Post # 1
Member
1660 posts
Bumble bee
We’re trying to buy a new house right now (that we plan to stay in for 20+ years) and we’re torn between two options… a larger, more expensive house (2,404 sqft) and a smaller, less expensive one (1,890 sqft).
In the “plus” column for the more expensive house is a 2nd floor laundry room (between two of the bedrooms). This seems SO convenient to me, esp. since I am pregnant and considering cloth diapering. I’m also a klutz and am always tripping on the stairs, so avoiding schlepping laundry up and down stairs seems safer for me, lol.
Unfortunately there’s no place to add a laundry room on the main or 2nd floor of the smaller house.
I can deal with all the minuses of the smaller/cheaper house, except maybe for the basement laundry. My current laundry room is in the basement and I hate it! But maybe I am just been spoiled wanting it upstairs…
So, just wondering, where is your laundry room and how do you feel about that location??
Post # 3
Member
9815 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
I voted it’s nice, but shouldn’t be a major factor in the decision.
Post # 4
Member
248 posts
Helper bee
It’s nice having it upstairs, but personally I’d take a lower mortgage payment over a laundry room on the second level any day.
Post # 5
Member
927 posts
Busy bee
We have laundry upstairs between the two bedrooms and I LOVE it! It’s something I never thought about until we moved into our townhouse. It’s soo convenient!
Post # 6
Member
1368 posts
Bumble bee
It would be nice, but shouldn’t be a major factor in your decision.
Post # 7
Member
807 posts
Busy bee
Our laundry is in the basement…I kind of hate it but to me it wouldn’t be worth buying the more expensive house if that’s the only undesirable factor.
Post # 8
Member
1660 posts
Bumble bee
@bellasperanza: There are lots of other desirable factors with the larger house, it’s just more expensive! The basement laundry is the only thing I really hate about the smaller house though… I could live with smaller rooms to save money.
ETA: Sorry, I misread your post… yeah, that’s the main undesirable factor with the smaller house.
Post # 9
Member
2073 posts
Buzzing bee
We have a 3 story townhouse and our laundry room is in our garage. I despise having to schlep laundry up & down all the stairs every week. My dream house would have a laundry room on the second floor.
Post # 10
Member
4410 posts
Honey bee
- Wedding: December 2010 - Savannah, GA
We don’t have a basement, so our laundry room is on the main floor. In my old house, we moved the laundry to the basement, because we wanted more space on the main floor. We liked it better. Now I have health issues that would make having the laundry in the basement a huge issue.
Post # 11
Member
2231 posts
Buzzing bee
How much more expensive are we talking here? 10k? 20k? or 100k???
If you really plan to be in the house for 20+ years I say go with the more expensive house that has exactly what youre looking for. That’s assuming that the price difference is not 100k!
FWIW I hate basement laundry rooms but the downside to having the laundry next to bedrooms is that you have to time your drying/washing at times when no one is sleeping or will be disturbed! To me that’s the only positive of a basement laundry room, the rest of the house is quiet no matter when the washer/dryer is turned on.
Post # 12
Member
4322 posts
Honey bee
I wish my laundry was upstairs. My DH has this horrible habit of stripping out of his clothes the instant he gets home from work. He throws his clothes all over the place.
Post # 13
Member
10355 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
what about the noise issue of the laundry being upstairs? Personally, i’d find it annoying to have to listen to a washer and dryer by the bedrooms. It’d limit the time you could do launry once you have kids – especially if there’s a sleeping baby involved. Plus, I think 2,400 sq ft is kind of insanely big. My friend in TX has a house that big and she has huge open empty spaces in her house because she “just can’t think of how to use the space”. So much waste and so much to heat/cool/clean!
Post # 14
Member
10355 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
@StuporDuck: a hamper would solve that problem, too, though!
Post # 15
Member
4322 posts
Honey bee
@crayfish: It would if my husband knew how to use it.
Post # 16
Member
2977 posts
Sugar bee
Kind of depends on the basement for me…I have a fear of creepy, musty, spidery basements. I have upstairs laundry now, in the hallway between the kitchen and power-room. There is no laundry room, which sort of sucks, but I’d take that over having to fold my clothes with spiders.