. But I only bring up my husbands and my laundry. I bought the kids their own laundry basket and as it comes out of the dryer I fold their clothes and place it in their basket. They are responsible for bringing it up and putting it away. Obviously I don't have babies any more. But once a child is old enough, it's a big help.

I'm not lucky enough to have a mud room or closet space upstairs to convert to laundry use in our current home. I'd probably be a bigger fan of the laundry chute if I didn't imagine the previous owner's unmentionables going down :-) That said, in moving about the country we've had homes with upstairs water appliances (laundry, hot water tanks) that have flooded and other times without problems. I would say that the biggest concern with an upstairs install is to make sure that there is a way to deal with a leak problem - ie a floor drain in that room, waterproof flooring - and investment in appliances that you know aren't leaky. For me the ultimate livability would be to have a floor plan which would allow for "aging in place" which would mean laundry, ensuite, and kitchen on the main floor. It's certainly a lot easier to close off parts of your house as you age than to have to remodel or move in the face of decreasing mobility.

We have our laundry in the basement and have a chute, which i love. I have the same pile up as you do and its nice that its hidden and no one needs to know about it, except on here of course. I hope you enjoy it as much as us and there is one rule in our house the hubs has to do the carrying up the stairs :)

My washer and dryer are in the garage. Not to mention, that whoever built my house, thought it was a good idea NOT to have a connecting door between the two. So I have to go outside and through the side door of the garage to do laundry. Yeah, it sucks. Especially when it's cold and dark. My dream is just to have a laundry room IN the house. Lol. That's great though that you'll get to have your mud room! Can't wait to see how that turns out! :)

I would LOOOOVE to have a laundry room in the basement. Although right now we are renting and our laundry space is in a CLOSET. Right by the t.v. room. And it's SO loud. One day I will have a super cool laundry area. :) Good luck! I think what you're doing is amazing!

I love you! You are soo real, and that is the very best compliment I can give anyone! I'm excited for your new laundry room and mud room! Yay, for you!

My home is one level but if I had a basement and could go up & down stairs, I would want the laundry room in the basement! (also a good way to work out if you run up & down while the washer is running! :)

I too, have heard horror stories regarding an upstairs laundry area! I wouldn't chance it, myself.

Well, good luck with the renovation and hope your Spring Break is filled with sunny days and happy
memories!

Jesus is the Hope of Easter!

We have our laudry room upstairs, but in a room with a tile floor and a drain, so it can't flood the house.

I totally hear your about the mudroom.laundry combo, that is just too many functions in one spot for me (and apparently you too!) If/when you get older adn stairs and laundry become an issue, you probably wont even be living there anyway, so just do what you need to do to keep your family fed, clothed, and shod (I never get to use that word).

Jessica
stayathomeista.com

Yes, we do our laundry in our lower level...makes the most sense to me. I guess I wouldn't want the noise of the washer and dryer in my bedroom area!

Have a terrific Tuesday. ~Natalie

I have a GIANT laundry room, and we also park our cars in there! At least if you have a leak it doesn't mess up your flooring! That picture of the mudroom you posted was inspiring and envy-making. No mudroom here in Texas! Will the Bub want to hide in the laundry chute? I'm pretty sure my 5 year old guy would think that was made for him! Excited for your new fun spaces!

I am here to back you up on this decision. Everyone told me I was officially crazy when I moved our laundry room to the basement to turn the space into a mudroom. It's one of the best home decisions I've made -- hands down! The mudroom space is worth every single step I take to the basement for doing laundry. First, like you, I think it's only a few extra steps when you consider the location of the stairs. Second, I can totally use the exercise. ;) We also considered moving it upstairs, and every contractor talked us out of it -- not to mention the crazy amount of money it was going to cost. Every decision is give and take. Once you have that beautiful mudroom in place, you won't even think twice about it. So go for it!

Definitely basement!!! We had a major washer incident about a year ago at my boyfriends house when the water line burst and there was water everywhere and I mean everywhere. His laundry is on the main level just off the kitchen so all the kitchen and dining nook flooring had to be redone along with the hall way not to mention MAJOR cleanup in the basement and new parts that got shorted out on the furnace. So lesson of the story, steel line washer hoses and downstairs laundry room. Can't wait to see your finished room!!!

I just LOVE that it's not just my mudroom/laundry room that turns into an absolute dump. Why is it that it's the catch-all for everything? I clean it, swear I won't do it again, and then BAM it's back to the way it was before.?.

Ya know? I figure, if ya gotta take your laundry down a level, what does it hurt to take it down just a few more steps? Right?

I wanted mine located where the bulk of my laundry is made so it is not on the main level, it's by the bedrooms. I vote for anywhere other than where everyone who comes over can see it.

Bliss

i've had main floor laundry in our old house (ranch, all on one floor) and basement laundry in our new house. basement is 1000x better. it's there when you're ready to deal with it, hidden when you don't... and nothing a hamper in each bedroom can't solve. esp since we (and you will too!) have a living space in the basement, arguing that "hauling it downstairs is a pain" is nothing more than shear laziness. you are going to LOVE it, esp once you gain that great space upstairs!

We built this house in 1975 and have a laundry chute in the hall bathroom that goes straight down thru the kitchen to the basement.A large plastic garbage can catches the laundry..Its worth its weight in gold..No clothes anywhere..Instant access to the chute from both floors.We finished the basement, so we have plenty to do while down there doing laundry....Paulak

Being in Australia, we don't usually have a dedicated Mud Room in our homes. However, looking at all these mud rooms people post, I could totally get behind it! My husband and I have been in our new house now for 5 months (woah, can't believe that, it's gone so quick!) and we've gone from a 2 bedroom unit with an interior laundry to a 3 bedroom freestanding house with our laundry under the living room (slanting block). While it can be a pain to be going up and down stairs with dirty then clean laundry, it's great because it's essentially not in any area our guests can stumble into. My husband's undies are safe from prying eyes! We're pilers too, so it's good to be so far away until we get sunshine to wash and hang it out.

In our last house (3 stories), our laundry was in a basement with no option of a laundry shoot. My laundry got washed just fine but it took me forever to fold and carry back upstairs. (Granted, I was pregnant while I lived there).
We now live in a 3 story rental house. Our laundry is in a hall closet on the top floor with all the bedrooms. My laundry gets done SO MUCH quicker now! I love having it on the upper level. My dad (an appliance repair man), told us we needed metal braided hoses on the washer because they will not burst like many rubber ones. We've had no issues at all...of course, issues can happen but if I had a choice, I would definitely chose a laundry room on the same floor as the majority of our bedrooms. Enjoy your remodeling!

I am so happy to see your shoe basket!!!!! The shoe basket at our house is always over-flowing with shoes; well when I get around to picking them all up off of the floor AROUND the basket. EVERYDAY I wonder why in the world we own SO MANY SHOES! Thank you for having a shoe basket too! I feel so much better about mine now! Love your blog, love your ideas.....you are just awesome!

