On Friday, this is where two of my kids and I spent a couple hours. Yes, each of those windows contains clothes from the Salonen clan. We pretty much took over the whole laundrymat!
As much as I complain about the never-ending chore of laundry (I feel like I live and breathe either sorting, washing or drying clothes), when you’ve got seven loads that need to be dried and the dryer has decided to go kaput, you realize how much you’ve failed to appreciate a clothes dryer in good working order.
I couldn’t afford to let those seven piles sit all weekend. So off we went. First, to the bank for quarters, then to the laundrymat. My 8-year-old did everything he could to avoid pinching his nose while entering the place he determined didn’t have the best smell. But things sort of evened out after he discovered the vending machines inside. By the middle of the session, both kids were thanking me for bringing them to the laundrymat. Who knew this would prove to be such a fun adventure?
My 11-year-old was delighted from the get-go. “I always see laundrymats in movies but I’ve never been in one for real. This will be fun!” I didn’t share her enthusiasm at that point. Weekends in early marriage spent in laundrymat prison flashed through my mind. My delight back then in finally purchasing a washer and dryer of our own was unprecedented.
But on Friday, I started to look through my kids’ eyes and recall fonder memories of days at the laundrymat. They took place back in my hometown in Poplar, Montana, at Ault’s Laundrymat downtown. My mom would bring her novel, and my sister and I would hop around on the orange chairs near the folding table, waiting and watching. We sneaked glances at the others there to take on the mundane task of clothes-washing, noting with curiosity the personal garments that went in and out of the machines. (You can learn a lot about a person from their underwear…) When that became boring, we would stall in front of the big picture window and watch the happenings of our small city. With the laundrymat situated next to a bar, there were plenty of things to observe, and odd smells to match it. My 8-year-old would have deemed our Fargo laundrymat a field of lavendar next to the putrid smells that emanated from the bar next to the laundrymat. But what did we care? We were young and life was a grand adventure, with all of its unexplored territory and the questions that arose.
Spending a few hours at our laundrymat Friday afternoon brought it all back, thanks in large part to my kids, who delighted in plopping quarters into the large dryers and watching their clothes roll round and round in the hot air while they played a game of King’s Corner. Occasionally, they’d sneak glances and bits of conversation from the other patrons. The laundrymat is a communal event, after all. When at last the dryers stopped, they helped me wheel the rolling metal baskets over to our section to catch the dried clothes. It wasn’t until we were midway through folding that my daughter declared, “This is boring now,” and my son slumped in a chair nearby, exhausted from all the work. Soon enough, though, we were hauling baskets of clean, folded clothes to the van. And just like that, it seemed to me, seven loads of laundry were ready to go!
Thankfully, my dear hubby had everything back in working order the following day. He found me in the kitchen and brushed past me with his load of newly-dryed, still-hot clothes; his way of telling me it was fixed.
So, it’s back to drying clothes at home, but now that I know what an adventure the laundrymat can be, we might return sooner rather than later.
Q4U: Do you have a laundrymat memory?
This is so funny! We’ve moved and the only issue is – no w & d! We’ve got the hook ups, but I’m waiting on a scratch and dent sale. My hubby thought he could get some grading done and went on his own last week. He did not come back happy – its a lot of work, with little down time. Maybe this week we’ll make it a family trip – I know a few little girls who would love to put the money in 🙂 Beautiful reflection, as always.
I’d like to have my kid sense of adventure back. They roll with the punches, make games out of folding chairs, and think the laundrymat is cool. We’ve used laundrymats from time to time, too. The good thing about them is that you do all your laundry at once, usualy takes 2-3 hours, then you’re home. At home, it never ends.
What “clean” fun you found for your adventure! My neighbors just purchased the Maytag Laundromat on 13th in Fargo? Was this where you went by any chance? They have plenty of stories to share after their shifts- I think you can tell a lot about someone based on their clothes! We were trying to teach our kids about boats and old motors and the gas cans you brought with to fill them, etc. Its like we’re from another world altogether when we reminisce 🙂
Holly, that’s funny. I sat down to do some work while the kids played cards and could not believe how quickly the clothes dried. I ended up bribing them to stay a little longer in the end so I could finish what I was working on. 🙂 But yes, there are benefits. You do get a lot of laundry done in a short amount of time!
Mary, you’re right, but I’ve seen this sense of adventure in you. You haven’t lost it altogether. Think Sugar Lake Resort (is that what it’s called?).
Vicky, loved your pun there! 🙂 No, this was the one by Kmart and Kids Kingdom. I didn’t know about the one on 13th; will have to check it out. Sounds like there’s lots to observe there. 🙂 It is fun to try to explain a different world, even if like teaching a foreign language at times. 🙂
The best thing about the laundromat is that you can get an amazing about of laundry done in short order!
This post brought back memories for me, too. Growing up, one of our households had a washer and dryer, the other didn’t. We’d head off for the laundromat with soap, quarters and a mountain of carefully sorted dirty clothes. We each had a job: one to feed the machines, one to pour the soap and one to put the clothes in. More than washing clothes, it was really time spent together.
Thanks for bringing a smile to my face and a memory to my heart.
Roxane,
Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Oh, the story’s that could be written about the patrons of a Laundromat.
How cool that the memories created with your children were due to a major inconvenience of dryer malfunction!
Thanks again for the great post!