If it's done right, laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms is a great idea. However, I have 2 friends who have both had water coming through the ceiling downstairs. Major pain. My 100 yr old house has the laundry in a utility room that used to be a back porch, just off the kitchen. Works fine for me. Except when the pipes freeze, it's not well insulated out there... There are all of 2 closets in the house, btw, both of them very very tiny, not even deep enough for a hanging rod. Seems like some houses these days have walk-in closets bigger than my bedroom!