I don't care if you want to put your washer in the basement and your drier in the backyard! It's YOUR house, and I can't believe anyone would have anything negative to say about it! Selfishly, I can't wait to see what you do with the mudroom! I have a bit of a love affair with them. Get going on it, please! :)

I can't wait to see you pull this all together. We have an eerily similar set-up except that our mudroom/laundry room is t-i-n-y... like just wide enough for the washer and dryer. Ours is even yellow too! I've been wanting to finish the downstairs utility room into a laundry room since we moved in. I already go up and down the stairs with loads of clothes anyway. The TV is downstairs and I'm a fold-while-watching-HGTV-kinda-girl. So I say right on, Sarah! Only you know how to best live in your house. Ignore the naysayers.

I have basement machines.
I used to have main floor ones in our old place...the basement wins hands down.

Don't feel like folding? Leave it on the folding table.

Want to actually hear the TV during The Voice? The two hour whitest whites cycle will not interrupt when it vibrates on spin fifteen times.

The basement rocks! You will ♥ it.
So jealous of the mud room to be :)
We will all be waiting to see that!

I think having the chute would be the key to laundry in the basement. When we built our house we put our laundry room upstairs with all the bedrooms (and added drainage "just in case". Love it there and wouldn't change it, but I definitely think getting a mud room out of the deal is a Huge bonus! That is something we sadly didn't think about when we built :(

I've had laundry rooms on all floors - top, middle, and basement. Here's my 2 cents.

When we had laundry on the top floor - it was just like your professionals told you- big water leak, which lead to the discovery of mold, and major renovation. Ugh. NEVER AGAIN.

Middle floor is great - as long as it isn't in the entryway. I am SO with you on needing a SEPARATE mud room!

And Basement was a great position. our last home with a basement laundry was kind of like a dungeon - because it was unfinished - so it was dank and dark, and quite honestly, my kids were afraid of the monsters down there. ;)
BUT - I did love it because it wasn't that bad to go up and down 2 flights of stairs. In fact, I counted it as exercise. So I could eat 12 donuts from Paradise bakery. ;)

Good luck. Can't wait to see pics!

Laundry chutes (whether real or imagined - like in my place, dumping the clothes over the railing down to the downstairs landing) is a back saver. We have a split-entry house so we have that mudroom thing going on right infront of our steps where we are likely to have a kid's homework folder, bag of returns or unruly shoes laying on the steps to trip us up when carrying laundry.

BUT what I really came on here to comment for was that 3 months ago I had shoulder surgery, and one way I coped with not being able to carry a full laundry basket was to use my IKEA bag as a laundry bag. I liked it so much, I am still using it. They are the blue bags you can buy at the checkout that are just like the shopping "cart" bags in the store. you then can sling the load of laundry over your shoulder so you can see in front of you while you walk. Very handy!! (and I just hook the shoulder handle over my lint screen "bump" on the front of my dryer while I hold the bag open and scoop the laundry into it. Works great with my stacked washer/dryer.

I'm not feeling so bad about my basement laundry room now! We have a two story, so to bring clean clothes to our bedrooms requires climbing TWO flights of stairs. However, "This keeps me in my size 6's..." You had me laughing throughout this whole post. Thx :)

You know - - I often wish I had the laundry up closer to the bedrooms and less so in the basement, but then again my husband is the laundry guy so I'm not sure why I care?!

I literally love your blog mainly because you do 'keep it real' and show photos like that. Thank goodness not every house is magazine photo shoot ready all the time!

My laundry is in my basement and I thought I'd hate it when I moved here and it's totally no big deal! Can't wait to see what you do with it all! I'm renting but would TOTALLY finish our basement if it was MY house! :)

Mallory @ Classy Clutter

I have basement laundry and I LOVE it. It is a dedicated laundry room. I also have an old kitchen table in the room (it's pretty large) that I use for folding. The best part is that if I haven't caught up on laundry, no one coming through my house sees it. It's easier to keep the house picked up with 3 dogs and 2 kids. I also keep the vacuum and cleaning supplies in there.

Here's for keeping it real!! ^_^ And my family is cut from the same mold - we're pilers, too. Thank GAWD for your blog and all your AH-MAZING organizing tips, because otherwise my craft area would look like something out of those hoarding shows.

Seriously, I think a basement laundry area (and that Pinterest mud room - FAB!!) is a great idea!! I can't wait to see what kind of fun goodies you come up with down there. ^_^ Thanks for representing all us pilers.

~Nicole @ www.shabbybeachnest.com

I had an odd room (too big for a normal closet, but too small for a bedroom -- not sure what it was for) off the master bedroom upstairs in an older home a few years ago. I moved my washer and dryer into that room, put up rods for clothes (never had to change out seasonal clothing) and kept my ironing board up at all times. I lived alone, and it worked perfectly for me. One plumber said it wouldn't be a problem; the other plumber was skeptical. I, of course, went with the positive plumber. Never had any trouble with it and made extra cabinet space in the kitchen. I mentioned it was an old home -- laundry stuff in kitchen. I didn't have a basement, or it would definitely have been moved there. Whew!

I live in an 1850's stone house and the laundry is in the basement...have to go up two flights of stairs go get it to the bedrooms, and the dirty stuff down. Having stone walls makes venting a dryer impossible, so I've never had a drier here. BUT being the laundry is in the basement, as is the woodstove, I have several drying racks and a string to hang laundry. I love it. I hate climbing all the stairs, but I LOVE having the mess all down there. And, I need the exercise anyhow. I WISH I had a mud room!! But there's a place for all that in the basement as well. (Out of the way!) :)

In my old house I had the laundry in the basement and I loved it! It was an old house so the washers(yes I had two) were on one side of the basement and the dryer was on the other and didn't work very well. In the winter I hung my laundry on clothes lines strung across the beams and in the summer I carried that laundry back to the edge of the property and hung it on the line. I was in the best shape living in that house! hmm perhaps should consider moving mine to the basement also. We have the same mudroom/laundry issues in the current house that you have. I am looking forward to seeing how your space turns out. It's so much fun to see it all come together.

This comment has been removed by the author.

We had a laundry chute in a house we lived in when I was a child; it was in the bathroom linen closet and we just thought it was the coolest thing ever! Although the temptation was there, I don't think any of us ever tried to go down it! :)

As for carrying laundry upstairs- I'd say there are more arms than yours and put them to work!

Our old house had the same laundry set up as yours, and I HATED it. My laundry is perpetual, so at any given moment, there was laundry overflow in my kitchen, and it made me crazy. I don't know who ever thought this was a good set up. Probably a man. Who has never done laundry. ;-)

I have a friend who also had this laundry set up, and moved it to the basement, making a fab mud room in the process. AWESOME. And she has FOUR kids. It's amazing that she didn't go crazy beforehand.

And a laundry chute?!? HELLO! Love it. That solves just about any extra legwork involved in moving it, right? Can't wait to see it!

Hi Sarah! This is the first time I'm commenting - I think. Anyhoo - you go and put that laundry in the basement girl. You are going to be hanging down there so you will not really be making special trips down there to schlep laundry. You'll be watching tv, doing a little folding and getting hubby to carry it up when you go up for bed! I am sure you walk up stairs now to your second floor to put it away so it really is not a big change. And think of your leg workout you are going to get! You will have buns of steel, a tucked away laundry room and a mudroom (that I cannot wait to see - hence the strong basement encouragement!) Have a great day!

