If you are that freaked out by mice and can afford it, hire an exterminator. If you can't afford it, set some humane traps. NOT A STICKY TRAP. The sticky traps are horrible. They severely torture the trapped mice, and also torture the human that put them out, via guilt. No matter how much you hate mice, if you have never seen a mouse or other creature on a sticky trap, believe me, you don't want to. They are stuck to the glue, and are absolutely frantic, trying to escape. They end up tearing their own skin off and breaking bones in the process, adding to the agony. They finally give up out of exhaustion, dehydration, and injury, and death comes slowly and painfully. I hate rodents, and certainly would FREAK if they were inside my house, but I would never subject any creature to a death like that. By humane traps, I mean one of two options: A snap trap that will kill them quickly, or a trap that will allow them to crawl inside but not be able to escape. Then you have to take them somewhere and release them. Probably not high on your list ;) An exterminator will do this for you. But again, there is a cost associated. The advice given about finding the spots where they are entering is very good. Mice can get inside via a hole as little as 1/2" wide. Here is a link that might be useful: Google: glue trap death

Who are you calling a lady? LOL, my wife (who is indeed a shorter person) will get a kick out of that one. We inherited the space when we purchased the house and are fortunate that it's so large. Of course we could use some additional room, but isn't that just about always the case? Please note that I, a taller person, need a stepladder to reach the upper shelves of the cabinets. Putting the machines on pedestals would have made the countertop too high for me to fold comfortably, and I'm OK with the height of their doors as-is. The pattern on the floor is similar to the wall tiles, and I believe the material is a simple stone tile purchased from Virginia Tile. It extends all the way to the kitchen, encompassing the back hall, closet, and half-bath. Apologies for my sideways photos. They weren't that way at the hosting site the last time I checked.

I just posted my laundry chandelier in another laundry room thread. It's a little more sedate than the ones posted here, but it still makes me smile when I walk in the room.

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...