Laundry

The days of having a washing machine and dryer in our home are temporarily over. We may get a washing machine in a few months, but not many people here use a dryer. After being here for a little over a week, we realized that the pile of clothes was getting out of control. We decided to inquire about laundry. After discovering that we wouldn't be getting a washing machine any time soon, we reluctantly used the washing machine in the basement of our apartment complex. We are thankful to have it, but it was quite a chore running up and down the stairs to check on it, making sure no one had taken it or moved it. I guess one option would have been to just stay down there with it, but with only one machine and enough clothes for four loads that would mean you would be down there all day! Not how we wanted to spend our day.

So here is how our first experience with laundry unfolded! (HAHA) We carried the pile of clothes downstairs and talked to the lady at the desk about how it worked. We found out that the machines only took tokens, so we bought enough for four loads. With only one washing machine, we put in the first load of colors. The soap is dumped in the top with the fabric softener. You load the clothes in the front. Once you insert the token the soap and softener are dumped on the clothes and the water pours in at that point. Not long after the water began pouring in did we discover it was flooding out the bottom! J had gotten a piece of clothing stuck in the door. After a few minutes of scratching our heads, we decided we better get help or the whole room was going to flood! The lady at the desk came running in and yelled to unplug the machine!! We were going to do that, but didn't know what would happen. The lady removed the clothing and closed the door. Of course, the water quit leaking and all was well except for the huge puddle of water that had collected all over the floor. We helped mop up what we could, but she told us not to worry about it and she would handle the rest. Not a good start-it was only the first of four loads! We were dreading the rest of them. Thankfully, the rest of the loads were painless until we got to the drying part. In our apartment, we only have one small drying rack so we have to improvise. We made EVERYTHING a drying rack and decided from now on we would have to do laundry every couple of days to keep this from happening. Oh the days of American life when we had a washing machine and a dryer!