From the time I went off to college until I bought my house some 14 years later, I was a user of laundromats. No just tossing a load in the washer while I did something else, a convenience I now enjoy. However, for efficiency of time, the laundromat was great. I’d go in at 6 am when it opened, quarters at the ready, and little more than an hour later, pretty much everything I owned was clean, dry and folded. One hour every two or three weeks, not bad. During my years as a medical resident, I invested in extra socks and underwear and I could hit the laundromat once a month. In those days, extra time was for sleeping, not laundry.
Like most things in life, there are pros and cons. In my house, the laundry/utility room is now out of the basement, on the main floor. It is easy to access, there’s a counter for sorting, folding and (very rarely) ironing. I can do laundry whenever I choose. No need to hunt for quarters or leave the house; no worry about timing or crowds. Visits to the laundromat are now rare, usually if washing items like rugs and comforter that require a heavy duty machine, or when traveling.
For today’s Ragtag Daily Prompt of Laundry.
Curious Steph 
Yes, I remember those days of the laundromats. Never wanted to leave in case someone removed your clothes!
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Indeed. One thing if they took stuff out of a machine and left it, quite another if they took your stuff, which is not uncommon. Always bring a book.
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yes, a book or a writer’s notebook!
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During my laundromat years (which ended in 1987, for the most part, except for a couple of washing machine emergencies) I graded papers. I was fortunate most of the REST of my youth to have a laundry in the buildings where I rented. To me having a washer and dryer in the house is STILL the semi-apogee of luxury. I think the dishwasher is the apogee…
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One of the real joys of home ownership was the acquisition of laundry equipment. For a while, when Garry and I were living in apartments in Boston, we didn’t have laundry. I won a TON of quarters in Las Vegas airport that kept us in washing machines for more than a month. And right after that, we got the townhouse in Roxbury and a full-size washer and dryer.
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