Why Harbor Freight's Utility Cart Actually Makes The Perfect Laundry Room Addition

Think about housekeeping staff in hotels, with that one cart they wheel from room to room. Imagine they had to haul the same amount of cleaning tools with just their hands. It would take double the energy, and maybe triple the trips to get everything where it needs to go. With Harbor Freight's Franklin Utility Cart, you could apply that same system to your laundry room at home. Admittedly, it's more commonly used in garages and workshops, but homeowners who've repurposed it say it's a clever way to make better use of small gaps in your laundry room.  

If your laundry room doesn't have built-in cabinets, or has fewer than you'd like, most things likely end up on the floor or on top of the appliances. To reduce clutter around your home, you can slip the cart into the gap between your washer and dryer or park it against a wall. Harbor Freight sells the Franklin Utility Cart in two sizes: a large 36 by 24-inch model for $129.99, and a more compact 30 by 16-inch version at $99.99, so you can choose based on how much space you have or how many things you need to move. 

You can also load all your dirty clothes into the cart and then make a single trip to the laundry room. When you're done washing, unload the clothes from the dryer back into the cart and wheel it to the couch or wherever you prefer to fold instead of standing at the dryer the entire time. 

With all the water splashing and detergent spilling that occurs in the laundry area, any tool or equipment you'll be parking there long-term should be able to handle all that without falling apart easily. Part of why the cart works so well in the laundry room is that it's made of polypropylene. It's a type of plastic that's more resistant to moisture and chemicals, so it won't rust the same way metal carts do over time. 

The Franklin Utility Cart also handles weight pretty well. It features two deep trays that can support up to 500 pounds, enough to hold most of your laundry room essentials without any worries of the trays sagging or the wheels straining. That also means you no longer have to struggle to get cumbersome things like your curtains or bed linens across the house — you can just wheel them around. 

While the cart is lightweight, several customers confirm that it is also pretty sturdy and durable, and that's one reason it's so highly-rated on Harbor Freight. The smaller model has managed to score 4.8 stars and the larger one 4.5 stars, both from over 1,000 reviews. Outside of the dimensions and prices, the two carts are pretty much the same product. Most of the reviews confirm that both carts are easy to assemble, move around, and maintain, and many customers like how smoothly the casters roll.