Laundromats are boring and you know that

[Gawdzillers]

To be fair to the parents, kids are irritating, and even an innocent question like "how much longer" can sound like a dentist's drill to a stressed-out parent. Louis CK can tell you (NSFW): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u2ZsoYWwJA

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I don't leave the house without "the bag". It stays packed at all times.

It contains all manner of portable amusement. If I KNOW I will need it, I bring a travel V-Tech or an iPod also.

I can't imagine going to a mind killing abyss such as a laudromat without bringing such. Hell, I can't imagine not bringing such for myself, even, much less a little kid.

[Whiskey]

I can't imagine going to a mind killing abyss such as a laudromat without bringing such. Hell, I can't imagine not bringing such for myself, even, much less a little kid.

I have a bag for me when I'm at the laundromat. Ipod, phone, homework, magazines, etc. I can't imagine a five year old expected to entertain themselves.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Hell, if I KNOW I'm going to be stuck somewhere, I bring a laptop and basically what amounts to a portable desk (writing stuff, research books, notes, papers, etc. )

I sat around while they fixed my car today working on a piece of artwork in Photoshop. I'm not gonna just sit there bored.

[Jack7957]

I do mine on Sunday, usually in the morning after my newspaper gets delivered. By time I'm done going through the paper (which I'll leave for others to read, except for the coupons) there's about 5-10 minutes left on my dryer.

[TelephoneAngel]

This just make me realise how lucky I am to have a washing machine in my house and can do the laundry any time I want without making a special journey and having to wait there.

However my exboyfriend and I about twenty years ago did not have a washing machine and had to drag bags of clothes to the laundry find change for the machines wait for it to finish it was all very boring.

Then they turned the laundry we used to use into a restaurant but we never ate there for fear of the food tasting of washing powder.

[RxBoy]

I used to live in a smaller town where one of the laundry mats was owned by a woman who always had an attendant there. They would actually come out and yell and children who played with the carts, and anyone who sat on the washers, etc. I remember too that if you left your laundry unattended they would remove it from the washer or dryer so that the next person waiting could use it.

[DeltaSierra]

There was a laundromat that I used to go to that was the LEAST boring place I'd ever been, and made me wish that I had the $ to open someplace similar. It had a food area that served drinks, hotdogs and a few other snacks, a pool and fooseball table, video games, and a movie area that showed kids cartoons/movies as well as a kid-style "interactive" table with trains, blocks, and TV's over by the washers/dryers for adults to watch the news or sports. etc. I thought it was brilliant.

[PepperElf]

kinda like when i went to walmart today. i picked up a book before checking out cos there were only 2 lanes open on side of the store i was on. so i read the book in the lane until it was my turn and then paid for it

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

Yes, it's the Sit 'n' Spin, located in beautiful Belltown, Seattle. The washers are gorgeous, but the place also has a juice bar, a real bar, tables, live music, and piles and piles of board games. No cover, and the wash costs the same.

Updated to say, WAHHH, the place is closed. As is half the stuff in Belltown, to accommodate the "elite." (Who don't have to touch their own laundry.)

[TelephoneAngel]

[B]
Updated to say, WAHHH, the place is closed. As is half the stuff in Belltown, to accommodate the "elite." (Who don't have to touch their own laundry.)

Shame that sounded awesome.

[mharbourgirl]

Not that I miss having to walk six blocks to do laundry in college, but the laundromat was pretty cool. Clean, lots of machines and they all worked. The best part was the cafe upstairs - decent coffee, lots of teas, baked snacks (cinnamon biscuits with cream cheese icing are to die for), and a board on the wall with indicators that lit up to show which machines were running and turned off when the machines were done. So I could go and study in relative peace and not hold up everyone else by forgetting how much time had passed. A pretty good idea for a 'mat in a heavy residential area near the universities.

[Andara Bledin]

Most of the laundromats around here are pretty shabby.

But there's one that doesn't use coins: It has a refillable cash card for use in the machines. And since it essentially works with a micropayment system, there are a lot of different options for what you do with your wash, and you don't have to worry about having exact change. Plus, the dryers work in smaller increments for the same reason.

There are four different sizes of washers, most of which are front-loaders, and I've yet to notice any of them not working when I've been in. And the place is very clean.

The only real issue is that you get barflies from the place next door wandering over and then arguing with the attendant when she won't let them hijack her chairs so they can sit outside to smoke 'cause they're too drunk to really stand up that long.

^-.-^

[MoonCat]

The one I use isn't too bad, you get a card that gets punched for each $1 you spend, when you fill the card you get money back (which I usually use for the dryer anyway, but it's like using the same money twice). I hate the damn TVs though. There are two, usually showing different programs, always some annoying loud shit. And there is a video game room but the parents never spring for the games, so their kids play with the carts or the doors. Yeah, the doors. They swing on the damn doors. The attendant does nothing.

One toddler actually went outside and was halfway to the (very high traffic) street before his brother caught him. Mom wasn't watching.

[greensinestro]

When I was single, I saw this almost every time I went to the laundromat. Sometimes, it seemed like it was a family outing when Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Uncle Albert, Aunt Ruth, etc. came in with Junior and Juniorette in tow. The latter two would always complain, misbehave, whatever. Sometimes I would wonder "Why don't they leave and take the kids to McDonald's or somewhere", right up until I saw how malicious people are at laundromats. If you don't tend to your laundry, some nasty person can come along and pull out your stuff, then do their own.