Dh and I are working on getting our house ready in the hopes of selling it next year and I hope you ladies can help us with a decision we are trying to make. We have a laundry closet in the house. It is in a short hall off the kitchen and right by the door leading to the garage. It isn't a traditional size, but smaller to house a stackable unit. We are at the point that we are either going to have to replace our current stackable or switch to side-by-sides. I don't really care for the stackable and would personally prefer the side-by-sides. We are considering putting side-by-sides in the garage right outside of the kitchen door and turning the laundry closet into a large broom closet to hold cleaners, brooms, vacuum, carpet steamer, etc which are currently stored in the garage. We would put shelving on one side of the closet to put the bottles of cleaners, hangers on the other side for mops/brooms, and leave the middle open for the vacuum and carpet steamer. So, my question is, which is more important, having the laundry in the house or having to walk about 5 step further into the garage to do the laundry, but get a nice size broom closet in the trade? Would taking the laundry closet out hurt the value or sale-ability of our home? I would love your opinions. TIA!

By Amecmom on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 08:39 am:

As long as you leave in the connections, you have the best of both worlds. The shelving can always be removed by someone who prefers stacking units in the house.
I'd say get the units you want and put them in the garage and make the broom closet, but leave the washer and dryer connections there so that someone can change it back if they like.
Now, will you take the new washer and dryer with you or leave them as part of the house? You need to consider that when making your selection.
Our house is on the market now, and the washer and dryer are excluded from the listing - we're taking them with us because our new house will not have any appliances (and they are really, really nice).
Good luck.
Ame

By Bobbie~moderatr on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 08:40 am:

I would think... Moving the laundry to the garage would be a much better for the resale value. If the closet is to small for a standard size unit, then it isn't very usable for the common family, coming in with full sized units.. I personally would prefer the closet with all my cleaning supplies and then the laundry in the garage.. Mine is in the basement, so I don't see much of a difference...

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 08:59 am:

What climate do you live in? Personally, where we live, I would not want the washer and dryer in the garage. Although our garage is insulated it isn't heated or air conditioned. It's very cold in the winter and very hot during summer months. We also have mice out there, and I'm not sure if they would cause problems getting into the hoses, etc.. I think it really depends on your climate and the conditions of the garage.

By Kaye on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 09:06 am:

Having an outdoor washer and dryer would not make me happy.

So here is my thought. Can you go ahead and put connections outside, do very temporary changes to your closet and store your current washer/dryer. When you list the house put it back like it is now, you can still use the outdoor connections. You just list inside laundry and extra connections in the garage.

By Tunnia on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 09:30 am:

We live in Georgia so it gets pretty hot here in the summer, but, for the most part, the winters aren't too bad. It is an attached garage and we would put the washer and dryer on the same wall that the laundry closet is on. If we make the change the washer and dryer would literally be through a door and 5 steps farther than it is now and I personally would not have a problem with the washer and dryer in the garage, but I realize that what wouldn't bother me might bother a lot of other people. If we still had the stackable it would go with the house, but I seriously doubt it will make it another year. If we bought new side-by-sides, they would not go with the house.

Leaving the hookups in the closet is an idea and one we didn't think of (the simplest ideas are sometimes the most elusive LOL).

By Sandysmom on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 10:00 am:

I personally wouldn't want our washer & dryer in the garage. The garage usually accumulates a lot of junk and would have that "shop" smell from the cars being in there or if someone had an older car in there that they were always working on. Also, garage floors get messy and stained. I guess you could designate an area, but I still would rather have the washer & dryer in the house. However, for yourself, if you like that idea, then I'd go with Ame. Make your broom closet and keep the connections there, and put your the washer & dryer in the garage. Good luck with whatever you do.

By Tink on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 10:58 am:

Washer and dryer connections in an attached garage are very common around here, probably due to our mild climate. Unless the stackable units are popular to your area, I would put the connections in the garage and let the potential buyers know that there are connections in both areas. If I had to choose between a smaller stackable washer and dryer in a house or a regular sized set 5 steps further as a buyer, I'd go with the garage set-up but having connections in both areas leaves the next owner's options wide open.

By Andi on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 11:00 am:

We have our washer and dryer in he garage and I love it. I would love to have a "Broom Closet" or a pantry so I think that would be a great idea and a great seling point.

By Eve on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 11:03 am:

I think a large broom closet would be great. I would ask your realtor and see what they say--I would think they really know what people are looking for. We moved ours to the basement and it's been fine for me. Is that an option? Good luck with whatever you decide.

