It's finally your first
weekend away from home. You've eaten
pizza four times already this week and drank who knows how many cans of
coke. You've hit the
shower, and now draped in a
towel, you're staring into an
empty dresser drawer that used to contain clean
underwear. What now?
Get over it already, you're going to have to wash clothes. Consider this a practical guy's guide to college laundry.
First off, regardless of whether you use a hamper, laundry basket, laundry bag, or just toss the dirty clothes into the corner of the room, you shouldn't leave those dirty smelly clothes lying around in a pile. Why? Because, besides the obvious fact that they will start to smell and arouse the ire and/or wrath of your roommate, dirty clothes can mildew and mold over over time and will ruin (i.e. you will be buying new clothes). So, gather those dirty clothes up and find the nearest laundromat or laundry room if your apartment/dorm has one.
You may want to drop by the store and buy some laundry detergent, since this acts to get the stink out of your clothes. Whether you buy dryer sheets is up to you, however you may smell like a girl if you do. You may also want to score a roll of quarters since you will need those to feed the washer and the dryer.
Once at the laundromat, stake out a spot next to a washer and separate the whites and colors. We consider only the practical details here, consider also how to do laundry. You may want to try and commandeer two washers since you can wash your whites and colors in parallel. Add clothes and detergent and quarters and get the wash going. Consider now what you are going to do for the next half hour while you wait for the wash to finish. You could do homework, read a book, or leave. Depending on where you live, I do not reccommend that you leave. This is because you may return to find that your clothes have a new owner. If you must take off, be sure to take your detergent, quarters, extra clothes and the laundry basket with you, as those tend to disappear as well. Consider also that laundromats can be loud places, so reading and studying may also be out of the question.
When it is time to dry your clothes, consider that many laundromat machines have been in service for quite a long time and most are not repaired that often. As a result, there are many dryers that do no such thing, instead tossing your clothes around for 40 minutes and returning them as wet as they were before. You might scout out the dryer scene to see which ones are being used and which aren't. This will save you time and quarters down the road. You might also consider which of your clothes might shrink and which might not when you throw them in a dryer.
Insert clothes in dryer, and start it going. You may have use several quarters depending on how much time a quarter buys you. You now have to repeat the part where you read, study, or leave.
Once everything is washed and dried, you're ready to head out. Don't leave anything behind since it will not be there when you come back.
Once back in your room, you may want to fold your clothes, but that's up to you. Enjoy another week of clean shirts, pants, and underwear.