Life in the Laundromat

As a child, I always wondered why people on TV needed to use the laundromat. I thought that everyone had a washing machine and/or dryer at home? Or they could hang their clothes on the clothesline... cos you know eerr, everyone had a backyard. Well I'm now in the real world kiddies, and nope not everyone does. This is especially common with the cramped living options available in London. Prior to living here, I'd never seen a clothes washing machine in a kitchen but here, it's a common sight.

Our current apartment in London doesn't have a combination washing machine/tumble dryer :( and most of the time, it's not an issue. But it's now in the dead of Winter and we need dry bedsheets. It's too cold to have the windows open to help evaporate the wetness and it's just plain inefficient (not to mention drying on the skin) to have the heater on constantly.

The next option? Find a laundromat!

It was a bit difficult to find one nearby as where we live is not densely residential but luckily over the bridge is a small ghetto. *looks side to side* Yep, the home of our closest laundromat. Also nearby is the tube station where Smee's friend got mugged. Nice....

Forget the glamour and glitz (really?) of those American TV shows where people hang out in the laundromat and meet hot chicks.

Oh and forget about it being spick and span. Broken floor tiles and suspect characters are what you will find. But hey, we desperately needed dry bedsheets and I absolutely can not stand the smell of musty, mouldy clothes.

I took my knitting with me to make the time go faster and Smee took his laptop and did some work.

I was pretty pleased to find the place empty and we could have our choice of machine. Also, most people tend to drop off their belongings, go somewhere and then come back.

Operating instructions. Pretty simple.


Me and Smee re-creating a laundromat romance scene.


Me folding up the clothes. Looking very much like I'm doing laundry duty at jail.

Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do.