By Tarable on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 11:26 am:

Well the only question that remains to be asked is "Does your garage have enough extra room that if you put the washer and dryer in there that the car(s) can also go in at the same time as you are using your washer and dryer?" I ask this because I would love to put my washer/dryer in the garage just for cooling purposes in the summer but there isn't enough room for that and 2 cars at the same time. Just a thought and I would definately keep the old connections so if the new owners want to change it back they have that choice.

Good luck

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 11:36 am:

In the duplex that Gary and I rented, when we first got married, I had to go though a door to get to the garage, then a door to go to the stairs, down a short flight of stares, through a third door, to the laundry room. Each side had one. It was a pain, but worked, for us, for a year, until we bought a house. Just being in the garage would have been closer, but probably wouldn't have worked, in WI.

I would much rather have the laundry stuff, inside the house, it gets cold around here, so being in the garage handling wet laundry wouldn't be my idea of a good time.

By Breann on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 11:49 am:

I would prefer laundry inside the house. Like Trina said, the temperature in the garage isn't controlled (at least ours isn't), and that would make it uncomfortable.
I would leave it as is.
If we were house hunting, I would consider it a "con" to have to do laundry in the garage.

By Juli4 on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 12:08 pm:

Our washer and dryer is in the garage and I hate it. I would prefer a laundry room even if it is small. I say turn it into a broom closet, but make sure people know it can be a laundry room also. It also gets hot in the garage while my dh is working in there so I cannot use the dryer while he is in there

By Enchens on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 01:05 pm:

Wow. So many differing opinions. So with that said, it's going to depend on individual buyers whether they like the laundry out in the garage or inside in a cramped room.

Personally, when house hunting, I would walk out of a house if the laundry only allowed for a stackable unit or if there was no "real" laundry sink. It may sound too picky to some (like my fil) but I knew that I would be doing a ton of laundry and I didn't want to be cramped and I needed a deep sink. It wasn't going to be worth it to me to make payments on a house if it didn't function for me.

I would say, do what's best for you, and like others have said, leave hookups so future potential buyers have options.

By Kate on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 01:29 pm:

I wouldn't buy a house with laundry in the garage, no. Underwear just doesn't belong out with grease and car oil and fertilizer and such! And think of baby clothing...I think it's more sanitary having it inside and away from outdoor stuff.

By Yjja123 on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 01:38 pm:

Storage is always valuable. I think leaving the connections and adding the washer & dryer to the garage is a good idea. It is common around here for washers and dryers to be in garages or seperate laundry rooms. Mine is in a laundry room but I have the huge HE washer & dryer and it is crowded.
I would make sure the closet has a lot of shelving so the buyers can see the possibilities.

By Sandysmom on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 01:54 pm:

Is it possible to enlarge the closet to house side by side units and make room for broom closet stuff?

By Reds9298 on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 01:57 pm:

Washer/dryer in the garage is also common here. I would love the washer/dryer in the garage as a trade-off for getting more storage IN the house personally. I would NOT want a stackable if I bought the house, and would plan on having to buy new and put them in the garage anyway. My clothes would only be in the garage long enough to put in/take out of the washer/dryer anyway, no?

I vote put them in the garage and great shelving in the closet for storage. Good luck!

By Tunnia on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 - 02:21 pm:

Thanks for all the opinions, just what I was hoping for!!!

There is no way to enlarge the laundry closet. It has room for a stackable and then enough space between the unit and the wall for my bottles of detergent. The laundry closet is sandwiched between the refrigerator and the garage. We have a large double garage that we do not park in. Instead we use it for storage of bikes, camping and boating equipment, dh's tools, etc. We also have a big chest freezer out there. We have a detached shed that houses things like paint, chemicals, lawnmower, gardening items, etc so that "shop odor" shouldn't be a problem. Dh plans that if we move the laundry to the garage we would install cabinets to hold laundry items and possibly a sink and small counter. That's good for me, but some people actually park in their garages and I'm thinking that wouldn't be so great for them because it would take up a bit of space. I do think that moving the laundry to the garage and leaving the hook-ups in the closet to give an option might be the best way to go.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 10:03 am:

I agree.. Leave the hook ups. But I would go for the garage, sounds like you might end up with a nice little work station..

My sister had her garage finished and when they did it she had them put in hook ups. She has a sink hooked up to the faucets for now and the over head cabinets were installed when she had the rest of the storage cabinets put in.. But she had concerns of having to carry baskets up and down the stairs into the basement when she got older.. So now she is set.. But having the options of hook ups surly wouldn't decrease the value of her house, if she chose to sell it..