Yesterday marked our first laundry day in Sweden, and while this may seem like a mundane task that’s not worth writing about (and it probably is for someone who has done something more exciting than making a good pot of soup in the last week) I quite enjoyed it. Let me tell you why.
First of all, we have a “sign-up” sort of board for the laundry room in the basement of our building. Everyone has a little knob that unlocks with a key, and you lock it in to the time slot and date that you want to do your laundry:
It sounded very silly at first–like adults can’t share a washing room unsupervised, but after thinking about it, I love this system! First of all, you don’t have to walk down all four flights of stairs to go find out if someone’s already using the washing machine in the first place. I also like that no one accidentally leaves a damp load in the washer all day, leaving you with the option of procrastinating laundry day or awkwardly touching someone else’s underwear. (This is made especially awkward if the person comes in while you’re in the process). With the language barrier I face here, I don’t think I’d be able to endure the embarrassment.
Apparently our building just got a couple of new washers which is pretty cool, especially considering the fact that I’m pretty sure they had some sort of air-lock doors which made me feel like I was doing laundry in space!
Next step: drying! We had the choice between a dryer that looked like it could dry ME in 3 minutes flat, and a “drying closet” which I was a bit too intimidated to try. To be honest, I was afraid I would somehow burn my clothes, or that the closet was a secret entrance into Narnia’s laundry room. I just moved to Sweden, I don’t need any other big adventures at the moment…
Of course, not everything about laundry in Sweden is wonderful. This, which I pass on my way through the basement, is where I can only assume that people are taken and killed during those long, dark winter nights.
On that note, have a happy laundry day!
