Good morning. I am scrambling this morning but Coffee Cup is here and we are moving right along. I slept well…. I feel good… the weather outside is gorgeous…. I may go bike riding this afternoon.
A couple of days ago I went to the local laundromat – probably for the first time in 20+ years. I had all the sheets, blankets, comforters, and pillow cases to wash for the 18 people we had in the IHN program last week. I wasnt about to do 18 sets of bedding in my home…. I would still be doing laundry now! 😀
In my head, I had this picture of how the laundromat scenario would go. I would have all the laundry put into many (many) washers. Then I had brought my laptop so I would proceed to grab a cup of coffee and sit in a quiet space and do a little blogging throughout my afternoon. I was actually a little excited about this outing.
This is not the way it went down at all. Nope. Instead I pull up with my laundry and find a crowded area where you wheel in your laundry on a basket with wheels… and start grabbing washers wherever you can. This is when I discovered I had not thought ahead to bring soap…. so instead I purchased all those little boxes of laundry soaps… one at a time out of a machine.
After I figured out how to make the coin operated machines work I ran back to get the rest of my stuff I had yet to pick up, the pillows, the blankets we did not use, food we did not finish, etc… I ran into a woman there that would be serving this week and her and I proceeded to chat for about an hour. She had many questions, I was willing to help.
I learned in Laundromat language being late to move your wash is not cool.
I get back to the laundromat and find all the bedding has been removed from the washers. People need the machines. I have been hogging them with my tardiness. They are right.
Then I put the laundry into the dryers and I am surprised that they are only a quarter. I use 5 large dryers. Put a quarter in each, and run home to pick up my hubby and take him up town where he is going to drive a piece of our excavating equipment home. I then hurry back to the laundromat to avoid another mishap…. I find all the machines have stopped, but my laundry is still wet.
An elderly gentleman calls over to me “Your never going to dry the sheets that way – you have the dryers too full. I tell him I am new, hoping that excuses my lack of laundromat knowledge. He tells me to use more dryers, which I do then spread out to 12 dryers. Then he tells me that a quarter in a dryer equals 6 minutes. I need to put in several quarters… he advises me to put 3 quarters in each machine. I take his advice and do so.
I am then going to relax with my laptop but see there really is no place to sit in this laundromat. The tables are for folding laundry and there are no chairs. I prop a hip on one of the tables and try to answer a few emails but the distance between me and lap top is not working for me. Its awkward and hard to see what I am doing. As for the coffee… no…. get that idea out of your head. I did however have a nice diet Pepsi and all in all the laundry project did not take me nearly as long as I thought it was going to thanks to one man.
Today I work. I will have a review up later and possibly more audio talk. It is audio book week and if you did not see yesterdays post on audio books, please check it here.
Here are a few books that have come my way…
Book Journey 
Laundromats are definitely an experience! I haven’t been in ages now though, either.
Hannah, I have not been in a laundromat since pre-marriage. It really makes you appreciate the washer and dryer at home. 🙂
Sooo true! I can’t remember exactly the last time I used a laundromat, but it may have been in college.
The dreaded laundromat! Just a few weeks ago I had a laundromat outing myself as I need to use the big machines for my comforters. And wow, are those suckers expensive! Luckily you had a guardian angel giving you some advice…lol
Good point Jo-Jo. Now that you mention it I think I should try that. I always try to get the comforter into my washer at home and it winds up bouncing all over the floor! 😀
Yes, the Guardian Angel was very sweet. Told me his wife had passed away a couple years ago and he hadn’t realized how much work it took to do everything she had done.
You poor thing – what a nightmare! I think I got grey hair very early because of having to use laundromats! :–)
I knew when I was there Jill that at least it would make for good Morning Meandering material…LOO
Oh, reading your story reminds me of all the years when I had to develop “laundromat” expertise! Just the thought of it now can send me into a state…well, you get the idea from your day’s episode.
When you do it all the time, you get it down eventually. But I do recall doing a happy dance when I once again had a place with washer/dryer hookups. That became the ultimate housing find…3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fireplace, and laundry hookups (fireplace optional if it had hookups!).
Years later, after not going to laundromats for awhile, I remember going again because I had huge comforters to wash and dry. This time, the experience was relatively pleasant. There was even a TV with VCR and a movie was playing. There were places to sit! I’ll bet that doesn’t happen anymore either…
Laurel, I guess in my head I thought the laundromat would be a pleasant experience with options of things to do while waiting…. I bet they exist, just not near me.
