A goes to the laundromat

Sounds simple right? Not here. Not for me. I woke up Saturday to sunny skies and had big plans of exploration and exercise. But I had one big problem: I really needed to do my laundry.

I started by brainstorming ways of trying to get all my clothes to a laundromat. I thought about bagging it all up and trying to ride with it on my bike. But I kept imagining slow-motion crashes and all my underwear floating out onto the street like Tibetan prayer flags. I thought about carrying it all, but that sounded miserable. In the end, I settled on putting it all into my big suitcase, which has wheels.

This would have been a brilliant idea had I not had to go up and down 12 flights of stairs, staring with the five flights that lead to my apartment. (I swear, that number is not an exaggeration.)

First, I went headed north on the subway, to a place I found on Google. I rolled up and down every street of the intersection where I got off the subway before I found it. Then there were two problems: 1. It was closed. 2. It was one of those places you bring your laundry into and they do it for you.

So I got back on the subway and headed south, to another area someone had told me there was a laundromat. Again, couldn't find it. I walked around for about 20 minutes. Just when I was about to give up, I saw the sign with the words "Schnell und Sauber" (Fast and Clean) on them, like a beacon of hope on the horizon.

Actually doing laundry was it's own adventure. I think "schnell" is a bit of an exaggeration and I'm not so convinced of "sauber" either.

By the time I finished — three and a half hours after I left — it started to rain. So much for exploration.

Lessons learned: Maybe try the bags next time.

Goodbye to the laundry mat

Something very amazing happened in my life today. It's a rite of passage of sorts — one of those things that just makes me feel more like an adult.

I got a new washing machine. This is amazing because it means no more hauling three-ton laundry baskets to the laundry mat, no more not being able to wear those jeans because it's not laundry time, no more trying to scrounge for quarters. For all of these reasons, laundry has been my least favorite chore. I would rather clean my bathroom, and I'm not a big fan of that either.

I actually bought a washing machine when I first moved in, which didn't work from the first wash. It's been sitting in my storage room ever since. I fully realize that I could have solved this problem a long time ago, but it was sort of low on the priority list. What bumped it up was that my friend is moving and was giving one away. I can't say no to free, especially right now.

Lesson learned: Patience pays off in the end.