How Much Would YOU Spend Doing Laundry?

Ah, yes, one of the joys in life is a chore you do often whether you like to or not: laundry. You might be one of the lucky ones that only does laundry once or twice a month or like me, each week or twice a week. One of the annoying things about fulltime rving is trying to find a place to do the laundry. Unfortunately we do not have onboard laundry machines (sadness here), so it is off to a nearby or somewhat nearby laundry mat.

Have you done laundry at a laundry mat? They are good when you want to wash something large, like a bedspread as you might not be able to shove it in your washing machine, although it might be funny to try (yes I have). Not only are there a lot of machines, sometimes working sometimes not, but also interesting characters that make you want to attach yourself to the machine for safety, questionable snacks in vending machines you might ponder if it is still a food or just a vapor and hopefully you can find a cart to put your laundry in to transport it. Did you know that wet clothes, especially sheets, tend to be heavy and if the dryer is not next to you, a cart with funky wheels is your best bet?

Of all the times we have had to find a laundry mat, this time around it was an hour away. One whole hour! We knew we had to stay at the laundry mat for the long drive, plus to make sure none of our clothes would get stolen. So off we went, with our gas guzzler vehicle, one hour away to a laundry mat in a part of an old downtown area that was a little sketchy.

We had no other choice as this was the only gig in town to wash clothes. The reviews were not flattering and I hoped that maybe the truth was stretched a wee bit. Well, let’s find out!

Walking in, it was not a run down place, as some laundry mats are and actually kind of clean. Not too many people to put the fear of God in you, and I looked for the cheap washing machines as I try not spend that much money doing laundry. Finding some next to each other, I put the colors in one machine, whites in another and If I can squeeze the towels or sheets in either one of the colors or whites, I do to save money. You can spend a pretty penny doing your laundry!

Well, the waiting begins. I quickly pull out my phone to look at it to pass the time, or if there is internet available, jackpot if there is, I have my handy dandy laptop to do things on, like writing on my blog! John is there with me, thank goodness, as he is a big help, shoving the clothes in quickly as I put the quarters in. With the washing finally finished, now it was time for the drying and this is where the fun begins.

After the quarters were pushed in the coin slots of the dryers, and again, I find something to do. Several minutes pass, then ding! Goes the dryer, and pushing the laundry carts to the dryers, we open the doors and find out the clothes are still wet. So more quarters go in, more waiting. We did this about four to five times and even then, the clothes, sheets and towels still had dampness! There is no attendant so no help with the terrible, awful dryers. Since the dryers are large, we NEVER overfill them as I do not think we have that many clothes.

The reviews on the laundry mat were right: the dryers were awful. It was hard to do laundry when you do not own those machines, those lovely machines in a home of your own, where you know the rhythm of the machines, when they will be done and how well your clothes are clean. Yes, some RVs have laundry machines, and our trailer does have a washer hookup, but it would be a REALLY small washer and take ALL day to wash clothes.

I heard from other fulltime rvers that they love going to the laundry mats as their clothes get cleaned a lot faster then washing them in their rigs. That may be true, but I do enjoy doing laundry in my jammies, or anytime of day or night, without worrying about someone stealing my clothes, or trying to get them done before a crowd comes into the place.

The joys of laundry comes to an end for that place one hour away from our campsite. By the time we get back to the RV, the clothes are mostly dry as it is a warm day. So, tell me:

How much would you spend doing laundry?