We have only 2 1/2 acres, and 4 kids and a very small garden. I just put a drain directly in the laundry room floor. It's not something you would necessarily want to use every day, but if I need to hose down the whole "mud" room, I'll be able to do it. It sounds like you are on the right track, be sure you get your drain in now, because that will be hard to add later, you can work out the details as you go.

First, difference between gas and electric dryer are nil in the grand scheme of life. Plus you're not limited to an electric dryer since you have gas there you could run a gas line and electric outlet and have gas. You could put a stackable unit in there and have both. Do some upstairs and some downstairs. That way not lose as much room. You say you don't like doing laundry. Why? If it doesn't include going downstairs or the related, this probably won't force you to enjoy laundry. Maybe you need to do other things? Have kids sorting their stuff? Have kids help with laundry? I would love to have a first floor laundry. It would help me so much. But it doesn't sound like that's the case with you. My thoughts, FWIW: 1-we would lose the shoe and dog feeding area Wouldn't lose it all with the stacked unit. Not sure you'd totally lose it anyway with some modification though. 2-not really any room to separate dirty clothes This could be a bit of an issue but a small wall hanging sorter might take care of it too. Or using hampers. 3-no rod to hang clean clothes as they come out of dryer Fold down rod or rod hung from ceiling? 4-the area would seem cramped "Seem" or "be"? That's two different questions 5-not sure about electric dryer- do they work as good as gas? Yes, as addressed before. We've lived with the current configuration for as long as we've lived here (13 years) Sounds like it works for you, but... BUT--I don't like doing laundry sometimes and I wonder if moving it up from unfinished basement would make it more enjoyable? Again, is it the darkness? The steps? What is it that bothers you? Darkness can be addressed with simple lights. Maybe a fresh coat of paint? A chair and a TV? Also, the clean clothes in the basement often don't make it up to the bedrooms so the kids run downstairs every morning to grab something. Well, if you don't finish laundry down there, it's not likely you'll finish it upstairs unless something else changes. Maybe you need to put shelves/drawers in the basement to store the clothes? Then just go there for your clothes. Or have the kids bring all of it up and put it away rather than one at a time? There's a number of issues here. I don't think a new location will resolve the underlying issues. If it's working, stay with it and work on improving it. Although again a stacked unit might be a possibility. Would you put clothes away if they were on the main floor? Can the dog eat somewhere else? Do you have that many shoes that you need a special room filled with them? Maybe check out some design magazines or something at the library and some organizing ideas. Might be helpful. I know this is an old thread but might still apply. I'm curious what happened.

Mom of seven here. We farm which means everyone has two full wardrobes of everything: Farm and Town. I have some quick ideas for you, no time to be diplomatic sorry. You need to purge. Dozens of hats are not necessary for six people. Choose two each: one light weight beanie and one really warm toque. Ditto mittens/gloves: one lighter weight for dashing to the grocery store, one heavy pair for skiing etc. Each person's stuff will fit in one basket. No one needs more than one pair of Crocs or flip flops. Those can go on a shoe rack by the door. Put a towel hook over the closet door, that's where everyone can store their towel. Colour coding avoids fights: Payton can't say that Blake stole her towel if hers is yellow and his is green. Bathing suits can be stored where they change. Check out the rental area at your local ski hill. Recreate that storage situation with one set of boots and skis for each. You mentioned that this kind of equipment is stored outside but: I see ski boots! Where you have a hanging rod, instead install a pullout clothes drying rack. Put one over the laundry sink too. The white organizer looks disfunctional in that it seems stuff can tumble out easily and it's too hard to see what's at the bottom of each bin. A basket or drawer on a bench is best in my experience, those cube organizers are ok too but then they have to pull a drawer out and hold it while they search. Instead I would put a deep bench or two under the hooks and set baskets on it. A coffee table actually works well for this. Put boot trays in front of it to catch drips. The hooks are too high for anyone under twelve to reach independently. Lower them for the kids. Add shelves above them. Having said that, I don't see any toddler stuff here. Time for peeps to get responsible.

I think I would rob some square footage from the hall closet and turn it into a walk in shower in the mud room I would add hooks and drying racks for all the wet stuff, boots, rain gear, umbrellas, waders, snow suits etc... You can also pop a kid or a dog in there pretty easy for a quick fix if needed. I put a narrow rack on the wall for dry shoes and boots. 4 lockers on outside door wall, be sure to have drawers for hats, gloves, scarves, glasses, goggles, ear protection etc... also have room in upper cubbies for helmets and ball caps etc.. I put in your stacked wash/dry and the 4'4" double drain board sink next to it. I would probably add a fold up/down shelf next to the wash dry for folding (on the outside of the shower wall). I only had the measurements you gave and no idea which wall is which or how wide the doors and closet outside etc were so this is just a rough draft...