Tag: laundry

Laundromat Diaries September 2nd 2022

Posted on by jsunrain

I have been lazy about going to the bank and getting a roll of quarters and often I can get the one cheap machine so having $3 is no problem. Today was a woman and her two sons and a single man and the cheap machine was of course taken. Meant I went to CVS next door, bought a Diet Pepsi with my debit card so I could get cash back and ask for $1 of quarters be a part of it. I will be better off prepared next week.

I brought my dinner in. A delicious poke bowl from Aloha Poke. A bit spendy, so a once in a blue moon treat. I should make some version at home.

The people that were here when I came have left.I suspect their laundry isn’t done. Friday man came this week just now. Unfortunately I am still eating in the booth he normally sits at. He just stepped out, but I am assuming just to the CVS. Some red lady just came. I better finish my food.

I am moved to the easy chair now. Now red head lady out the door after moving her stuff to the dryers. I am the only one here for a second, but this place is busy. Hope I get a dryer I want but I suspect I will need one of those carts to tote my clothes further down.

I was able to get a decent dryer but still had to wait for my wash to be done a bit. 31 minutes really means 36 minutes. 😔 The one lady that works here is now vacuuming. That is good, this place is much more a mess than usual. She seems to know Friday guy.

Now someone has entered with a ton of clothes. So glad mine are in the dryer now, but I still have 50 minutes to be here and the place is crowded again and I feel like going home until my clothes are dried, but I will probably stay here. Then at home put my stuff away and likely take a late nap to start my four day weekend.

Busy enough now I am losing track of the comings and goings. Just a half hour more! If it were cloudy and cooler outside, I might sit outside. Some people sit in their cars. Doesn’t seem like a horrible idea, but if I get in my car I am driving home and coming back when the laundry is done! Almost thinking next week I will go to a different laundromat, but last week was dead quiet. Most weeks are in between this week and last week. Can’t wait to leave now!

Things got quiet again, but I was so happy to get out of there! Until next week!

Laundromat Diaries August 26th 2022

Posted on by jsunrain

I continue to do laundry every week but haven’t hung out at the laundromat. Either I was busy with errands or I was tired and cranky and rather stayed at home during the wash and dry cycles.

Today my energy was just right for hanging out here. Bonus, it is dead quiet right now. I got dinner at one of the restaurants in the strip mall the laundromat is in. My appetite has been tepid lately, I am on a new medication, appetite suppression is a side effect. Not mad. It is unlikely I will finish those potatoes. The gravy is different and not as good this time anyway. When I am done eating I will move to the easy chair. I know the Friday night guy likes the booth and I only need it for eating. In fact, I’m done eating now. Don’t worry, zero chance I will ever be anorexic. This is probably how I should have always been eating.

The back door is open. Nice to have fresh air. There are a couple of seats back there, but I have no desire to sit back there.

I have switched the clothes to the dryer and still no one else here. Not mad! For all the crappy music they play here ELO is on right now. Might be crappy to some of you but I love them! I am also collecting weird candy corn and since Halloween started late June this year and CVS is next door, I went to check it out. I couldn’t believe they had Nerds Candy Corn! I hate CVS, but they have a special place in my heart for that! Wonder what is up with Friday guy. Hope he is okay! Maybe he was able to come earlier.

It has been over an hour and I am still the only one here! This never happens no matter when I come! I am enjoying it, but there isn’t much to report!

8 minutes before my clothes are done, another woman comes into the laundromat. The woman had never been here before so I was telling her about the one machine that is $1 whereas all the other ones are $2. Before I could show her the machine a man comes and grabs it. He must have known about it already. Oh well.

The woman and the man didn’t stick around. I got my clothes out of the dryer and left being the only one there, then leaving it as empty as when I came.

Laundromat Diaries July 29th 2022

Posted on by jsunrain

When I entered the laundromat, it was dead quiet. Though I noticed someone’s clothes in the wash machine that is done. I imagine they will come along at some point and put it in the dryer.

While I was putting my clothes in the wash and feeding it quarters I heard the door open. In the other aisle I saw a hat moving to the back of the laundromat. Then the bathroom door closed. After I got settled in the easy chair I saw an old man that belongs to the hat, walking around pressing all the coin returns to see if he could get change. I don’t think he had any luck.

