Appreciation--Part 1

I knew when I moved that I would have to give up a couple of “luxury” items.  The things I thought would be no problem to live without are becoming more important to me:

Washer & Dryer
Dishwasher
Bathtub
Gas Heat
Gas Stove
Spare Room
Level Floors

For so many years I took these things for granted.  The washer & dryer, for instance.  When I lived where I didn’t have one, it was no big deal to haul my laundry to my parents’ house.  Most of the time--I’m talking 90%--I would drop it off and my mother would do it for me!  I rarely asked her to, but she always said she didn’t mind at all.  And when I was working 50 hourse a week with an hour commute each way, I really appreciated her help, but I still didn’t expect it.  I didn’t mind visiting with them and doing my laundry myself.

Now, I have to take my laundry to a laundromat.  That, in and of itself, is not the problem.  I spent years hauling my laundry to my parents’ house or sometimes to a friend’s house.  The problem--or I should say, problems, are: 1. the cost, 2. the ambience (or lack thereof), 3. contending with detergent and softeners, 4. machines out-of-order or banged up, 5. strange people and 6. quarters.

Numbers 1 and 6 are two different things.  The cost of doing laundry like this is astronomical.  Maybe I exaggerate.  But only a little!  The first time I went to the Quick Wash a block away, I had to drive because I had so much laundry to do.  The Max Load washers (which hold roughly 4 times what a regular front-load washer holds) are the most economical way to go.  The first time I went, they were $3.75 a load.  After that, they were $4.00.  The trouble with that, though, is that I don’t care to throw everything I own together.  I have four basic divisions of laundry: lights, colors, denim/towels and delicates.  I have been handwashing some of my delicates, so that leaves the other three.  Well, I don’t want to throw my red, green, blue and purple t-shirts in with my white socks and underwear!  I buy white socks for a reason and I want them to stay white.

So, to wash things separately, I have to use the smaller washers.  There are five types of washers at the laundromat I’ve been using: top-loader, double-load front-loader, triple-load front-loader, max load front-loader and heavy-duty.  Rugs, heavy blankets, bedspreads, comforters, etc. go in the heavy-duty.  I haven’t used those yet.  The triple-load machines are $3.50.  The double-loads are $2.75.  The top-loaders are $1.75.  And this is one of the least expensive laundromats in the area!

Then there is the dryers.  These are a quarter.  For 10 minutes!  My smallest load is usually the lights/whites which I can wash in the double-load washers.  That takes 30 minutes or 75 cents.
My colors are usually a max load wash and take from 50 to 60 minutes.  My jeans/towels load are also a max load wash and take 60 to 80 minutes.

In regards to problem #2, the Quick Wash just opened in January.  Of course, it had been a laundromat before that.  The floor is industrial grade tile and I have yet to see it clean so I’m not certain of the pattern.  If there is a pattern.  The washing machines don’t look too bad, except for the top loaders.  They look like they’re from the 1960’s.  There are newer dryers towards the front, which look good and show the time remaining on a digital timer.  Those are the first to fill up and I half the time I have to use the older dryers.  Not only do they look old, some have broken knobs, and one has a tear in the lining on the inside.  The tables look like they’re pre-war.  WWI, that is.  The walls are an indeterminate color.  In a vain attempt to add a touch of whimsy, the new owner put up cute, laundry-related border paper.

Problem #3 is one of those things that just take time to get the knack of.  I refuse to buy small bottles of laundry detergent.  It’s a consumable good, therefore I will try to get the best deal, which is the larger bottles.  However, when you have two or three huge mesh bags of laundry, trying to carry those heavy bottles is just not feasible.  So I have compromised with myself and now purchase the middle size, but I make sure it’s double or triple concentrated.  I also solved the Oxyclean problem nicely.  Instead of bringing the whole bucket, I fill a little Tupperware container with it, since I only use it for the lights/whites.

 And I now have a reusable bag that I put the detergent, Oxyclean and dryer sheets in.

Problem #4.  Well, I mentioned the dryer with the torn liner.  There are five of the max load washers--which most everyone wants to use--but one has been out of order since I started going there.  The broken knobs on the dryers make it difficult at best to get your quarters in.  I have no control over fixing those, so I deal with it by not going on a weekend or after 3:00 p.m. on weekdays.  Everybody who works is there at those times.

Strange people, my fifth problem, is probably the least, well, problematic.  I try to be friendly when I’m at the laundromat.  I’ve met a couple of really nice people.  Most people, however, won’t look at anyone else, let alone talk to them.  I will smile at other people, but rarely get one back.  No big deal, really.  Keeping to myself is fine with me.  However, some of those people can be rude.  I remember one time I had a load going in one of the new dryers up front.  I was gathering the other loads to dry, when I turned around to move to the dryers, this woman had filled every available new dryer!  Now it’s not that I hate the older dryers, but I already had a load up front and had to put the other loads in the back.  Maybe I’m weird, but I like to keep an eye on my stuff in the machines.  Very hard to do when it’s split up like that.  You might be saying, “well, she wasn’t rude, she just beat you to the new dryers.”  And I might’ve said that was true, except when I looked at her before heading to the back, she had an unmistakable smirk.  And she snorted as I passed her.

No solution for strange people.  I just make sure I’ve taken my meds.

The last problem is something I hadn’t considered until the second time I did laundry.  The first time, I had dollar bills and used the coin changer every time I needed more quarters.  The trouble is, even with two change machines, they jam or run out of quarters.  So the second time I went, I had about $12 in quarters already.  Where do you put them?  Wouldn’t fit in the change compartment of my wallet.  If I put them in a pocket, my pants fell down.  That time, I put them in a Ziploc bag.  The bag tore.  The next time I brought quarters, I dumped them in a pocket of my purse.  Nearly gave me a pinched nerve and then I had a heck of a time getting all the quarters out of the pocket.  There’s probably still a couple in there.  Finally, I remembered a coin purse I have.  I had just emptied a bin of odds and ends at this nice leather coin purse was in there.  I kept it, because, well, you just never know.  And it has worked out beautifully!  Max cap on the coin purse is about $15, but I can fit about $4 in quarters in the change compartment of my wallet.  That’s usually enough.

The next time you want to complain about having to do laundry, consider the alternatives.