We have the exact same set up - laundry room doubling as side yard exit, and garage entry....NOT a place for cleaning ANYTHING. We will move ours to the basement someday too, where I'm sure it actually WAS at some point in history. Can't wait to see yours!

We have our laundry in the basement, but then we have a tri-level home so the stairs are not as many as a regular 2-story. But I find I don't mind it a bit. Laundry tends to get piled up in my room though, since that's where I sort (upstairs, of course) and drop off clean baskets to be folded...at some point in life. The laundry chute is a great idea! Plus, since your basement will be finished, it will be pleasant going down there (no cement walls and spider caves and such...) I say "go for it!!"

Hi Sarah! Our mudroom/laundry was almost exactly like yours, and we experienced the same thing...everything got dumped on the washer and dryer and I lost my mind every time we walked in the house (it opened onto the garage). My amazing dad moved our washer and dryer down the basement for us last year (even though he thought we were nuts) and I love love love it. Not one second of regret, and I am the queen of re-thinking everything I do, even after it's done! We have plans to design an awesome mudroom like your pinterest photo too. Can't wait until you start that project so I can get inspired! Thanks!

Regarding what you see when you walk in every day...well, the floor is pretty..the yellow is cheery, um, the sign says "welcome"... :) Ha I hear you on wanting the change, and now that I hear there is a chute in the works it sounds even better. And laundry for 3 isn't toooo bad.

Always appreciate the 'keepin it real' photos!

As far as sellability, a new buyer would have an option to move it back up I would think.

Our home plans called for it to be in the basement (1988) but I did NOT want that for our growing fam. We changed it to be on first floor. It's a mudroom too, & quite small, ridiculously small, but I'm just glad it's first floor. [my basement isn't the cool space yours is going to be, either. It's not finished.]

Yay for you! Happy for ya.
Chrissy

In Maine, washers and dryers are most frequently found in basements. Mike Holmes (from HGTV show Holmes on Homes) has said on his show a few times that W&Ds shouldn't be on living spaces because ground-level concrete floors are the only floors really built to take all the vibrations.

We just moved ours from the entryway to the basement, and I couldn’t be happier! You can check out our progress here: http://heartmainehome.blogspot.com/2012/02/laundry-room-in-works.html.

We have a giant entryway closet now, no more laundry baskets blocking the doorway, and plenty of room in the basement to hang clothes to dry or just let things get messy. I don't have to see messy laundry every day, so it's totally worth it!

My laundry "room" is in the upstairs in between my kid's rooms. It's handy that we don't have to cart laundry around, and if the washer/dryer are on it's ok, but since we have front load the doors are really loud, so starting/switching loads is out of the question during nap time. Usually this isn't really an issue. At my old house I had a room for my laundry so I could hang my drying rack but this is a closet that is only big enough to fit my machines. That is the part I hate. If i had a bit of room it would be so much nicer. Where am I supposed to hang my drying rack now?? BOO!

Even if you don't have a chute, you can always just throw the laundry down the stairs. :) My mom's knees are giving out some as she ages, so that's what she does, basket and all. I think it's a good idea, as the mess would have to overflow a LOT in order to make it into "public" spaces of the house.

Sarah, your laundry room looks just like mine! It is the catch all, hidden skeletons, don't open the door if you are a guest b/c something will fall on you room. I don't blame you for moving it to the basement and I love the mudroom with hidden storage idea. Have you thought about a laundry shute? My friend has her laundry in the basement with a laundry shute from the first floor to the basement. The whole family loves it.

When we first moved in I had to use the basement laundry and hated it...but I lost 10 lbs in the first month from hauling all that up and down! Now the upstairs laundry room is fixed and my life is simpler. I only use the basement laundry for the blankets we use in the media room. Fresh blankets for cuddling with the hubby and kiddos.

AND if your basement is ~dreamy~ and houses your TV and couch...and popcorn :) then your all set! I say good for you! And a ~dreamy~ mud room...jealous!!! That will change your life!

I wish we would of put it up on the 2nd floor of our two story. There isn't the room in the basement (it's not a big house). I do hear you on your dilemma. I have the same issue and am constantly straightening up the laundry room because the appliances are piled with stuff.

I've always had basement laundry until we moved to this house which has one upstairs near the stairs. I totally agree that laundry needs to be out of public sight. The basement is perfect for that. It's much more convenient to hang wet bras up right by the washer but you can't if people are going to be traipsing through!

I don't blame you either for moving it. My washer and dryer is the first thing you see when you walk in my back door too! Every time I pile clean folded clothes on top of the dryer....I tell myself to put them away when I get them out of the dryer....but you know how that goes. I can't wait to see both your separate rooms =)

It's going to be perfect and anyone who says otherwise doesn't live in your house and therefore doesn't really matter :) I can't wait to see the new laundry room and your new mudroom finished. I am stuck with the typical So. Cal laundry in the garage--no mudroom or laundry room for me :( So, I will vicariously enjoy yours!

Good for you for figuring out what works best for your family! I have been married a loooong time and finally figured out about 2 years ago how silly it was to fold clothes then hang them up. I installed a rod over my dryer and now clothes get hung up immediately from the dryer..no ironing! I also loathe matching socks so I decided several years ago that I didn't have to match them if I didn't want to! ;-) I put all socks in a basket on top of the dryer. Everyone can match their own. ( i know...I am a bad mother...haha)

My laundry room has been in my basement for 11 years. I love it! It's roomy and out of sight. I figure going up and down the stairs all these years has helped keep me in better shape, so I don't mind it a bit! Good luck!

I love your idea of separating them. If I would I could!!! I am in the same dilemma, laundry room/mud room/pet room/freezer/furnace/office. OMG I am going insane space!!! I have had laundry in the bathroom and believe it or not that wasn't so bad! But my favorite is in the basement. That is what my old house had, laundry shoot included. It was AMAZING! I love reading your blog, you had me hooked at your decrapification post about a year ago. I have been decrapifying and following you ever sense!

My laundry is upstairs, and I thought it was a great idea, since the only laundry I have to carry downstairs is kitchen towels. However, now, with kids it's a pain because we are ALWAYS downstairs. So laundry is the last thing that gets done.

When we built our new house, we had the option to put the laundry on the bedroom level, second floor above ground level. I chose not to because I had heard too many horror stories of water damage, and clogged dryer duct fires. The dryer vent would have been about 20 feet. It went in the basement where we could access all pipes and had a very short dryer duct run to clean out. It was a wise choice. Stairs are great exercise and will work off all those cookies! Our next house had it off the kitchen, but it was a dedicated space, not a pass thru. It still collects every bit of crap that does not have a home somewhere else. Basement is THE way to go.