Just after the old man left the person whose clothes were in the wash came in. In a whirl he was gone again while his clothes dry. I sometimes go home or run errands while my clothes are here too. Most of the time I am content to stick around.

I decided to eat at home after I am done with the laundry, so I didn’t sit at the booth this week. I sat in the one easy chair. Before COVID there was another easy chair. It was big and green and leather or faux leather, all beat up with duct tape patches. I LOVED that chair. They got rid of it because they felt they couldn’t keep it sanitized well enough. Makes sense, but I was sad. The laundromat remained open because we still need clean clothes. Most of us wore masks. There is always an outlier. A few months ago they got a new easy chair. Not as big and comfy as the old one, but the most comfortable seat in the place. On the left is the old one and on the right is the new one. Nice place to sit and read.

After a while the usual Friday night man comes in, quickly followed by mother and her older teenage daughter. They have never been here before. The mother firsts notes that there are booths. Then realizes they forgot laundry detergent so bought some out of the old machine. The daughter is quiet, perhaps bored. Mom is a spitfire here to get things done! My wash will be done in a few minutes.

When I got to the washer, it said one minute left. That one minute lasted two minutes. I counted to 60 twice. The washing machines have always lied. You need to add at least five minutes to the time it gives you. The dryers at least tell the truth. I know like clockwork the dryer will be done in 64 minutes. I like my clothes bone dry, I don’t want to chance any wetness. With that 64 minutes I can truly relax with my book as bad 80s music plays. Someone remind me to bring headphones next time. I should just keep them in the car. Another mother and her adult daughter just walked in. These two are easily talking to each other.

When I got to the washer, it said one minute left. That one minute lasted two minutes. I counted to 60 twice. The washing machines have always lied. You need to add at least five minutes to the time it gives you. The dryers at least tell the truth. I know like clockwork the dryer will be done in 64 minutes. I like my clothes bone dry, I don’t want to chance any wetness. With that 64 minutes I can truly relax with my book as bad 80s music plays. Someone remind me to bring headphones next time. I should just keep them in the car. Another mother and her adult daughter just walked in. These two are easily talking to each other.

At some point reading makes me sleepy, I still have over a half hour before clothes dryer is done. I play games on my phone. Go for a tiny walk see the barely there park next to the strip mall, check out what the back of the building looks like. I recently bought a near perfect purse at Goodwill. Decent amount of pockets and large enough to carry a notebook and reading book with me. So at CVS, which is next to the laundromat, I bought a notebook and gel pens I totally didn’t need, but one was the prettiest teal color! By then my clothes were finally ready to take out of the dryer and go home!

Laundromat Diaries July 15th 2022

Posted on by jsunrain

Left work early so I got to the laundromat early. Place is busy! They have two booths: one is occupied but the second one is misshaped now so I can’t sit there. Change guy is here. So overall busy and slightly noisy. Annoying day at work, semi annoying laundromat. And yet I don’t want to go home during the wash and dry cycles. I didn’t bring a magazine or book, and again, I don’t want to go home, so I got one of those variety puzzle books next door at CVS, but it will be a trip to do sitting in the small easy chair. Maybe I will stand at one of the folding tables instead. I don’t want to be on my phone the whole time, that gets boring.

Just before I threw my clothes in the dryer, the lady in the booth left, so now I am more comfortable. The two ladies talking non stop went outside to continue talking. Not sure why, no one said anything, but they did. Now it is me, one other lady and the change guy. Starting off with an easy word search, a nice pleasant way to clear the head, and my head needs plenty of clearing!

Some really nice lady walked in and we talked for a couple of seconds. I always forget how horrible the music is here and that I should bring headphones, but I suppose that would make small talk not possible.

Change guy in the red shirt!

Suddenly something good sounding is on, though I don’t recognize it. Wonder if the change guy has something to do with it. Not mad!

Think he does. His music is playing louder than the laundromat’s music. I hope he stays here until I leave. His music choices are so much better.

Dang it! I still have over a half hour and he left.

