What's in your utility room? And do you do ironing/hang laundry in it?

[minipie]

We are planning a big house renovation/reconfiguration and thinking of a utility room. At the moment we don't have one so not sure what they are for though I know MNers love theirs

So obviously washing machines usually go in a utility (ours are in a cupboard at the moment). Plus cleaning stuff, hoover, broom etc. I'm thinking an extra small freezer would be useful. What else? We live in town and don't have pets or do lots of gardening or sports so don't really need a "mud room" type set up. The utility would be quite a long way from the kitchen so not ideal as a place for kitchen equipment or larder.

Also do you hang laundry out in your utility room? And do ironing there? At the moment we do all that in a spare bedroom upstairs, I'm not sure a utility would have the space. Which is pushing me towards keeping the washing machines in an upstairs cupboard... but then what is the utility for??

Any thoughts welcome!

I do ironing, clothes drying, have a linen cupboard and keep all the cleaning stuff in there too.

Ah linen cupboard...yes. How big is your utility roughly Jiggly? I am not sure how big we can make ours (without big sacrifices elsewhere)

It's pretty big but it also doubles as a playroom so probably not that relevant!

We have a huge utility (we didn't plan it, was like that when we bought it), we have recently refurbished it along with our kitchen.
We have wall to floor cupboards (for cleaning stuff, mop, broom, teatowels etc), sink, more cupboards under/around sink, washing machine, dryer and chest freezer. Bench (for the dining table if we need more seating) and shoe racks.
It's also where the cats eat
At first I wanted to reconfigure the downstairs and lose some of the utility space as it felt a waste but as storage is a problem in the rest of the house, it is well used.

We have tall cupboard for ironing board mops etc, washing machine and drier, Dh beer brewing stuff, washing baskets, sewing stuff, sink and cleaning products, mini larder cupboard, cloths and tea towels, radiator and clothes waiting to be ironed. I can iron and have a small aired. It is just off kitchen sooo useful. Kitchen is much tidier since we converted a bit of garage to it. Decided to leave recycling and chest freezer in garage to have more room in utility. It is approx 2.5 x 3 m

Yes, storage is what I'm thinking too.. but if we lost the utility or made it teeny we could make the other rooms bigger and have more storage in those rooms instead.

I think the main issue is our utility would have to be on the floor below our kitchen (tall but narrow house). Which limits what we can use it for. Things like teatowels, I'd rather keep in the kitchen than have to dash downstairs.

Hmm

Ours is half a single garage, converted to utility room.

Contains washer, dryer, freezer, spare fridge (useful for parties/Xmas), sink/drainer useful for washing dog things, a wall of cupboards with counter, containing big kitchen equipment ie mixer, processor, soup maker, coffee machine, and the vacuum cleaner.

Ironing is done in the bedroom, as the utility isn't warm or close to wardrobes.

I had a pulley in my old utility room. It's a necessity for when we sort out a utility room in our new house.

I'd love space to leave an ironing board out permanently, but won;t have unfortunately.

In our utility we have:

Washing machine
Tumble dryer
Ice machine
Full height freezer
Full height double cupboard, where we keep cleaning and dog bits
3 wall units, granite worktop covering appliances

We also iron in there

It's not huge but is functional and keeps laundry all in one place

Ours is relatively small and has a door in it to the stairs to the garage (you have to go outside the house, so door is an outside door). Door takes up space, of course

We have:
Washing machine
Sink for soaking things
Boiler
Mop and bucket
Big shelf unit with cleaning products and we use it as a larder as it is off the kitchen.
Shoes
Wintercoats
Swimming kit
Biking gear (altho not the bikes)
Christmas tree

And we hide presents and things like the Easter chocolate in there too, high up.

Not enough space to dry laundry and cannot attach anything to the ceiling as we rent.

It is bloody ace and I'd love a utility room in any other property we go on the rent.

When it is crammed to the rafters and difficult to get laundry in/out, i refer to it as the 'futility' room

Washing machine
Tumble dryer
Drinks fridge (under-counter)
Small chest freezer)
Giant storage tub of dry cat food
Litter tray
Cat travel boxes
Cat feeding area
3 wall cupboards (two for cleaning products, one for cat stuff)
Space for hoover/ironing board
Boiler (on wall)

I need to get my Sheila airer put up soon I've been saying that for a year now

Ooo I started a show me your utility room not that long ago op for similar reasons. I wonder if it's still around

Ok so as well as laundry and cleaning it sounds like it's a place to keep all that "misc" family stuff - wrapping kit, sewing kit, travel stuff, sports kit, linen etc. Currently that is all scattered around my house in various cupboards and drawers. And I am the only person who knows where to find any of it . Makes total sense to have it all in one place.