I would love to move our laundry room to the basement. My home's very tiny laundry room serves as a combined pantry/laundry/mudroom, so moving the washer and dryer to the basement would actually give us a place to store and take off our shoes before coming into the house. Plus, I iron and fold my clothes in the family room now, because the laundry room is too small, and doesn't even have an outlet in which to plug the iron!

hey sarah!

i've been wanting to post a comment forever, but most times i am reading along on my iPhone or iPad - and we all know how tough it is to reply via those devices. :-)

i love love love your ideas for the laundry room! i love your mudroom idea too with that wall that opens to conceal shoes! sheesh, wish i thought of that! we have a mudroom similar to that but it's right up against a wall and so that opening wouldn't work for us - darn! haha!

anyway, i wanted to mention that we had the dreaded washer leaking water issue. it was a year ago and i am SOOOOO glad nothing was under the washer. our laundry room is located on the main floor of the house and the only thing under it (thankfully!) was our under house crawl space. our washer died and when the guys came to put in our new set, the twisted a pipe causing it to snap...and there was literally a waterfall pouring behind our laundry room wall. it was terrible!!!! it was a total mess to deal with - but at least i didn't have more of a mess with the washer leaking from upstairs, you know.

anyway, i think it's a great idea to move the set downstairs b/c you never know when an issue with water leaking may occur. i never had it happen in all of my years until the old washer died.

thanks again for the weekly inspiration! love everything over here!!! :-)

I would put that baby in the basement in a heart beat! I currently have a 60's ranch with the laundry room in what passes for a mudroom. No closet, no space to put a coat or a pair of shoes. We gave up the closet to move the furnace from the living room to the garage...yes, the furnace was in the living room. It is my great hope to move the laundry room to the bedroom hall...no basement, or it would be down there right now. I loose the linen closet there, but the plan is to add enough built-ins to the new bathrooms that the linen closet will not be missed. Wish me luck!

A basement laundry room sounds like a great idea from the flooding aspect. I like ours on the main level because our basement isn't finished. It's easier to do it when I can hear it stopping while I'm on the main level and remember to move it. But, I totally see where you're coming from and if my basement was finished, I would also want to convert our existing laundry room into a mud room. Our laundry room is also right off the garage but it's in a separate room that we don't have to walk through so I can close the door if it's getting out of control.

Rather than a laundry chute, you can actually just have a talented carpenter cut a hole in the floor and kind of make it into a door. I can send you a picture of the one in my mom's house. Their bedroom is right over her basement laundry room, so she just strategically placed a basket under a little door. It looks kind of like a hatch in a submarine.

I've often thought I'd love to have main floor laundry facilities, but both my laundry and mud rooms are generally a disaster, so the two do NOT need to get together and further conspire against me. I'd give my eye-teeth for a laundry chute, though . . .

You're totally doing the right thing. We moved last fall and our last house had laundry in the basement, our new house has laundry upstairs ... It's all the same to me, actually I used to enjoy folding laundry in the evening while watching a movie ... now I would have to bring my laundry downstairs and then take it back up if I wanted to do that. I think you will find it very agreeable having your laundry downstairs, and reclaiming your mudroom! That just makes me excited for you! good luck!

Well coming from across the pond we rarely have the luxury of a basement over there and if we do they are in old Victorian houses and are usually damp, dark and miserable! Our washing machines are usually in the kitchen, or if we are lucky to have a small room on the main floor, we have it there. It wasn't till I came over here that I realised people actually put these things in a bathroom or upstairs in a closet! Haha! I just can't imagine sitting in the loo looking at a washing machine or opening a closet in my bedroom to do the laundry!

From a water damage point of view I'm with you and the service guys! Can't wait to see how your basement turns out! For the record mine is all in the basement, not a pretty one yet cos we haven't had the funds to do it being new over here, BUT I LOVE that I don't have to look at piles of laundry unless I choose to!

We live in a small OLD house with a basement that can never be made into a finished space. There is plumbing on the main floor, and only bedrooms on the second floor. Our laundry is in our bathroom. Thankfully, we have a big bathroom (9x11) and stacking machines.

My husband-to-be is notorious for leaving dirty clothes in the bathroom, so having the laundry machines in the same room is perfect. I don't even have to have a laundry bin in there - the clothes just get put into the washer until there's enough for a load!

I agree! I would LOVE a dedicated mud room and a dedicated laundry room. I'm actually considering a relocation to the "Sunshine State" from Illinois and this is part of the plan. We will see how many $$$$ are connected to that idea. A gal can dream, can't she?

I am soooo opposite from you. I had my laundry in the basement for 4 years, got so tired of treks up/down stairs with laundry. Had a chute put in (from hall bath), but still had to carry everything up. Cold mornings, had to run downstairs to "warm" clothes for kids (I know, I know, not necessary to some). I carved out space in my kitchen and moved all upstairs. Can you hear the angels singing? They're loud and proud. Mimi's got her laundry in the kitchen and is so happy!! I love 2 cabinets (lower only). Love it. Love it. Love it.

Our old house had a main floor laundry in a hallway closet of sorts and I HATED it. It was loud if you wanted to watch tv and the laundry would pile up everywhere on the main floor. I walys have wanted the upstairs laundry room, we looked at a couple houses that had them that I loved, but were out of our price range. Now that I hear the water damage piece, I'm happy ours in on the lower level. I wish it were prettier...it shares space with the furnace, hot water heater and air exchange system, but I can shut the door and hide the mess and no one knows better.

I love your basement laundry room! My laundry room is right off my kitchen in a tiny room. What I would give for a larger laundry room and I wouldn't care where it was. I have always wanted a large mud room too. That way all the "mud" stays in the mud room. I love your plans!

Excuse me while I ramble for a bit... ;) we have a basement laundry. Having lived in an apt, I thought I would hate it. It's actually pretty nice! The space isn't wasted on our first floor, it's right next to our playroom area, which forces me to actually do it, haha. And I dont have tons of piles all the time, I can keep delicates and whites in baskets until they heap and it actually looks organized.

The only thing I thought while reading your post was "that girl needs a laundry chute" and it seems you have that covered! ;) I grew up with one, loved it, and have been trying to think of a space for where i could put one in my house. Definitely, definitely do that!!! Good luck, can't wait to see the progress. :)

Um yeah, with a laundry room that looks like that, it's best to move it down. It seems like you'll spend time down there so why not. Better than having huge piles of crp all over first thing where you walk in.

Our laundry room is off the kitchen. It also holds the trashcan because there's no other good spot for the trash in the kitchen without blocking walkways or sliding doors. It works ok. My future plan is to swap the side by side wash/dryer with a stackable..and use the extra space for a tall cabinet and make it into a laundry/pantry room. It's a long ways off though, I have to wait for my wash/dryer to die first, and they're still going strong unfortunately. I am really excited for your mud room though, it's not even my house, but just imagine what you can do with that new space! It'll be awesome. Also..your shoes in baskets - GENIUS. I'm going to go get baskets this week for the girls' closets, save space/more for dolls, AND contain the shoes. Why didn't I think of that?

Definitely the way to go! Why am I so sure, you ask?!
I'm doing the exact same thing so I really hope I'm right !

We had a laundry/mudroom combination that was filled with piles of laundry on the floor. Not the first thing I want to see when walking in the door. I'll now have a designated laundry room as well a family room, play section and LOTS of closets.

You have me thinking about a laundry chute though!!

http://www.no29design.com/2012/03/we-are-getting-somewhere.html

oh and here's another thought. . .think of the extra exercise going up and down

We are moving ours down too! We bought our house a year ago - the washer and dryer were in a closet in the hallway, right beside the bedrooms! Imagine trying to get a 2-year old to sleep with those going . . . so they are going downstairs, which works better for dog laundry and barn clothes (who wants to track those halfway through the house to the washer), and for me folding clothes while watching TV in the den. Like you, I can't wait to have both down there!

