My Dirty Laundry


Scandalous … eye-catching.  But yeah, this is really about my dirty laundry.  Literally.

The only thing scandalous that happened was someone took the laundry cart I’d selected and I had to pick another one. :-O

Here’s what I wrote for you.

laundromat

Busier than usual at the laundromat today.  “You’ve lost that loving feeling” is playing on the little boombox (are they still called that?). 

Smells of fabric softener, detergent and warmth in here.  The white noise of the dryers hum over ‘don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t let it slip away’.

All clothes sound so soft tumbling around in an industrial dryer!  I swear, the scratchiest article of clothing would sound like a fluffy, high count cotton towel in there.

I like watching people fold.  I mean, I don’t stare at them or anything, but I notice.

My favorite ‘folder’ was a wisp of a man.  I dubbed him ‘Handkerchief Man’. 

He must have had at least two dozen of them at his folding table.  All white.

He halved, smoothed, quartered, smoothed.  Then placed the little square to one side once he was satisfied.

cleanfoldedhandkerchief

Okay, I did stare at him.  I got lost in his concentration.  He was old and thin, I wanted to wrap him in cotton wool he looked so fragile.  He kept folding, I was smiling.  Inventing his back story in my hypnotic state – just dreamy. 

That is, until he walked past me muttering one foul word after another.  I was shocked – a giggle bubbled up into my throat.  It had to have been some sort of tourettes or illness saying those words, not my delicate old gentleman!

I saw him a couple of months later in line at the bank.  He was muttering again, appearing a lot less precious without his linens.

Today I’m sat in a chair in a corner.  My usual spot and my back up spot taken. Great view of the room though.

How must I look scribbling onto my little yellow pad?  Am I now someones ‘Writing Girl’?  I’ll look different at the bank. LOL!

There are 4 machines by the front windows.  A ‘grabby’ game with cheap stuffed prizes, a beverage vending machine and two antiquated video games.  I know one has ‘Frogger’ on it. (Before the novelty of the laundromat wore off, Nic used to come with me.  We ventured over that direction with some quarters).

Now I come alone.  Usually I’ll toss the dirty into a couple of machines then leave to run other errands.

Not today.

It takes half an hour for the wash to finish – then I grab a cart (usually a yellow one, my favorite color) and push over to the dryers.  Nine times out of ten, a pair of underwear (always mine of course) mischievously throws itself to the floor during transfer.  I do the glance around, bend, scoop and grab manuever hoping no one saw.  Dryers take about twenty minutes.

I don’t mind so much coming here.  It’s nice to get all the loads done at once.  Sometimes though, I wish I had my ‘days off’ to be at home.

I smell of bleach from my part-time Sunday morning job – I’m grateful though.

When I get home with the clean laundry, I’ll put mine away.  Give Nic his basket (where his clothes will stay until he dips in for something he needs).

I’ll take a shower, put comfy ‘at home’ clothes on and take the afternoon to refresh before starting dinner.

That’s after I share this with you of course. 

You can always count on me to share my dirty laundry.

About debaucherysoup

I've traveled 4 continents, affording me experiences and adventures to last a lifetime. Most important was the exposure to other cultures, beliefs and lifestyles. I'm also mom to one of the most amazing human beings I know.

Posted on December 2, 2012, in Gratitude, Humor, Musings from the laundromat and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.

  1. Thanks for sharing your dirty laundry. I don’t miss having to air my laundry in public (the washer and dryer in my basement are quite nice), but it seems that it helps get your creative juices flowing. BTW, I’m still scared of that pic at the top of your page…

  2. Oh what I’d give to have my very own “Grabby Game”. I want one for every room in the house. Nothing beats the feeling of the claw dropping the cheap toy into the hole!

  3. Great post! It was like I was there with you! My dryer has broken and until my new one gets here I must too go to the laundrymat. I must say it is nice to get it all done in one fell swoop. 🙂

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