Monday 11 November 2013

A Household Catchup

This weekend I've been catching up with some household chores and as it was filthy wet outside for most of Saturday, I didn't mind one bit.  Our bathroom was in dire need of a thorough clean so that was the first job of the day on Saturday morning, after emptying the dishwasher, sorting a bit of washing and putting a machine load of towels on to wash.

I decided that as I was nearly completely out of clean towels, I would take them all up to the launderette on the corner of the next street to dry them, as there just wasn't the space at home to hang them all out.  It was very busy in the launderette with lots of people needing the dryers.   The staff in there seemed to have a whole mound of service washes to do too. 

It is a very rare occurrence for me to go in, but sometimes needs must, as we don't own a tumble dryer and it is very conveniently located for us, although I did take the car as it was raining.  I popped the towels in the spinner first to reduce drying time and then they had a couple of pounds worth of time in the dryer and they were all done within an hour.  It cost £2.40 in total, which I know could be argued to be an unnecessary expense, but sometimes it is worth paying, simply for the convenience and to help empty the laundry basket.  In the meantime, I sat and read my book which I'm thoroughly enjoying. 

Visiting the launderette in Winter, especially on a Saturday, brings to mind how many a rainy Saturday afternoon was whiled away in one when I was young, as I used to go there every week in the autumn/winter with my mum to dry the washing. (In summer it would all be line dried).   As she worked full time and had three children, a top loading machine with attached mangle, plus a separate spin dryer, for much of our childhood, she didn't have time the to do the washing during the week.  Initially she used to spend Saturdays at home with piles of washing all over the kitchen floor until they'd all been done and then eventually, when we got the front loading machine she would wash it in that and then take it to the launderette to dry.  We'd then go and visit my Nana afterwards who lived nearby.  It was a lot less expensive in those days, although probably comparable to today's prices.

Anyhow, I digress, I now have lots of lovely soft, fluffy, clean towels in my ironing basket which is a rare treat.  The launderette treatment has really fluffed them up nicely and they feel like new.

When I got home I treated myself to a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea and read the weekend papers.  What's the saying, all work and no play.

The rest of Saturday was spent reading a few blog posts, doing a bit of sewing, taking the dog for a walk and then cooking a pasta bake for tea before my usual of settling in front of the TV to watch Strictly.

4 comments:

  1. I was just talking to mum about twin tubs & explaining to Jess what they were - oh how time consuming they were ! Mum said they were as blessing at the time after years of hand washing terry nappies.

    We used laundries a lot when I was young.

    I used to take our clothes to a laundry in Spain then dry everything in the sun on the terrace.

    Didn't get much done - too wet to rake leaves & no desire to sort & clean. Had a lovely walk though & lingered on the beach for a while.

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    1. It makes you realise how much we take for granted nowadays that technology has improved.

      My mum would have loved my super duper steam iron, it would certainly have cut down her ironing time.

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  2. I love washing but hate the drying bit. As there are only the 2 of us it's amazing how much washing I do but I did buy some liquid type stuff at the weekend as I thought I could do a handwash and dry stuff off int he airing cupboard and towel rail/radiator in the bathroom. We'll see how it goes. Must admit I would love to run a little launderette with ironing service etc.....trouble is I hate ironing! lol!

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    1. It would be a good way to keep warm in the winter as they are always lovely and roasty when the dryers and steam iron are in constant use.

      Maybe you could get someone else to do the ironing bit.

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