OMG-I have been trying to talk hubby into a laundry chute forEVA! Everyone thinks I'm nuts, but I have no idea why houses don't have them anymore. Our laundry room is in the basement, and a chute would be amazing. PLEASE follow through with it, so I can copy!

I wish we had a basement for a million reasons but definitely for a laundry room. It would be so nice to have it separate and more contained. I just posted about what a problem our ugly laundry room is. I need some serious inspirations to tackle it!: http://www.urbanorchardinteriors.com/the-problem-room/

Love your idea for shoe storage behind the wall! I am so tired of looking at dozens of dirty shoes all over the front porch!

-Lane

I've had both. While I don't like the upstairs laundry because it shakes the walls when it spin-dries, I DO like the convenience not having to lug baskets up 3 sets of stairs (which I had to do in my old house). I have a marble pan under my machines so hopefully I'm covered in case of a leak? Hopefully!

My parents have a laundry chute which was awesome as a kid! My sister and I kept making plans to use it as a slide, but would always chicken out. LOL It made for a great intercom, though when we needed to call my dad up from his workshop for dinner!!

After you listed all you well thought out reasons for having the laundry in the basement, I stopped twitching when thinking about it! lol I've had basement & 1st floor laundry over the years and what matters MOST is what is convenient & workable for you.

My son, now almost 23, started doing his own laundry when he was about 13 and helped with the carrying it long before that - just a handy-dandy need to learn life lessons! :)

I love your vision for your new mudroom! Oh, how I wish my back hall was big enough to do that! And it's just me now! I so look forward to seeing this progress!

Ciao!

Guerrina

I love a "find the source" challenge. This one stumped me.

My laundry "room" (dare I even utter that label for this space) is in the same area as my kitchen and powder room. So, if too many things are going on. Powdering, Laundering or Fridge hunting... it's a major traffic jab.

I love this idea because it seems like you have really thought about it and researched all the possibilities! I'm sure you will LOVE having a mudroom - I've never had one but it's definitely a dream of mine!

I've had an upstairs laundry room before - it was great because all the rooms were upstairs. However, I think the good thing about the basement laundry room is that you can use it as an excuse to get extra exercise - at least that's what I would tell people who said that it was a bad idea :)

My laundry room is in my master closet and let me tell you, I HATE it! Exactly for the reasons those three professionals told you about. I live in upstate NY where in the coldest of winter it can get down into the -20's. Not fun! Last winter my husband was in Afghanistan and the cold water pipe to the washer froze and later burst. It flooded my basement, caused a lot of problems, and just a pain in the you know what! So the next house we buy, I'm definitely putting the laundry room in the basement! I will NEVER have a laundry room on a main floor again. We had to pay people to come in, clean up the water, dry everything out, treat everything for mold, AND we had to rip out the carpet in our master closet and bedroom because the water damage had shrunk the carpet. Yep, Never again!

I moved our laundry to the basement before we even moved into our house. The house was built in 1958 and has some features that we absolutely love but the laundry hookups were in the kitchen. Right beside the back door. Not going to work for me. Loud, messy, nowhere to hang damp clothes, etc, etc, etc. So we moved them to the basement and added a laundry sink and I love it. I have tons of room and don't mind going downstairs to do the laundry. I haven't counted the steps but I figure every time I walk up those stairs it is good for me anyway. Keep in mind I do laundry for only two people. Maybe bigger families would be annoyed at having to go up and down more often--I don't know. I think you will love having a dedicated space that you can leave and not be greeted by chaos everyday. I like to be greeted by order--most days "semi-order". But I try! Enjoy your new space. Can't wait to see it all finished!

I think you are brilliant! But I always think you are brilliant.

Our LR is on the main level, but that's b/c we don't have a basement. If we did, it would go down there. My mom had bad water damage from her upstairs unit and had to have all her upstairs carpet replaced. Not my thing.

I'm a piler too, but I think I've told you that before. I don't know how to break myself of it!! I love that you keep it real b/c your LR represents about 80% of my house today. ;) ;)

Our house was built in 1974 and had a hall-closet setup for the washer and dryer. Previous owners moved it to the basement and made a laundry/bathroom. I dream of the setup you currently have but totally understand why you want the change. It even made me realize that if we had an upstairs mud room and laundry, we'd be dealing with the exact same issues you have - so thanks for the reality check! :-). We have a laundry chute too and it's great - it empties into a tall, pantry-style stock kitchen cabinet and the piles stays hidden until you open the door to sort and wash. That eliminates the giant pile at the bottom of the chute!

We don't have a laundry room, just a laundry closet, in the hallway leading to the basement stairs, and right outside our master bedroom. It works for us... for now. I do, on average, one load of laundry a week (we don't have kids yet and I only do laundry when I have a full load). I can imagine that if we're still in our house when the kidlets come, that hallway will always be full of clothes waiting to go into the washer or to be folded. We've thought about moving them down to the basement (because then we could expand our master closet, and who doesn't need a bigger closet?!), but, knowing us, with our out-of-sight-out-of-mind mentality, clothes would never get folded and then we'd have a whole other set of problems. Oh, but I did just make the laundry closet a more pleasant place: http://twoohtwoseven.blogspot.com/2012/03/laundry-closet-details-or-why-i-will.html

Love this post and ALL the comments! We are doing the same exact thing you are doing right now. It's so refreshing to hear some positive comments about basement laundry, because just like you, everyone in my life thinks I am nuts for wanting it down there. We just moved into a new two-story house and the laundry room is right off the kitchen in a prime future mudroom space. This house currently lacks a decent entry at all and I have three little ones and shoes galore. Having just lived thru a MN winter, it was a nightmare with no where to put anything. I can't wait to get the laundry room moved downstairs. The room is framed in but we are waiting on a plumber and electrician right now. I am going to make a dreamy, dedicated laundry room and then make another dreamy mudroom space in the process! I love that shoe storage picture, I have NEVER seen that in all my research! So cool!

Thanks again for this post, made my day.

Let me tell you a little story about water damage, my friend.

We moved into our house last fall, and had lived there for 8 weeks when the day before New Year's Eve, our connector hose to the washer decided to stop functioning. Happily we weren't running laundry when it happened, but not so happily, it ruined our laminate floors in the kitchen, which connected to the breakfast nook and a small hallway. End results? We had to pay our insurance deductible to cover what was close to $7500 in damages, clean up and replacement and spent 6 weeks with a kitchen that was only moderately functional and a dysfunctional laundry room. And that cost was in a one level house and a small flood that only covered two rooms. So I think your decision to move down instead of up is brilliant and well-thought out! Can't wait to see the end results!

Our laundry is in the basement and I love it. We also have a laundry chute in the 2nd floor bathroom as well as in the main floor bathroom. It's not big, as it's built in between the studs in the walls, but it works great once you figure out how to get things down without clogging it up.

