BigB, you've seen the elephant in the room.
It's rare for a 'laundry room' to be just a laundry room. Most often, the same room will contain something else: a toilet, a furnace, the water heater, is an entryway, or is in the corner of a large open area (such as a basement or garage).
It's a situation where it's easy to create 'de minimus' violations.
When there's a gas furnace, what's the harm in the igniter sharing the laundry circuit? Even though you're violating TWO 'specified circuit' code rules.
In an open area, where does the 'laundry' area end? It's so easy to create a violation simply by running an extension cord to a workbench. How's the inspector going to prevent that?
I'll revert to my 'default' setting: IMO, the code has trespassed into a design issue, where it ought not be.