Moving onto Codeword! Always loved this one. Also love cryptograms and logic puzzles even though I am not as good at logic puzzles as I used to be.

When I left I was the only one in there and ready to go home. There were still washers and dryers going for other people, but it was nice to be done for myself!

Laundromat Diaries July 8th 2022

Posted on by jsunrain

I did do laundry last week but I was tired and headachy and decided to go home during each cycle. Also, someone had almost all the machines used, I believe I got the last washer. Not sure.

Thankfully this week there was only one woman here when I came in, and shortly after me another woman. Plenty of washers available. Only distraction is the worst of 80s music. There is plenty of 80s music I like, but the radio station they have on doesn’t hardly play any of it. If I was the only one here I might blast some delicious goth music!

Dinner tonight was the meatball and provolone sub from Cousins. Cousins is my favorite sub shop. Only thing is they don’t wrap their hot subs in foil to keep them hot. It was lukewarm by the time I got settled into the laundromat. It was still good, just could have been better.

This last week for a few days I went on a social media detox. Not because of social media itself, but because it is a major time suck and I wanted to devote time to reading, knit/crochet, podcasts and finding my inner self or however you want to call it. It has actually been kind of nice.

The book I am reading this week is Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There”. It is a really good read so far. Not boring at all. Might be if you hate nature I suppose. Is there anyone that hates nature? Can’t imagine. My best friend, an avid birder, his birthday is at the end of the month, I bought him a copy.

A podcast I have been listening to when I am not reading is the one from Joanne Lee Molinaro|The Korean Vegan. Even if you aren’t vegan, the podcast is more about navigating life. A couple of episodes dip into the veganism, but not overwhelmingly so. I have her cookbook The Korean Vegan which is lovely even if you aren’t vegan, and I am not, but I dab into it. Along with recipes are family stories. Get the cookbook and/or listen to the podcast. I highly recommend both! Korean Vegan Podcast

Just before putting my clothes in the dryer another woman came in. The first woman I am guessing is done and the second probably elsewhere during her wash cycle. The one man I see most Friday’s came in after I put my clothes in the dryer. So now there are three of us, but all is quiet and peaceful. Depending I don’t mind some commotion, people having conversations, and children running around. I was once one of those children when going to the laundromat with my mom when I was 5. I remember the adults smiling at me as I joyfully made the rounds.

I had errands to run after laundry and it would help me finish my Apple Watch circles and finish my 10,000 steps, but I saw 35 minutes before my dry cycle was done my watch battery was almost dead. So I went home and managed to get it back up to 30%. Just enough to get me through the rest of the day. Came back to the laundromat and got my clothes. The man I see almost every week was finishing up around the same time. I then ran my errands and met my exercise goals.

Laundromat Diaries June 24th 2022

Posted on by jsunrain

I decided to take a half day off work. I am seeing a friend in Chicago tomorrow and it is nice to take my time and get laundry done early.

First I went to Foxtown Heritage Meats in Mequon Wisconsin. My first time there. It was beautiful and clean and the service lovely friendly. I bought some brats for over the weekend and some potato salad for lunch. Then I dropped something off at the post office. After that I stopped at home to drop off my work backpack and put the brats in the fridge. I grabbed a soda to take with me to the laundromat.

When I entered there were a couple of older women already there seeming to take up most of the washers. One was sitting on one end and the other was sitting at the other end and they both intently stared at me while I loaded the second to last washing machine available. I gave them each a quick look back and went to a table down the other aisle of the laundromat.

I sat down and ate my potato salad and caught up with social media and the politics of the day and there has sure been a lot of politics this week. But we will make this a place a refuge from said politics. All of a sudden I heard all this clambering about. It was a man collecting the coins from the machines. That reminds me, I need to make sure I have enough coins for the dry cycle. Looks like I do! Also time to change to the dryer.

I am at dryer 209. Top row, 4th from back. Not my usual dryer. I try to get the same washing machine and dryer every time. Note to self: early Friday afternoon is not the time to do laundry. I don’t know if it is this way during this time every week, but it seems a bothersome time to come. Now my clothes will be in the dryer over an hour, time to play a couple of my favorite phone games.