I'm going to have a basement laundry and I am PUMPED for it!!! Lots of work before it happens (like, pour a cement floor for starts!) but we're going to insulate and drywall the full basement so it'll feel more laundry room than basement. I can't wait to stretch out with it..utility sink, drying racks, color-specific hampers.. I don't know what else but I'm planning to pimp this place out ! haha Would imagie you'll have lots more room too for fun extras, too(ps found you on houseblogging)

You may want to consider a top door and a bottom door for you shoe storage above the bench. That bench will probably continue to be a clutter magnet since it is right by the door. Purse - Packages - etc. A full door will be hard to open without clearing the space and the storage space will not be as usefull as you've imagined. A half door at the top will give you full access for the shoes use the most. The bottom storage could be used for shoes that are seasonal.

i like them up i like them down, i like them here or there. i like laundry rooms ANYWHERE that is NOT a main walk way like that. had it. hate it. i actually wish someday to have the stacked wadher and dryer. takes up nine square feet of space and eliminates the possibility of placing anything on top of them. but since we basically got ours for free i'm happy to have them as is.

but advice for downstairs laundry rooms where no laundry tipically exists except to be washed, i would suggest some sort of laundry shute or pulley system. it will cut down half the time spent on laundry.

We moved a year ago. The laundry room in the previous was tiny and on the main floor, off the family room. Needless to say there was laundry all over the family room on laundry days. Now in this house, I have a BIG laundry room in the basement and I'm perfectly fine with this. I LOVE it. The baskets can lie around out of sight and I don't have to scramble to hide the mess when somebody comes over. It's a laundry room. Now if my mud room only had hidden shoe storage...Sigh!

We are in the process of finishing our basement as well and now you have definitely planted a seed. I do so love having a main floor laundry though. Especially as our master bedroom is also on the main floor. Our laundry room is a mudroom and also has a walk-in pantry. I have four kids, so I totally understand what you mean about it being a crazy room. I do my best to make it work ~ shoes outside the door in the garage on a rack, dog food in a container outside the door, coats on hooks, etc. I can see advantages to both situations, but I think you definitely need to do what works for you. YOU are the one living in your home, so do what you need to do to make it home:)

Although I hate my laundry room being in the basement (our basement is not a completely finished basement) I am excited for you and by all means do everything you can to put in laundry shoots. We have one on each floor and we LOVE them! Makes things so much easier, well that is if I could get my teenager to use it. She usually leaves her clothes laying on her bedroom floor for me to pick up. LOL

Ours is upstairs-where all the bedrooms are-and I LOVE it! I wouldn't change it. It is so easy to do laundry and just walk to each room and deposit the fresh, clean clothes. In fact, it was actually a selling point-all the bedrooms on the same floor AND the laundry-DONE! Our last laundry room was past the kitchen, almost to the garage and I hated it.

We moved ours from the basement up to one side of my craft room and I get laundry done so much more quickly now- probably because I can't stand looking at dirty clothes in my happy place! Creating some sort of mudroom area in our home is one of my current challenges- I'm looking for inspiration, so I'll have my eye on yours!

I think its a fab idea! I wish we had a laundry closet in our current house, but our laundry is cin the garage. And let me tell you, doing laundry in the garage in the summer in Florida is pretty much torture!

Also, lerve the mudroom inspiration pic!! Cant wait to see how it turns out!

I grew up in houses and neighborhoods where everyone had basement laundry rooms and laundry shutes (so convenient!). While mine is on the main floor now, I know of several people who had entire floors wiped out due to water damage from the washer, so I turn off the water to my washer every time we leave town just in case. I say, do what makes you happy! If you ever sell the house down the road, the new owners can choose to move the laundry room back upstairs -- but I've finally realized after 3 moves that I'm tired of planning my homes around what other buyers might be looking for!

We live in a one story home with laundry out in our attached garage. It works ok. Sure, I sometimes drool over the glorious laundry rooms I've seen on Pinterest, but whatev, I hate the laundry anyways...

I love your honesty. It gets so depressing viewing perfectly neat and tidy homes in the magical blogosphere.

We have our laundry room upstairs with the bedrooms. I believe having the laundry room in the same vicinity as the bedrooms - whether upstairs or down - makes sense. I put a load of laundry in every morning on my way downstairs. I have no reason to go back up until the end of the day, so that's when I move it to the dryer. The clothes are ready for folding once I've gotten ready for the night. It's easy and keeps the laundry flowing.

In our first house we had the laundry/mud room as the first room you walked in from the garage. I hated it. It was always cramped and a disaster because everything got placed in there on in the way into the house. When we built our 2nd house, the original design was a laundry/mud room entrance. I had them redesign it to enclose the laundry separately. Now, we live in a house with the laundry in the basement. While I do dislike walking down two flights of stairs with the laundry (get the tall laundry baskets, not the stubby, wide baskets to make navigating the stairs easier) my laundry room is neat and clean and I don't walk into my house to see a pile of clothes!

We moved ours from the main floor to the basement in our last house and I loved it!

Our laundry area is in the basement. And I wouldn't have it any other way. The thought of the washing machine leaking is enough to scare me. It happened to my sister in law last year. Not pretty. So I don't blame you. Not one iota.

Okay, I'm with you 100%. I moved my laundry room to the basement and never looked back. I now have room for a pull-out ironing board, and a set of cabinets and counter top that I've used for multiple purposes. I hang some of our cotton clothes rather than dry them and for that, I installed hanging rods in the unfinished storage space just beyond this finished laundry room. You'll need lightweight laundry baskets (which I ordered online) if you don't do the chute as the hard plastic ones are heavy before even loading. I wouldn't trade this space for anything! Good luck!

Our washer and dryer are in our basement AND we have a laundry chute! It runs from the 2nd floor and deposits our laundry into a large, really large, Rubbermaid bin in the basement. All of the bedrooms are on the 2nd floor with the exception of the master suite which is on the third floor. I do not have to deal with hampers or dirty clothes on the kid's bedroom floors! It's too easy to pick up their laundry and throw it down the chute!

Now carrying it back up stairs is not as fun for this 45 yr old mom BUT it's not terrible either.

BTW, we have good friends who had a hose come off their second floor washer and cause extensive damage to both their 2nd and first floors. If your service men were in western PA - I'd think they were referencing our friends - catastrophic!

Except for one rental that was all on one floor, we've always had a basement laundry area. I will tell you that it works much, much better in a basement where you have a living area than a "storage" basement! Now, we sit at our computers, or watch TV while the laundry does it's thing, and pretty much get up immediately when we hear one of the machines finish up. In our old place, laundry could take days. We kept forgetting we had a load in!

I can't imagine living with a small laundry/mud room. I'd run into all the same problems you would... and there's just two of us in this house. (We're pilers, too.)

- Liz

So looking forward to seeing this all come full circle! I think having your laundry room in the basement is a fabulous idea -- my husband and I are pilers, too, and the laundry room is seemingly the perfect place for piling, lol. Very excited for you!

GET the laundry chute for the basement room. We do NOT have one, but the door to the basement is only steps from the bathroom which means that after showers in the morning (or the kid's baths) the clothes just get tossed down the stairs, where they pile up on the floor (or if you are a poor shot) on the stairs till I run a load or ten. Since this door also leads to our back door, it isn't a welcoming site, but we've learned to live with it.

Hello Sarah!
What a nice and interesting post that you shared to us. And it was really great!
Being a mom is really not an easy one.Moms thinks about everything,like what to do in the house, what to cook, do the chores, and many, any more.
Thanks for sharing!!!More power!!!

