Community Laundry

I know that it is normal for all blogs in the bloggernacle to post their thoughts on conference the day after. I am going against the grain and posting on something totally different. Maybe I will get around to conference later.

Last year I lived in the female dorms so we had a female laundry room in the basement. If I remember correctly boys werent even supposed to be allowed into the laundry room. I dont know why any boy would be interested in going in there, unless he was a perverted underwear-stealing-kleptomaniac.

This year I live off-campus and have had to come to terms with what I call "Community Laundry". Its almost like a sporting event with activities like the "Drag and Haul" (Just how far can you drag a laundry basket with 6-weeks of clothes in it without looking as tired as you feel?) and my personal favorite "Handful and Hurry or the Armful and Shuffle" (In other words, should you grab your laundry by the handful and move back and forth from the dryer to the washer faster, or should you try to cut it down to one trip and risk dropping your undies?) I am more of an armful at a time person, although I would resort to the handful and hurry if I got the washer furthest from the dryer.

Its just weird for me to be carrying on a conversation with someone while moving my unmentionables around. Doing my laundry during the day is the only way I can thing of to solve this problem. Otherwise I must resort to stimulating discussions of whether Tide and Cheer work better, and why Fels Naptha is the best thing ever invented.

Then there is the question of whether you should move people's wet laundry out of the washer when they forget to change loads. What do you do with it if you do? Carry it over to the counter, leave it on top of the washer? Dump it in a dryer? Leave hate notes for them? Rewash it with something bright red and ruin all of their clothing? Of course this is the type of thing that you would only attempt if you are alone int he laundry room, you don't want to get some kind of reputation. I think it is everyones pet peeve when people leave their laundry in the washer for 6 hours, especially since most college kids wait to wash their clothes until they are on the last pair of underweare to their name. Washing them in the sink is not an option. Plus how would you dry them, with your blowdryer?

I know I am spoiled, many people have been doing their laundry at the laundromat for their entire lives. What do you do while you are waiting for your laundry at places like that? Is there food? Are there tables for you to sit at? I am guessing that they have a large supply of Reader's Digest. What place would be complete without them.

Check back later for more astute observations on daily college life.