Broke Urban Lawyer Does Laundry

You know that old saying "Don't air your dirty laundry in public"? Well, I'm airing mine, metaphorically speaking.

Laundry makes me feel like Sisyphus. Just when I get it all washed, something else gets dirtied up. And don't get me started on ironing, folding, and putting it all away. Sometimes I live out of laundry baskets full of clean clothes. I have some organic anti-wrinkle spray I use to get the wrinkles out while I shower. (It's like the kind you can buy from a major fabric softener manufacturer, but it's made of all natural ingredients, so there are no fake stenches to pollute the air.)

My apartment has a 1/3 size washer but no dryer, so laundry is a lengthy task. I wash my clothes and then hang them to dry. I live in the desert, so drying is fairly speedy, but it still takes up space and requires planning. For larger items or when I get backed up, I go to the laundromat, where I can get everything done in two hours.

This past month, I got pummeled with deadlines all at once and spent three weeks working 16 hour days. By the end of it all, I was left with only gym clothes and pajamas, and I was too exhausted (and busy) to spend two hours at the laundromat. I decided to use the local wash and fold.

I felt like it was a decadent expenditure - I viewed outsourcing housework as something reserved for the rich. And I'm definitely not rich!

I got over my guilt (and my awkwardness about the thought of someone else laundering my underthings) and dropped my clothes off on my way home from work. The kind older gentleman who owns the laundry was very helpful, and when I asked about unscented detergent, he assured me that he only uses unscented because he washes the laundry for the hospital as well.

My laundry was ready the next day after work, and it was all pressed and folded. I put it away in about 10 minutes.

Cost comparison breakdown:

• Doing laundry in my apartment: Cost - free (my water is included in my rent, and the electricity from the washer is negligible). Time - 6 hours
• Doing laundry at the laundromat: Cost - $8. Time - 2 hours
• Sending my laundry out: Cost $27. Time - 15 minutes

The cost difference between the laundromat and sending out my laundry comes out to about $9.50/hr, plus, I don't have to fold or iron. I may be grossly underpaid, but I make considerably more than $9.50/hr.

I went into this thinking I couldn't afford to send out my laundry. Now I've realized that when things get into crunch time, I can't afford not to send out my laundry.

I'll still probably do most of it myself, especially because I can be doing other things while my little washer that could spins away in my apartment. But when I get swamped with deadlines and the choice is between billing another hour or washing my clothes, I'll bill the extra hour and pay someone else to do the laundry. I'm helping a small business owner and relieving myself of the burden of a household chore that never ends.

Does anyone know if I can send my dishes out to be washed? :-)