Tag: laundry

Nothing to Wear

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Rule #1 of staying in shape: Keep your laundry clean.0712-cher-horowitz-clueless-closet_fa

I ran out of gym clothes last week. I had nothing left. I wore the backups to my backups. It was bad.

Like I mentioned in a blog post earlier this week, I got a little busy so I wasn’t able to workout. But even in the few moments I could maybe squeeze in a basic routine, I couldn’t do it. Because I was completely out of workout clothes.

It made me feel even more helpless during a time when I was already feeling pretty overwhelmed and helpless.

So I made a little promise to myself that when I finally get down to those last two sports bras (the ones that I hate because I don’t really feel like they provide any support and they’re really uncomfortable), it’s time to do laundry that day. Not to wait until those are used. Because when I wear those, I know I’m desperate for workout clothes.

Or, I could just buy more workout clothes and procrastinate longer. But if you know me and my financial state right now… you know that’s just not very likely to happen.

Laundry

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I live in an apartment with a shared laundry facility. It’s old school. We still use quarters and have hand-written signs above the washer and dryer with instructions. It smells weird and costs too much for a load of laundry. I’m not the biggest fan of doing laundry as a result.

But I have to get over that. Why? Because I workout. And when you workout, you sweat. And those sweaty clothes need to be cleaned because you only have a small number of sweaty clothes available. So you have to clean those clothes. So I suck it up, get my quarters, and do laundry often in the jankity washer and dryer.

I’ve known people who wear the same thing to the gym almost every day. They just hang up the dirty clothes by a window and re-wear them until they’re absolutely unbearable, then they wash them. Yes, these people are men. And, yes, it’s totally gross. They reek when they’re at the gym. I’m not a clean freak, but I have standards for myself.

And, I have to admit, there’s a weird part of me that feels proud that most of my laundry is gym clothes. It means I’ve been productive and sweat a lot. And lots of productivity and sweat means self-improvement. And self-improvement means growth. And growth means change. And change is good.

Speaking of- anybody have any change? I’m out of quarters and have a load of dirty gym clothes that need cleaning.

 

LAUNDRY!

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I DIDN’T WORK OUT THIS MORNING BECAUSE I’M OUT OF CLEAN WORKOUT CLOTHES- NAMELY SPORTS BRAS! I’M WRITING THIS IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE THIS IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE! ANY WOMAN WHO WORKS OUT REGULARLY KNOWS THE IMPORTANCE OF A GOOD SPORTS BRA! ALL OF MINE ARE DIRTY AND NEED TO BE CLEANED! I NEED TO MAKE TIME FOR LAUNDRY SO I CAN GO BACK TO MAKING TIME FOR WORKING OUT BUT I HAVEN’T MADE TIME FOR WORKING OUT BECAUSE I HAVEN’T MADE TIME FOR LAUNDRY AND THAT MAKES ME FEEL CRAZY AND MAKES ME WANT TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS UNTIL I AM CALM AND HAVE CLEAN CLOTHES AGAIN.

LAUNDRY!

Two years later, woman finally needs new laundry detergent

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Yesterday was a sad day for Sasha Penn, a 24-year-old living in Chicago. For the first time since moving out of her house when she was an 18-year-old freshman in college, she had to buy a new bottle of laundry detergent.

“I was beside myself when I realized the bottle was low,” Penn says. “I realized that I had never had to buy myself detergent before.”

Though Penn had been living on her own for so many years, she had continuously been able to use other people’s laundry equipment, including taking home huge bags of dirty clothes to her parents. And for years, her single bottle of Tide seemed to be enough for the rare occasions when there was too much laundry to ignore and she was forced to do it on her own.

In Chicago, however, she got rid of her car and now uses the bus systems to visit her parents in St. Louis. Though there were minor setbacks at first, Penn quickly got used to only bringing a small amount home so she could pack up her suitcase with goodies for the ride back.

It wasn’t until yesterday, when the last drop of detergent slowly dripped out of her loyal Tide bottle, that she realized the true repercussions of living on her own without a car in the big city.

“It was the first time I really felt like a grown up,” she recalls. With a small tear in her eye, she continued to explain, “I didn’t even know which aisle would have the laundry detergent. It was awful.”

After a week or so of complete denial, Penn finally faced reality and headed to the store to buy herself a new bottle. Since she was on a strict budget, she didn’t replace her loyal Tide bottle, but went with the absolute cheapest brand she could find.

“I guess this is just a new phase of my life,” Penn reminisced.

On a positive note, she thankfully continues to have plenty of fabric softeners.

All socks accounted for after tumultuous laundry excursion

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For James Reedy, the thought of doing laundry again sickened him. It had been almost a full month since his last difficult trek to the facilities in his building’s basement, and his pile of dirty clothes had been ominously growing over the past week.

After finally accepting that another trip to the laundry room was inevitable, he grabbed the necessary supplies, took a deep breath, and headed to the room.

It was no surprise to Reedy when he saw that one of the three washing machines available was broken. Nor was he shocked to see small creatures scurrying about the room, poorly attempting to hide themselves before they were squished.

What Reedy hated seeing were the orphaned socks lying all around the room, left lonely and forgotten by several different owners. The sight made his heart drop. He held back tears as he carefully placed all his clothes-socks included-into the functioning washers. As he went back upstairs, he attempted to forget the disturbing images of the socks lying strewn about. But they were, admittedly, hard to shake.

“I just kept thinking, how could anyone forget their socks and not come back looking for them?” Reedy explained. “It’s appalling.”

When the necessary time came, Reedy reentered the messy area and carefully transferred his clothes to the one functioning dryer.

“I always check two or three time to make sure none of my clothes are left in the washer or accidentally fell on the floor,” he explains. “I scan extra hard for my socks.”

Between the several trips up and down his stairs, the transferring of the clothes from the hamper to the washer then the dryer then back to the hamper, and finally the folding process-there are plenty of opportunities to lose the smallest members of his personal laundry. Reedy is guilty of losing clothes in the past.

“I’m not proud of it,” he admits, his lip quivering slightly. He recounts the story of when he wasn’t as careful with this things, and how he would always find he was missing a sock or two when he was finally done with his laundry. His shame, he claims, would keep him from returning to reclaim his property.

After waiting patiently for his clothes in the dryer to be fully dry, Reedy took his load back upstairs to begin folding. For him, this is the “moment of truth.” It is when he finds out what kind of leader he truly is for his clothes who trust him to take care of them.

As he matches the final two socks together, Reedy breathes a sigh of relief. “I made it this time,” he says with a smile. “This time.”