We talk all the time with our Clutter Diet members about how systems and routines are crucial to staying organized. We counsel people all the time in our hands-on organizing work with clients about how to create good laundry systems and other household management techniques.
One of the trends we are seeing as our clients are building new homes is that they are putting in second laundry rooms-- one upstairs and one downstairs. And if two laundry rooms is not an option, they are often choosing to have the one upstairs.
Why? Because people are tired of lugging the laundry up and down stairs, when the laundry basically starts and ends right in the bedrooms, particularly the kids' bedrooms. It makes so much sense! There is a lot of transport involved to take the dirty clothes down, process them, and then just bring them right back up to put away.
Still other people have decided to have two dryers, because the washer is consistently finished with its cycle faster than the dryer and they can get more loads done more quickly. Something to consider!
This article from the Chicago Daily Herald highlights this new trend, along with other conveniences that homeowners are now starting to expect and demand: outdoor kitchens, spa showers, and huge closets. According to the article, homeowners are now much more interested in organizing their things rather than just stashing them somewhere and having no visibility to them.
How could you make your home more convenient? If you are building or remodeling, certainly give some thought to how to save steps with your laundry and other factors. Even just adding a laundry chute can save a lot of steps. Get creative!
One thing I can't understand is why a laundry isn't incorporated into a master closet, or dressing room. I once lived in a house that had a dressing room and it was great. We went from the bathroom directly into the dressing room, and got dressed, and did hair and make up in there. The dressing room held most of the clothes for the family. We could take clothes straight from the dryer and hang them right there in the dressing room, never needing to haul laundry baskets! We also had an ironing board set up there.
I've seen similar arrangements in European houses I've visited.
Right now our laundry is beside the garage, a long hike from the bedrooms upstairs.
My mom's laundry is in her basement, and she can no longer climb stairs, so she washes her things in a bathroom sink in between my visits to do her laundry. But at least she has a laundry chute to the basement, so we only have to lug clean clothes up. That's another thing missing from modern houses: laundry chutes to those far-away washer/dryers!
We don't have the money to remodel and relocate the laundry. I curse the (probably male) architect who designed the house for sticking the laundry in the most inconvenient spot (his never having to do laundry himself, so he obviously didn't think about it).
Posted by: Heather in Washington State, USA | February 27, 2007 at 11:45 AM