two young kids and laundry - would you prefer smaller, less sophisticated unit upstairs or bigger

[Anonymous]

nicer unit in the finished basement? We have these two options and I am unsure of which is better....stackable unit upstairs or big washer/dryer downstairs...does anyone want to weigh in on which they like/prefer?

[Anonymous]

Our laundry area is in our finished basement - while it would be nice not to have to carry laundry downstairs, it's even nicer to be able to do laundry at night without worrying it might wake our daughter up. I'd also pick bigger machines over stackables - bigger machines = fewer loads.

[Anonymous]

Mighty convenient to have your laundry on the same floor as clothes and bedding.

[Anonymous]

Upstairs. No contest, even with stackable units. I wish we had somewhere upstairs to put our w/d.

[Anonymous]

Go for volume.

We lived temporarily in a place with smaller, stacked units. Laundry is loud, and we have so much of it.

Hauling it is faster than doing multiple loads of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our laundry area is in our finished basement - while it would be nice not to have to carry laundry downstairs, it's even nicer to be able to do laundry at night without worrying it might wake our daughter up. I'd also pick bigger machines over stackables - bigger machines = fewer loads.

Totally agree. I've actually had both. With 3 young kids, having fewer loads is AWESOME. Not to mention being able to throw big items (comforters, etc.) in there without a problem.

I just don't find it that hard to walk up a couple of flights of stairs with a laundry basket...

[Anonymous]

I prefer upstairs. I find the job is easier to ignore when it's in the basement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I prefer upstairs. I find the job is easier to ignore when it's in the basement.

Ditto.

OP can you have both?

[Anonymous]

My w/d is upstairs, and I will never willingly go back to the basement. It is is so easy to throw a load in in the morning when I notice the hamper is full, and fold on the bed while ds takes a bath or while I watch tv. I don't mind the carrying the laundry as much as forgetting I put it in until I'm upstairs, dropping what I'm doing to go downstairs, etc.

[Anonymous]

My w/d is upstairs, and I will never willingly go back to the basement. It is is so easy to throw a load in in the morning when I notice the hamper is full, and fold on the bed while ds takes a bath or while I watch tv. I don't mind the carrying the laundry as much as forgetting I put it in until I'm upstairs, dropping what I'm doing to go downstairs, etc.

[Anonymous]

I have a smaller washer dryer combo. I LOVE IT. I can put a load in before bed and it's dry by morning. You can also select options to not have it dry if you need to take something out, or just run a load on the dryer period. The downside is I'm putting laundry in all the time, but I just really prefer not having to change loads because it washes and dries at once.

[Anonymous]

We had our w/d in the basement in our last house and I HATED doing laundry, let it pile up, oftentimes forgot to switch loads, etc. In our new house, the w/d is upstairs across from the master bedroom and it is SO convenient. I run 1 or 2 loads every night on quick cycles (we have 3 messy boys) so it's easy to stay on top of it. It's also easy to toss wet crib sheets or bedding or pukey baby spit up bibs or clothing in for a quick cycle whenever (even in the middle of the night). Even if your unit is smaller, it shouldn't matter as long as it it upstairs b/c you will likely run smaller loads more frequently b/c of the convenience factor (I know we do).

[Anonymous]

We have it in the basement, but I'd move it upstairs in a flash if I could -- even if the load capacity suffered.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for upstairs. We have ours in the basement, and it's less than ideal. Hauling laundry up and down two and a half flights is not fun.

[Anonymous]

Why not do both? My SIL put in two full size washers and two dryers (single level home) in a dedicated laundry room and, although I thought it extravagantly ridiculous in my single days, I now recognize the wisdom and necessity. Put the stackables upstairs for the easy, little or quick stuff; full size downstairs for big loads, sheets, multiple loads, etc. From what I remember of the stackables in various apartments, they couldn't handle very big loads so I felt like I did laundry more than once a week (as a single). And queen size sheets couldn't fit efficiently-- I did one pillow case and the top or bottom sheet at a time. I don't think you'll regret having more than one washer/dryer, but you'd definitely regret having a set that's too small.