Laundromat

4/4/2017

Remember these?  Well, I certainly do.  In my first life, which thankfully didn't last long, the only washing machine I ever had, was a wringer machine.  Some of you may not have heard or even used this terrifying machine, but laundry day was messy and if you didn't tuck buttons inside clothing, you ended up missing buttons.

At 18, when I got married, I was young, stupid and poor.  Did I mention stupid already?  In the 60's the Vietnam War was claiming more and more young men, some of whom never came home.  At that time, it was not uncommon for marriages of teenagers to occur.  That's just the way it was back then.
Of course, many if not most of those marriages didn't survive long.  After all, the person you are at 18, isn't exactly the same person at say 25.

During that time, I lived in a house with no stove, only a hot plate and laundry was done at the laundromat or else use that antique and difficult wringer washing machine.  I dreaded the trips to the laundromat.  Sometimes I/we had to wait for machines to free up.  Once your clothes came out of the dryer, they were jumbled together in a basket, wrinkles be damned.  Folding was done at home.

Today, I'm going to a laundromat.  Why?  Because we have a chenille duvet cover that when wet weighs a ton.  Our washing machine, can't handle the cover, and it does need to be washed.  So I'll go this morning, armed with soap and enough money to feed the machines.  The last time I washed a duvet cover at the laundromat, I had to use one of the really big ones, because the cover is large, California King size, and it doesn't lend itself to a regular machine.

The laundromat also another option and that is to drop off your laundry and pick it up later.  I don't know what that costs and/or how long it is before your laundry is done.  My Kindle is charged, so I can read a book while I'm waiting for the washer and dryer to finish doing their thing.  We've had such a mild winter, that I didn't even put the duvet on the bed!  Perhaps our mild winter, will be an omen of a bad winter next year.  Who can be sure.  Mother Nature is fickle to say the least.

Once inside a laundromat, you can tell the "regulars" from the occasional users, such as myself.  They fill up multiple washing machines and dryers, and it's clear from the mound of those clothes in the rolling baskets that their washing is probably done once a week. I won't go in without being fully armed: Kindle, water and some kind of nut bar.  I don't actually enjoy watching the machines go round and round.

Jeff and I still own a washing machine with an agitator in the middle.  I believe that when this machine has run out of life, it's going to be difficult if not impossible to find a similar machine.  And size really does matter.  My daughter-in-law and one of my friends, have these ginormous machines that take up a lot of room.  My laundry room is small, and I actually don't do enough laundry anymore, to warrant such big and expensive machines.  Ninety-nine percent of my laundry is done in cold water and I set it for a fairly short cycle.  The clothes I wash aren't really dirty most of the time.  I basically only have whites, colors and Jeff's shirts he wears to work.  And bedding and towels.  That's pretty much it.  I don't mind washing the clothes, but the folding up, isn't my favorite thing to do.  What's a few wrinkles among friends?  I do take care with Jeff's shirts, and take them out of the dryer immediately and put them on hangers.  

Once I'm done at the laundromat, I'll get back to my writing.  I have revised the first 33 pages of Wilma and in rereading, I actually really like the story.  There is some sass from the main character, Wilma (me) that I appreciate and understand.  I am determined to see this story to the end.  There are some inherent problems that I have to work out, but I'll work through them when they pop up in the story.

P