I just discovered some strange wiring in my house. When we moved in,
the breaker box was only 60 amps, so you can imagine the density of
the various electrical loads on each circuit. One 15 amp circuit now
serves the laundry room, including a shoplight, and the dishwasher
upstairs, plus an upstairs bathroom, and who knows what else.

One day I was running the washer, the dryer, and the dishwasher all at
the same time, with no ill effects. The hairdryer up in the bathroom
blew the circuit, no surprise. The surprise was that even though the
breaker was off, the washer and dryer were still running (the
dishwasher I'm not sure about, but the light was off, and so was the
hairdryer, after the breaker blew). What should I look for to solve
this problem? I plan to run a new line just for the laundry room, but
I also want to disconnect what's there now so no one uses this old
circuit in that room. I don't want to accidentally disconnect the
upstairs bathroom.