Oh I totally feel your pain, but my set up is a little bit different. My laundry room isn't exactly a mud room. But it's still a hot HOT mess. Like seriously, the person that designed our house was an 80 year old man, who never saw a washer or dryer a day in his LIFE, because his wife did all of that nonsense, while he went to work with the boys and smoked cigars, and slapped the butts of his secretaries all day.

Ahem, bitter? A little.

You see, my laundry room is off the kitchen, but it's on the opposite side. My garage empties into a very stupidly laid out hall way. It's like my garage vomits you into this open space. Family room on your right (with no doorway, it's just THERE, bleh), kitchen straight ahead, and then off yonder down the hall way is the dining room (NOT EVEN OFF THE KITCHEN!! Can you believe that?. Sorry, I need to mentally catch my breath). So I won't even get started on the fact that the majority of my counter space is a wasteland of papers.

Anyway, my laundry room is right next to my kitchen table, so if I get behind on laundry, it spills out into our eating area. No one likes eating in a sea of dirty underwear.

At one time we thought about moving our laundry room downstairs, but the idea was vetoed by my husband, whose office is down there, and he didn't want to be the one who would be responsible for bringing the laundry up and down two flights of stairs. He knows me all too well. So our new plan is to move it to the second floor at some point. My plan is to close off our two story foyer. I hate two story anything (we closed off our two story family room and made a bedroom up there, it's awesome) and make a giant laundry room slash walk in closet (the room would probably be about 13x12), complete with built in closets and an island!!! So, yeah, I think you need to put the laundry room where it's going to work best for YOU. I think we've gotten to the point where houses are being built more for decoration, and less for functionality. I'm trying to turn my house back into being functional. I've been following your basement reno like people follow the Kardashian's next media move. :o)

I would LOVE to move our laundry to the basement! We have to walk through our laundry room when we come in from the garage too. Who ever thought this was a good idea in the first place!? Not someone with five kids and therefore laundry for SEVEN people!! My laundry room is ALWAYS a disaster. Always. I hate hate hate trying to plow my way through it as I come in from the garage, usually carrying groceries or piles of junk from the car. You walk through our laundry room, then you get to the mudroom. The mudroom is a pain because the door from the laundry room opens into it. I took the door off for a while, which made the mudroom more convenient, but then I didn't have a door to close on the disgusting laundry room when people came over. (When you walk through the mudroom from the laundry room, you come out by our front door.)

So here's my dream:
Laundry room in the basement, adjoined by a family closet. Laundry chute from the upstairs bathrooms. The family closet will house ALL of the kids clothes. It will have a small dressing room for the girls and one for the boys.

Dreamy...

I think you have a great idea! You are reworking your basement because you spend a lot of time down there. I save my laundry folding for my TV watching time anyway! I carry baskets from the basement to my upstairs often enough to attest that it is not heavy labor! AND, if you have the ability to add a laundry chute, SO IT!!! We have one and no one needs a hamper in their room! It is great!

I've had a laundry room in the basement of an old 2 story house(a little dank), a teeny tiny laundry room you walk through from the garage that also housed the furnace, hot water heater and water softner (hated that!), a dedicated laundry room on the first floor the size of a bedroom off the entry from the garage(LOVED! 6ft. countertop over 6ft of cabinets), and now on the second floor(no leak issues, knock on wood). All have their pros and cons but I hated the walk through from the garage. It was soo small we had to wait in the garage as each one of us took off their shoes because only one person could fit in there at a time. There were 7 of us. A lot of the time the shoes ended up in the kitchen and I folded clothes on my kitchen table or the hubs would PILE them on the couch in the family room.

Well, I had the stackable in the kitchen thing - and I hated it. So I moved it upstairs to a closet. Best thing EVER. It's right at the base of the stairs to the 3rd floor master and right next to the kid's room. No lugging baskets necessary. And, since there is always laundry in process, its great to be able to duck in to get something or switch machines while still engaging in family life. I have no desire to go to the basement, ever. See http://holidayhouserules.typepad.com/house_rules/2011/10/penny-round-tile-.html for pics of my closet!

But, with your situation, something had to change. It's just too bad you could not find a 1st or second floor location that made more sense than the already crowded entryway. You definitely need space to accommodate clothes not folded or done and a drying rack, and a way to hide that all from guests!

Oh, and contractors never want to do what is hard, I had to talk my guy into my plan. And we have all sorts of leak management stuff in place - like a rubber lined metal tub underneath the machines and easy access shut off valves that we use when going out of town.

Our laundry room is in the garage (no basements here in AZ) It was originally in the house in a room off the kitchen but I just couldn't resist making that room into a ridiculous pantry! It is worth the walk when I look in that pantry. The laundry shoot will be WELL worth the work. Taking the laundry downstairs is a thorn in my side right now. I would love to see how your laundry shoot is constructed.

We just moved to a house with a basement laundry and a chute... and i like it more than I thought I would. My little boys have fun with the chute.... never any dirty clothes piles in the bedrooms.... and I get to hide it all away. Carrying it up the stairs isn't as bad as I thought, much better than having it be out there for all to see right off the kitchen!

Great post and I totally get where you're coming from. In fact, I wrote about something similar recently here: http://www.diyalogue.com/DIY/tabid/56/post/mud-room-you-complete-me/Default.aspx
Good luck with the project.
Jen

14 years with a laundry chute to our basement laundry/multi-purpose room and I just recently quit using it. After hating this cluttered room and trying a zillion different ways to fix it, settled on NOT using the laundry chute and moving hampers to the bedroom. Re-organized the space and ONLY carry clothing down when I am actually gonna do laundry. OTHERWISE, you toss it down the chute and a HUGE PILE is created (we are an on-the-go family) that I HATE looking at. So, maybe just rethink the chute....or maybe you will be more disciplined that us! :-)

We have our laundry room in the basement, and my only issue with it is that it's in the unfinished part of the basement. Therefore, it's ugly and industrial, as well as being kind of cramped and cobweb-y...It's on my long-term to-do/dream list to get that part of the house finished and have a laundry room that is at least neat, if not also pretty and pleasant. But other projects must come first...like new siding and windows, and organizing my husband's little basement workshop area which is also, by the way, right next to the ugly, industrial, cobweb-y laundry area. I don't imagine that my sweet husband will ever be done with my home renovation ideas. :-)

Our laundry room is in our basement, and it continuously looks like a hot mess! Ha. I have dreams of it being in an upstairs closet so I didn't have to walk up three flights of stairs continuously.. but it does make the most sense for us.

I understand why you are doing this. My only suggestion is to add a dumbwaiter from basement to bedroom area. lol You are doing a great job!!

Too lazy to read all 130+ comments. So, this may have been said already. Do what works for you. I have a 120 year-old house. Basement wasn't a very good option. Would have loved a dedicated laundry, folding, soak sink, hang-dry area. Though, having my laundry on the top floor near the bedrooms has worked grand. Many early comments had mentioned a laundry chute. I'm thinking I read somewhere that these can be quite a problem with fires as the fire can just move quickly through all levels of the house. . .

Love a basement laundry room!!! You get exercise everytime you have to head to the laundry. It always seems the one place I can have peace.

