I think I have lived a pretty privileged life. Growing up we always did our laundry at our house and I never remember going to a laundromat. The first time I went to a laundromat was 9 years ago. My ex husband and I had a comforter that was huge and it would not fit in our washer or dryer. I remember it being such a pain dragging it there, having to pay to wash it and dry it and then trying to get it home without it getting dirty again. I came home and retired that comforter.About 6 months ago I got out that comforter and put it on our guest bed. This is the room that Sophie dog sleeps in and I knew that it needed to be washed, but just never got around to it. I knew that meant a trip to the laundromat.
So last week Lynilu called us and said she is coming to town and asked if she could stay with us. There was no question, she was going to stay with us. But my first thought was, I need to get that comforter cleaned.
So this morning I ventured off to the laundromat to wash the comforter since I thought Lynilu wouldn't want to sleep on a comforter that smelled like dog. My trip to the laundromat this morning was not what I expected at all. It was actually nice. I enjoyed watching the other people there that were washing their clothes. I imagined how hard it is for them to bring all their clothes there each time they needed to wash something. Made me thankful that we do have a washer/dryer at our house and that we don't have to get out in bad weather or hot weather to have clean clothes.
When I put the comforter in the dryer I was thinking the number on the dryer meant that was how many quarters you needed to put in. As I was putting in my 10 quarters I realize at 5 quarters I was already at 40 minutes. Then I realize it was the dryer number, not the number of quarters you need to put in. Duh. So there I am with 48 minutes on my dryer and I knew I wouldn't need all 48 minutes.
When the comforter was dry I still had 18 minutes left. As I was walking out there was a lady there with two small kids who was just putting her clothes in the washer. I told her that there was 18 minutes left on my dryer and she could use them. She immediately sent her son over to the dryer to grab it and she was very thankful. To me it was just $3, but I can only imagine what that $3 meant to her.
I left the Laundromat feeling good and also very thankful.
5 comments:
I always hated dragging my laundry to the laundromat though it was incredibly nice to have a weeks worth of laundry done in 90 minutes as opposed to much longer at home since I can only do one load at a time (as opposed to having two-four machines at the 'mat going).
Great picture! :)
Ah, very good deed helping the lady out.
I think the last time I was at a laundromat was as a child, going at the beach during one of our vacations there. I know when our present comforter needs to be washed (rather than just the duvet cover washed) we'll have to go to one.
That was very sweet of you! I am sure those 18 minutes meant a LOT to her. :)
Before I moved into my house, I had to go to a laundromat because my apartment didn't have a washer or dryer (well, they had some, but they were broken and my landlord was too cheap to have them fixed!) I hated going and dragging in all my baskets. I finally started bringing my laundry with me when I visited my parents on the weekends. heh :)
The box I live in doesn't have hookups for a washer/dryer. At the ripe old age of 38 I had to start going to the laundromat. I have learned the best/worst times to do laundry. I have a standing date with Ms. Maytag every Saturday night.
The last time I went to the laundromat when our washer was on the blink, some freak kept trying to get my phone number and even when I not-so-politely told him to buzz off, i'm married still persisted. It ended up with the laundromat manager calling the cops. Ugh. Not pretty and VERY embarassing. I can't like laundromats for that reason.
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