I was done playing my games, I had looked up the best way to cook brats. Going to try the air fryer method. After I used the bathroom I went to sit in the easy chair. At that point a mother and son came in. They are speaking a foreign language. Sounds European but I don’t really know. I am sure I have seen them here before. I love hearing foreign languages. I still have a half hour left, going to read an article I hadn’t gotten to yet.

Dryer done, not even close to being done reading the book long article, but time to go home!

Laundromat Diaries June 17th 2022 (episode 2)

Posted on by jsunrain

Older woman in easy chair here before me reading a magazine. I put my laundry in the washer. I take a couple photos around the laundromat. There is a new tattoo machine. I post the photos to Instagram.

I settle down at one of the booth tables as I like to do. Before I can get too settled a flurry of new people come in. There is a lot of conversation by the washers on the other side of the laundromat. I don’t know who is talking to who. In the background is the worst of the 80s music. I am more Bauhaus and Siouxsie and less Billy Joel and Phil Collins. I always forget to bring headphones with me.

Tonight I finally decided to tackle a project I have been meaning to do for a while, fountain pen art. I am horrible at art but I keep trying. I have some blank spaces in my commonplace journal, time to fill them in. If you get a hand written letter from me you will always get that sun in the end.

The man I see every Friday, who comes slightly after me must have snuck past me. I just put my clothes in the dryer and all the commotion of earlier is gone. Just that guy and I minding our own business.

Now some new people for a bit. Some of my fountain pens won’t start so I squeeze the ink a bit out with the piston. I best be careful or I will have ink on my fingers and then my clean clothes. I think all my pens need a good cleaning!

Oops!

At some point I am done though the page is not near filled. Thankfully I am not too princess precious about my commonplace journal. I am sure throughout the years I will look back and laugh, and that has a lot of value too!

I go and wash my hands. Seems the new family is sticking around while their clothes get washed. I have about 45 minutes to play games on my phone while I wait for my clothes to dry.

I decided to get some of those tattoos. The one machine wasn’t working so I got three from the other side! They are hilarious but you won’t see me wearing them. 🙂

The one man that comes after me leaves before me, but I like my clothes bone dry, I leave them to dry for over an hour. Finally a song I like comes on. Joan Jett “I love Rock n Roll”! I take my backpack with my notebooks and pens out to the car and come back in and wait for my clothes to dry. I am finally by myself. But there are plenty of washers and dryers going waiting for their people to return to them!

Laundromat Diaries June 3rd 2022

Posted on by jsunrain

I went to the laundromat right after work on Friday. I was the only one there and it seemed like it was freshly cleaned. I love taking photos at the laundromat. I usually use filters for fun, but I loved the photo below as it was. So I took the photo and then loaded up two washers. Normally I stay in the laundromat during the half hour wash cycle and run errands during the one hour dry cycle. If I don’t have errands I may stay the whole time. I read, catch up with social media, or play phone games. This time I only had one quick errand, so I did that during the wash cycle and hung out in the laundromat during the dry cycle.

When I came back to put my clothes in the dryer, there was another man there. He must come every Friday. You see him silhouetted in the photo I took on a Friday night a few weeks ago. Before sitting at another booth, I put my clothes in the dryer and then I settled in. I forgot my phone (I had it during the wash cycle, but left it at home accidentally before returning for the dry cycle), but I had my newest Bon Appetit magazine with me, a notebook, and the book A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There by Aldo Leopold. I didn’t need my phone. I started with Bon Appetit making note of recipes I want to make and ingredients I need. I then finished reading the February chapter of the Aldo Leopold book.

Not long after I settled, a young mom came in with her young son. She had a lot of loads of laundry. Her young son, who was maybe 4 years old, was running around the laundromat. He reminded me a lot of myself when I went to the laundromat with my mom when I was 5. It was always an adventure for me! Seeing this little boy made me happy. Shortly after that a mom and her daughter loaded the washers with their clothes. The daughter was probably mid teens to early adult. Once both families finished loading the washers they left to return later.

By the time my clothes were dry, even the other man was done and had left before me. So I was once again by myself, putting my clean towels and clothes in my laundry bag, which I also washed. As I was going back to my car the young mom and her son were returning for their dry cycle.