Laundry Day Lessons: Insights from the Laundromat
There is a German saying I learned in my High School German class:
“Wer den Kopf nicht benutzt, muss die Füße benutzen.”
(If you don’t use your head, you must use your feet.)
Today, my feet got an excellent education.
Laundry day has become one of those modern challenges I did not expect to need to relearn. At home, one develops habits so strong they feel like instinct. At the laundromat, however, those instincts politely step aside and say, “You’re on your own.”
My lessons today included several:
First, always check the car before you leave the car. There is nothing quite like getting everything sorted and ready, only to realize your soap and softener are still sitting patiently in the back seat, waiting for your return.
Second, machines do not remember you. No matter how certain you are that you “just learned this last time,” the buttons will greet you as strangers. There is a moment of quiet negotiation: Now which one did I press…?
Third, dryer sheets must go in before the dryer begins its work. This seems obvious—until the door locks and you discover that laundromat dryers are not as forgiving as the one at home.
Fourth, the art of folding and packing is not a small thing. There is a strategy to it—how to sort, arrange, and stack so that clothes arrive home with dignity rather than defeat. I am still working on this one.
Fifth—and perhaps most dramatically—engage the brakes on my personal laundry cart.
I did not. That meant the cart, lighter than I expected and far more determined than I was, made a swift and confident escape down the slight incline of the parking lot. It was way faster than I am, so for safety’s sake I stopped chasing it. Fortunately, it curved toward a lower divider, struck it, and tipped over—empty, but triumphant in spirit. It was far enough away I used my car down to retrieve it.
And, finally, in my car after the great cart escape, I realized I had left my soap and dryer sheets behind. Once more, using my feet, I had to make up for what my head had overlooked.
The unexpected benefit of all this.
I did not need to go to the mall for my steps today. Between the laundromat, the parking lot trips, and the stairs at home, I exceeded my usual total.
So yes, the saying holds true.
But sometimes, using your feet is simply part of learning something new. And if you can laugh while you are doing it, then the lesson has already been worth it, especially when they make us laugh.
