Love of the Laundromat

As a single mom with two kids, one in cloth diapers, I have a lot of laundry and I do it at odd times. A load here, a load there, laundry piled up on top of the dryer- unfolded.

One day last week, my eight year old comes over to me and tells me that the hallway is flooded and so is the bathroom. I look. It was. Evidently, anything that runs on energy had decided to revolt against me that week. First my car (1180 dollars to fix- thanks), then my neuton lawnmower (don't ever try to mow a dog leash that's hidden in the forest that your grass has become) and now the washer.

Just to be frank, I don't have the extra money for a new washer, so off to the Laundromat I went.

I don't know why I hadn't done it sooner!

First of all, everything gets done at once! Can you believe that? I can pile all my laundry into ONE machine and for four dollars (or five, depending how much laundry I have), it washes TOGETHER! Not only that, but I can separate it into smaller loads to go into the dryer- BUT I can use more than one dryer! It's like every time I do laundry, I get caught up on laundry. How cool is that?

Now- after I finish a load, I have this really annoying habit of stuffing all my unfolded stuff into a basket and leaving it until I can no longer see the basket. This is a problem for many reasons. For one thing, everything gets wrinkly. Good thing we're a t-shirt and jeans family. For another, things get missing. A lot. NOT ANYMORE! I have no choice but to fold the laundry now. Well, I have a choice- but really... what else is there to do while you're waiting the few minutes for other stuff to dry? Since I'm folding it already, I might as well separate it- something else that never got done until my daughter was crying about her lack of underwear or my poor son was wearing dishtowels around his waist.

Lastly, if I want my trunk space back, I need to take the laundry inside. If I want my basket back to go to the Laundromat again, I need to put it all away.

In conclusion, my washer breaking has actually helped my life. I don't have a room full of dirty laundry, I never need to "catch up", I have no choice but to put it away and I don't lose articles of clothing behind the washer or dryer- forcing me to hang a child by their feet to retrieve it.

Now, if I could only find an easier way to mow the lawn without a lawnmower...