I have my jealous face on. We live in florida ,on the gulf coast,probably 5 min from the beach.Beautiful yes.HOTTER THAN HELL IN THE SUMMER.And humid,so what does that have to do with your post,well,Our house was built in the early 70's.That in mind the brain surgeons that built the house didn't think doing laundry in the garage was a bad idea.Obviouly they didn't have to do laundry in the garage.NOT FUN,SWEATING LIKE A WeLL you get my point.So yes jealous face.

haha, we JUST completed doing the exact opposite of what you're doing with the laundry :) We brought our washer/dryer up from the basement to the first floor of the house (in our Rec. room) and I absolutely LOVE how much more functional it is for us now.

See what we started out with here:
http://stormcloudnine.blogspot.com/2011/11/diy-demo.html

And what it looked like after getting it set up here: http://stormcloudnine.blogspot.com/2011/12/laundry-checktile-check.html

I'm anxious to see your new laundry setup and mud room!! :)

I was in my laundry room thinking about you today and had to comment. Let's be honest, having a fabulous laundry room, will not a clothes-putter-awayer make. I have one and still don't put away the clothes, so I think the floor the room is on is irrelevant. I have learned how to make the room more functional/clean and a happier space though. You have to have systems. Is folding clothes easier for you? Then you need a big folding shelf with baskets for each person to (some day) take up to their own rooms and put away (or to at least find their stuff when they need it). Do you like to hang things up? Then you need a hanging rack or pole. I have four kids and have realized that they just don't fold. I've taught them, we do it together, etc, but still all of their folded clothes end up in balls in their drawers. I have plans to switch to hanging everything but undies, socks, and jammies. As I pull it out of the dryer, I will just shove in a hanger and put it in their area on the hanging pole. Question: on your drawing, it appears that you have two doors into your laundry room. Yes? Why? You probably talked about it, but I'm too lazy to look it up and can't remember. It seems like you are going to lose A LOT of valuable laundry room space with that extra wall and door. Lose them and add a sink if anything. Good luck.

I have had laundry in the basement in one house, on the second floor in another and now on the main floor in the last two houses. I love having it on the main floor. When it's out of sight up or down, I "forget" to do it until it's piled high. When I can easily pop a load in and hear it buzz from the kitchen, I'm much more likely to keep up with it. But, to each her own:)

I have a laundry 1/2 bath combo in my basement....I love it! however I would really really love it if I had a laundry chute!! I have picked out a place where I think I would be able to put on it...someday! along with a very needed laundry table with a hanging station. That would make my life so grand! You will be thankful that you have your laundry room "under-ground" my dad had some issues with his flooding his lower-level once, not good. I would (if you havent already) look into a sump-pump install. I am also loving the mud-room idea! I wish I had one! :( one day!!

Misty K

Oh my, I can tell you're still young to want a basement laundry room lol!
My favorite laundry areas ever were in 2 houses. One was just off the kitchen on the main floor, yes it did leak once without damage, but that was way back before all the good plumbing etc in the dark ages of the 70's. My other fav was in the master suite, we had bedroom, bath, closet, laundry. Lovely arrangement. Sigh, I miss that house so much. That was a second floor laundry, the best ever. NO leaks ever! So few steps for putting things away. No baskets needed. Oh, my heart aches to think of it.
Now I'm in a raised ranch, laundry in the basement. Two knee replacements later and it's no joy!
You will be fine with your arrangement. It's not until later in life it becomes joyless to trod down with baskets and up with baskets. Besides, it works best for your space!
Enjoying your makeover!

We have a great mudroom on our main floor, but while building I told the builder I wanted it bigger. We ended extending the house by 2' which doesn't sound like a lot, but it made all the difference. Our finishing carpenter also made custom cubbies [or lockers] for my kids. We used 12"x12" slate tiles which I adore. Looking at your drawing plans, your future laundry room looks small to me. Would it be possible for you to do pocket doors to save floor space? I think once you get it going and set up you'll find those doors get in the way and you'll find more use for that floor space than a door.

My laundry room is in the basement and still looks like yours that you have now. It's the catchall for some reason. As far as stairs go, eh... It's good exercise. But then again, I have a split foyer, so I do the same amount of stairs you do with yours being on the main level, I suppose. Do what works for you... If you ever move, the option could still be there for them to put it back where it was right? I should say that my sisters house has the same set up as you have now and I would love it. To each their own though!

I loved this post, mostly because you kept it real. You should feel really good about how cleaned up your laundry/mud room is. Seriously. It looks awesome compared to mine right now.

We used to live in a two story house and the laundry room was downstairs. I hated carrying the laundry up the stairs, but that was just me. We now live in a one story house and the washer/dryer currently live in the garage. We have been mulling over putting it in the closet of the spare bedroom/office but we're not sure we want to make that room do THREE things. It's bad enough working as an office, let alone making it function as a bedroom and then a laundry room, too.

Since you're laundry room is going to be near a living space, sounds divine. And the laundry chute? Genius.

Love my basement laundry room! The mess is contained down there, and that little bit of exercise doesn't hurt either!

Mine laundry room is similar to yours minus the extra space of a mud room. There's only me and me and the pooch but like your family, I lay things on the first surface I see when walking in to the house, which is the washer and dryer.

Funny that you mention moving your washer and dryer, because a few weeks ago, I actually contemplated moving them out to the garage.

I'When I was a kid, the washer and dryer were in the basement and we loved having them down there.

As an adult, I've only lived in one multi-level house, a tri-level. The bedrooms were upstairs (top level) and the laundry was down on the bottom level. A previous set of owners had literally cut a hole in the master bedroom closet floor and made a chute from paneling which they stuck in said hole. It was a good idea but the tackiest thing I ever saw. Anyway for me, I realized I don't like multi-level and I especially didn't like the laundry way down on the bottom level.

Love my laundry in my basement,,,works for me.
What I REALLY love is the shoe storage..... make sure you post if you get any more info about it. I allready told my husband about it,,,, he rolled his eyes.
mary
ladefly@aol dot com

Re: a laundry chute, I would double check that codes allow for you to do that. We have two in my parents' house, but it's an older house. Updated fire codes might stop you from legally being able to build one.

That being said, my mother loves the chutes.

Go with the basement idea. I've had both and it's not that bad. It's exercise for God's sake! Loved the idea that someone had for a laundry chute! The beautiful mudroom is more important for your peace of mind. There's nothing worse than being greeted by crap. Believe me, it happens to me every day.

Our laundry room ( if you could call it that its more of a closet) is in our kitchen it is where most people's pantry is. on laundry day we have piles of dirty clothes all over our kitchen. I would move it to the moon if I could.

My washer and dryer are in my basement and if I could I'd move it upstairs to the third level (townhouse) however the water problems do concern me because it's the story of my life to have water issues. ;) I too like everyone else have the laundry pile up... But is it suppose to be one pile? ;) he he he ooopps. My bad.

Laundry shoot is soooo awesome idea. Maybe one that will take the clothes back up when they are clean so you don't have to lug the baskets of clean clothes upstairs. Like a little laundry elevator. ;)

Your blog is hilarious! We're in the process of buying a home with the laundry in the basement. I was skeptical at first, but now at least my fluffy self can get some exercise in order to reward myself with a cookie, or 2, or 6!