I think they should have a lounge area, a play room for children, a coffee and sandwich shop, tv, wii, a hair salon, an internet cafe, and lounge chairs with built in massages….
oh, did I go too far? 😉
LOL, oh you poor thing. I am only laughing because I had this image of you in my head being all excited to go and do your washing so that you could get some book / blog time in. I do things like that; I had a hospital appointment last week and was really annoyed that they were running on time for a change as I had planned a lovely afternoon camping out in the waiting room next to the coffee machine with my book! How dare these places ruin our reading-time??? 😉
Book Whisperer, I am notorious for never thinking things will take as long as they do (that’s how I constantly overbook myself), and thinking everything will be a wonderful experience. 🙂
I guess thinking everything will be awesome isnt such a bad outlook… 🙂
Many years ago I lived in an apartment and had no washer/dryer. I had to go to the laundromat with my 3 children. A baby, a 1 yr. old and a 2 yr. old. My children were no problem at all, they liked watching the dryers go round and round and watching the people (they get their love of people watching from me, but that’s another story).
I hadn’t been to a laundromat for over 20 years until a few months ago I took a boat cover to wash. I couldn’t believe how much the price to use the machines had gone up. It was a dollar to wash and 75 cents to dry for a few min., (I don’t remember how many).
I’m so thankful to have a laundry room in my house!!!
Vicki the washers I used were express washers are were 10 quarters each. The dryers were a quarter for 6 minutes. I spent about $30 between the machines and the soap. I will buy my own soap next time. 🙂
What an adventure! Haha glad you made it out alive!
No kidding Reagan! 🙂 I least I think I smelled mountainy fresh 🙂
If you are going to go to the laundromat, you need to find the time when it is least busy – hard to do when you have a job. I would never dare leave while my stuff was in the machines. You can never tell how long the cycles will take, especially for the driers. I have also known a few people who came back to find their clean was gone.
I always have a book with me. Waiting rooms or just waiting for things like the wash are the best reading opportunities. Of course I never had a laptop to bring with me. I got a netbook on our trip, so maybe next time I will bring that along.
Pat I was nervous about leaving all those sheets and comforters but I had to keep moving.
I had a book in the car, but the place was so busy I am sure I would not have been able to concentrate on it. Lesson learned – Sundays are not the best day to do laundry at the laundromat!
Gosh, did this bring back memories! While I was in high school my mother was in school getting her PhD, so we lived in “family” housing at Florida State. Laundry duty was the most dreaded of all chores. “Taking someone else’s clothes out” was considered slightly impolite but very necessary, so we had a 10-minute grace period. As newly marrieds I had to show my hubby how to use a laundry machine (he was of the “let it all turn pink” school of laundering). And there was NEVER a comfortable place in the laundry mat.
M.L., It was my error on being gone so long after the wash was done. I ran into that one lady and we talked and talked…. 🙂
I understood since I was ruler over many washers.
Love the “let it all turn pink” school. I think I have been to that school too, it took me awhile in the early years to learn that i was not saving any money by trying to wash everything all together. 😀
I have been thinking about taking some of my king size comforters to the laundromat since having them dry cleaned can be costly. After reading your blog, I think I’ll spring for the dry cleaners. 🙂 I was cracking up reading your post, it sounded like a Seinfeld episode. 🙂
Sometimes Jill… I think my life is a Seinfeld episode. And man I hope i am not Kramer. 😀
I’m thinking more like Elaine. 🙂
LOL – better Jill…. much better 🙂
Hi Sheila! I have always rather enjoyed the atmosphere of an occasional laundromat visit. Not all fun with three toddles in tow, however. I do recall trying to wrangle the wheeled laundry carts from the kids while making sure to get all the socks that were notoriously stuck to the sides of the washers! For some reason the attendants don’t like it when kids race each other with the wheeled baskets!! Good memories.
Now the only time I spend in a laundromat is in CO when the guys are hunting. For some reason no one thinks it odd to be washing blood stained clothing. Maybe the camo clothes keep me from being arrested!
LOL Becky! 🙂
Hmmm! A woman in a laundromat washing blood-stained camo clothes . . . There’s an idea in there. 🙂
Barbara? What are you thinking? 😀