In what may have been my favorite apartment ever, I had the ultimate in luxury–a washer and dryer in my bathroom. I habitually did small loads of laundry three times a week, separating meticulously by color and ironing everything that needed it as soon as it was dry. My closet was far from uncluttered, but it was the neatest it had ever been. Everything was always clean when I wanted to wear it, and I never got a backlog of laundry.

However, that apartment, along with the washer and dryer, is in Bloomington, Indiana. And as much as I enjoy Bloomington, it’s no New York. What I liked least initially about living here was the endless minutes ticking by as I watched the washer’s countdown at the laundromat. Those weekends filled with lugging several baskets of clothing to the laundry several blocks away could have been productive…but unfortunately, other people were there watching television, children would habitually ride their bikes indoors, and the atmosphere was one of such general chaos that I felt the need to watch my clothing tumble obsessively, so that no upwardly-mobile fashionistas tried to sneak by me and steal my stuff.

My solution? Sending out my laundry. The extra expense is only about four dollars per load–and that’s not accounting for my not having to buy detergent or dryer sheets. So while the expense seems excessive to the uninitiated, the extra time and energy I gain by sending it out is well worth the cost to me.

Here are my tips to getting the most out of your drop-off laundry experience.

  • Invest in a good, sturdy laundry bag that you don’t mind transporting. Mine is a a heavy cotton bag with a strap that I wear over my shoulder. Some people prefer using a folding cart with wheels if they have to walk far. You might be able to buy a bag at your laundromat. What it looks like is secondary to how well it works, so make sure you get one that works for you.
  • Get on a schedule. I tend to drop off a load every seven days or so, because if I didn’t, I’d let it pile up for months. (Trust me…it’s happened. Ask anyone who saw my room between January and April of this year.) If you’re not a rigid-schedule type of guy or gal, at least make sure you don’t wait too long to do it. Just like when you do it yourself, too much of a backlog makes the task look that much more onerous.
  • Don’t wash it if it doesn’t need to be washed.I’m a huge proponent of wearing items a couple of times between washings. If you get in the habit of minimizing the amount of laundry you actually have to do, you’ll save a bit of money. Obviously wearing an article of clothing twice between washings won’t work if it has gotten stained, sweaty, or stretched out of shape. Use some common sense on this front…I trust your judgment.
  • Be specific–but kind–with your instructions. If you hate fabric softener, or worse, if it makes you break out in a weird purple rash, this is useful information to tell them! So make sure you’re specific. Just like in any other capacity, a smile and a kind word goes a long way. It takes only a second longer to say, “Could you wash these in cold, please?” than to bark out, “Cold water,” and they’ll remember it when you come back next week. Also, be aware that your laundry isn’t the only load they have to deal with today, so make their lives easier–if you want your loads separated by color, do it yourself; don’t expect them to do it for you, or otherwise your once-white undies will probably come back pink or gray. Pick your stuff up on time, and make sure you tip well for good service!
  • A note on your skivvies: Some people are squeamish about thea idea of a complete stranger being in possession of a slew of their undies. I can assure you based on the habits of some of my friends that if you give them a bag of your panties, yours definitely won’t be the first they’ve washed…or the last. However, if it really, truly makes your hair twitch, there’s nothing wrong with leaving them out of your drop-off loads. Wash them yourself in a single load, or as some clothing experts recommend for delicates, wash them by hand in your sink using Woolite.

A full closet of sparkly-clean clothing and an empty laundry basket are, for me, one facet of the state of Zen. What tricks do you guys use to make your laundry lives easier or to otherwise get on top of the dirty clothes monster?

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