Thanks

trixy could you get a whole load on the pulley? And was it awkward to hang stuff on?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/2850074-Show-me-your-utility-room

freshstart I will have a look thanks

Ours is upstairs above the kitchen (it was like that when we moved in) very handy as we don't have a loft.
Too small for ironing board or drier to be set up though as it's a slightly odd shape. Would love to use it for that though.
So much easier to have the washing facilities upstairs as that is mostly where you take your clothes off, handy for stripping beds etc.
So we have washing machine and tumble drier and full sink unit which can be used for soaking stuff / dying stuff etc (paint pots / varnish and other such stuff under sink).
Keep hoover, steam cleaner, clothes horse, swimming stuff / sports stuff in tubs on the floor. Also have solid metal shelving for DIY stuff and Christmas stuff.

Ours is like yours - in the basement.
A sink is essential.
Room for buckets to soak things (dcs' sports kits, everyone's muddy camp gear, blood or the odd food spill).

Cupboard for all your washing powder / fabric conditioner / tumble dry sheets.
Space for pegs and whirly gig thingees you peg your socks out on.
Space for the laundry that is 'collecting' / waiting for a wash.

In the same space (tho obvs not essential for a utility room) we then store patio chairs, sun lounger, mop and bucket, outdoor and indoor brush, and the BBQ
We have our 'Christmas/ BBQ fridge', an extra (under the counter) freezer, and then the alcohol store. Then stuff like picnic blanket, cool bags etc. Once again, nothing to do with utility, but, seeing as we have the same shape house. Oh, and we put a tpoilet down there so the kids (and turns out elderly grandparents) could access it from the garden without having to troop upstairs in their muddy wellies, or just, so they weren't too far from a toilet - as, in our house, this is the level the garden is at.

Thanks again

Seems like the big question will be whether to have laundry in the basement or upstairs near the bedrooms.

Option 1: large utility in the basement, has laundry machines plus hanging/ironing space. Keeps it all out of sight, but have to carry all laundry up and down many stairs (basement to 1st and 2nd floors). Also not as nice a place to iron/fold etc (no windows).

Option 2: small utility in basement without laundry machines. Laundry machines in cupboard on 1st floor (next to bathroom). Laundry hung out and ironing in guest room next door to cupboard. Messier, and a pain when guests come but less carrying up and down.

Which would you choose - option 1 or 2?

minipie, my pulley is actually pictured on that thread freshstart has linked.

It was a big long one so could fit a lot on it. My washer took 11kg of washing though so couldn't fit it all on although a normal washer load would have fitted.

Ours has washer and drier, craft cupboard, sports kit, cat's food and water fountain, wine cupboard, and doubles as surplus storage for our local food bank. It's pretty big but incredibly badly designed so we can't actually fit the vacuum cleaner in there. I'd love to redesign it but that's pretty low on the list of priorities. But i wouldn't be without it. It stope the house looking like a tip because it's a tip instead.

I'd go for option 1.

Ours has a sink for mucky stuff - washing out paintbrushes, cat bowls, soaking laundry, floor mopping water - and a couple of buckets, washing machine etc.

We don't really dry much in there because it's the coldest room in the house (this is a major limitation, make sure you put a radiator in!) and we iron in the living room because ironing requires TV IMO. Dirty clothes live in baskets upstairs, clean ones get taken up too. The utility is not a clothes storage facility here, it's just where washing is done and it takes the germiest jobs out of the kitchen. When you are dealing with vomit stains or floor mopping water, it's nice to take it away from your food prep area and draining board where clean mugs are drying.

Mini - I'd choose option 1. You can make it attractive with good lighting and you will SO appreciate your spare room not being turned into a laundry dumping ground. Folding laundry doesn't take too long.

Thanks trixy, we have an 11kg one too (love it!) so guess I might need an overflow airer.

I think I prefer option 2 but suspect most people will pick option 1! Sigh. There are a LOT of stairs from basement to bedrooms...

I'd have option 1.
My utility is tiny. It's a room off the kitchen and has the side door. I have a cupboard, sink that is never used, washing machine and little freezer. If I am stood in the room then it is full so no room for drying or ironing.