Laundromat!

It’s my first day at the laundromat.  I have considered myself fortunate to have always had laundry facilities in my home or apartment.  I’ve only used the laundromat when I had items too big to fit in my washer.  I now count myself among the number of Americans who do not own their own washer or dryer.  My first impression of this facility is that it is very warm…no air conditioning, though I think there is an evaporative cooler.   I guess it makes sense, the wall of dryers probably put out a ton of heat – it might cost a fortune to cool it. 

There is no WiFi at this location, so I am writing in a word processor and will upload this post later.  It strikes me that having WiFi would help pass the time.  My kids have their screens with preloaded shows…they are currently entertaining themselves with Blue’s Clues!  But they asked about Netflix as soon as we arrived. 

There are two sizes of washers, the small are $2.25 and the large are $5.00 per load.  Based on my previous washing machine I felt I had two loads in the smaller machines.  They take 35 minutes to run through the cycles.  It is nice to put in all of your laundry into two machines and dedicate some time to this event.  At home I would often put a load in and then forgot about it only to find it a day or two later stinky and moldy smelling, then having to run it again and waste water.  I am ashamed to admit that there were times when a load had to be run more than twice due to my forgetfulness or other distractions.  There is little chance of that happening here. 

I bet there is a strategy to the dryers…use lots of them, load little?  That is what I am thinking.  I wonder if I am responsible for lint screens?  By the way, it smells good in here.  I like the smell of fresh laundry and dryer sheets.  Everyone is chill, there is a woman working here who is very helpful.  She does a great job keeping the place clean, it seems well kept.  

Once you get your stuff in the dryers things move quickly.  There is something very relaxing about watching your clothes tumble.  

You can dry fast with small loads and then its all folding and packing up.  Sister decided to play a game of slowly walking to the door backwards with a look of, "I'm gonna do it!" on her face...she then stepped outside the open front door and danced a little jig.  I shook my head at her and asked her back inside.  She obliged for a second and then went out again.  I then asked her if she could help me unload the dryers - that was a fun thing and she narrated the whole time, "brother's shorts, daddy's shirt, mama's big girl underpants..." and so it went.  Finally, about an hour and a half after we arrived we were out the door.  I think I could be faster next time now that I have a bit of experience - or I could have been slower and talked to the other people engaged in the same work as I.  

It does seem very inefficient, from a household finance perspective, for every household to own these machines.  They take up a lot of space, require maintenance, which few people actually do, and they pose a risk - in terms of a flood and fire hazard.  Why is sharing a machine such a terrible thing? Best case scenario is that neighbors would connect and talk during this mutually necessary mundane task.  Instead we are all generally isolated in our own suburban islands.  I imagine that in some places the laundromat is a place where community building take place, kids connect, and parents chat about their trials and tribulations.  I'm not going to miss owning my own machines, I am going to visit all of the laundromats in my area and compare them and perhaps I will meet some new people.