Daily life: Our laundry routine

Amber started a new blog series called “The World According To Amber (TWATA)”, in which she shares how she (and her husband) do day-to-day things. I love that idea and I love to get a glimpse into other people’s daily routines and habits, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and start a similar blog series of my own.  I will file all post in this series under the category “daily life”.

I’m planning to share how we do things around here and am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the topics.  I think it’s fascinating to find out how other people manage their daily lives (it’s something that doesn’t necessarily come up in a conversation) and maybe some of you find it interesting how we manage ours.  At the very least, you might learn something new about me, at best we’ll exchange ideas and thoughts on how to do things better or more efficiently.

I’m going to start today with our laundry routine. Don’t know about you, but I love to hear how other people manage the ‘mundane things of life’.

I’ve extensively complained about the fact that when we moved into our current apartment, we thought that we would be able to have a washer + dryer in our unit. It was high on our list of priorities when we moved and something I didn’t want to compromise on. (Just FYI, not having your own washer and dryer is something basically unheard of in Germany. Everybody owns at least a washer. I know that laundromats exist in bigger cities, but I never knew one single person in Germany who ever had to use a laundromat.)

Anyway, we found out post-move in that the outlet on our back porch only was an 110V outlet and only supported very small stackable washer + dryer sets (which are a) expensive to buy (comparatively speaking) and b) not very efficient) and there was not much room either. Our landlord wasn’t willing to upgrade the outlet (except if we wanted to pay for it. Hell to the no!) and so we teeth-gnashingly went back to visiting the laundromat.

My own washer + dryer is one of the top priorities again when we move and our laundry routine will probably most definitely (!) change, but for now, we’ve found a routine that works well for us under the given circumstances.

One thing you’ll probably be “jealous” about is that we do laundry… wait for it… every three weeks. That’s right. We don’t have weekly laundromat visits (which, if we had to do that, would drive me literally insane!) and I am very happy about that. I like clean and fresh laundry, but not bad enough that I’d sit at the laundromat every single week just for fun. Well, and besides, don’t worry… we have enough clean clothes for that time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to stretch the time in between visits that far.

The perk of the laundromat is: if you go at the right time (Friday late afternoons for us), the place is almost empty and you can do as many loads at a time as your heart desires (for us it’s usually 5 loads). Which in turn means, we get 5 loads of laundry done in about 2 hours (give or take). I can live made my peace with 2 hours of laundromat time every three weeks.

Yes, it’s annoying to have to schlep all our laundry there. No, I don’t particularly enjoy hanging out at the laundromat when I could use that time for other chores at home. But: at least we’re highly efficient when we go. We always have full loads (which is environmentally friendly and the right thing to do!) and since we can do all loads at the same time and it takes the same amount of time regardless of wether we do two or five loads of laundry, I feel like we’re using our time efficiently as well.

We found this really clean and well-kept laundromat 5 minutes from our house. We drive there, wash + dry + fold, and drive home – all within 2 hours. Try to beat that! Plus, I bring a book, my laptop (they offer free Wi-Fi) or some knitting and use my waiting time there productively that way.

Obviously, it’s not the most comfortable place to hang out and I’d much rather sit at home, but we’re making it work – for now.

What’s your laundry routine? Is it a chore you enjoy or despise?

  1. Oh, I love this idea! I’ll put together a post on this soon.. :)

  2. Does anyone like doing laundry? I can’t stand it myself, but need clean clothes! We have a washer/dryer in our house which is wonderful because Matt works out about 4 times a week and in the summer showers 2-3 times per day. So you can imagine how quickly he runs out of clothes. When I lived in Boston, I had to go use a laundromat because I didn’t have a washer/dryer in my apartment either. It was a pain, but you just do what you have to do. Definitely make sure the next place has a washer/dryer in it!!

  3. Oh my I am almost jealous! 2 hours every three weeks! I feel like going laundry every day which will be much more than 2 hours a week, I do not have a dryer though.
    I actually used a laundromat here in Germany when our washer broke and couldn’t be repaired in 3 weeks. Doing laundry for 5 people was only in the beginning fun…
    Thinking of laundromat so actually spent half a day in one in San Fransisco. It was lots of fun because we felt so ‘native & American’. Still I like having it in my apartment.

  4. I hope that you find a new place that has in unit laundry! That is definitely something I really appreciate as my first 2 apartments had communal laundry which was ok, but just not optimal! I have never had to use a laundromat, though. I am glad you guys have come up with a system that works for you, but it’s still a hassle! I am impressed that you can go 3 weeks without doing laundry, though!!

    I have in unit laundry and I do laundry once a week. Every week I wash a load of colors/dark clothes and then every other week I also do a load of whites, which includes bedding. I try to fold my clothes right after they are done drying and put them away right away, otherwise it makes me feel anxious to see piles of laundry!

  5. I will admit that laundry is one of my favorite chores. I find it relaxing, especially because I listen to a podcast while I fold which makes the time so much more enjoyable! We have an in-unit washer/dryer and it is one of the few must-have’s my new roommate and I decided on when apartment hunting: an in-unit washer/dryer is a MUST. I did the laundromat/communal laundry thing for a while, and it is so aggravating for me. Mostly because I don’t have a lot of clothes, so I have to do laundry once a week. I could maaaaybe get away with every 10 days but that’s about it!

  6. I wouldn’t mind doing 5 loads of laundry every 3 weeks, even if it did mean going to a laundromat! As it is I do 7 loads a week – 2 lights, 2 darks, 1 towels, and 2 of kids stuff. Topher is allergic to regular laundry soap so I do their things separately. I typically do laundry 2 days a week – which days depends on when the laundry baskets are full! I don’t mind doing laundry as long as I can watch TV while I fold it all!

  7. I really love hearing these kinds of details too! Whenever we travel and stay at an Airbnb, I think I probably baffle my host with the questions about the normal day-to-day, but it’s fascinating. :) We probably do laundry just as infrequently, but we don’t have to take it anywhere other than downstairs. So grateful for that.

  8. Love the post. And I love to hear more about our day-to-day life.
    We have an own washer (actually two – an old one for the dog and horse stuff and a new one for our things) and a dryer too.
    I usually do laundry every week and it is most of the time three loads. Light, dark and towels. Sometimes the light clothes are not enough for a full machine and I can wait two weeks to wash them.
    As I mustn’t stay close to the washer I don’t mind the washing and drying or hanging things up to dry. I don’t like ironing – especially shirts – and the folding is not my favorite either but it’s ok when I can do it in front of the TV.

  9. Love the idea of your daily life!! :)
    I hate doing laundry and I put it off as long as I can. But when I run out of underwear it is really time to start the washing machine. And then I have to do too many loads at once,which makes it even less fun…
    Do you iron your clothes? My mom still does it. I don’t even own an iron! :D

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