Laundry Day

Today Is Laundry Day

"It's better to have loved and lost than to have to do forty pounds of laundry a week." 

... Laurence J. Peter

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry." 

... E. B. White 

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Going To "Hollywood" For Clean Laundry

Yesterday it couldn't be put off any longer - I was forced to go to the laundromat and wash clothes. I could no longer afford to purchase clean undergarments, and my "previously worn" work clothes were becoming "obviously worn and not washed" clothes. So I piled up all my crap into my Queens Housewife Laundry Cart (see below) and went around the corner to the laundromat.

Well, lo and behold, they spruced up the joint since the last time I was there. They even changed the name to the "Hollywood Laundromat". Their new motto: "We have a DRYER sense of humor". Oy.

Apparently this "dry" humor translates into a Hollywood Walk Of Fame (WASH of Fame??). Each machine has a clever (???) laundry-related name - Soaprah Winfrey, Kate Rinslett, David Washitoff, etc.

But my favorite was George Cleany ... [[insert "George took care of my LOAD like a pro" pun here]].

Laundry Day

I set a new personal record at the laundromat today: 3 triple-loaders and 4 double-loaders of laundry! My poor red laundry cart practically got a hernia lugging around all that weight. And let me tell you - it cost me a fortune! If I still lived in Hell's Kitchen, I could have singlehandedly prevented at least one of the laundromats from going out of business.

Sad Fun Fact: I STILL have dirty clothes as well as a ton of bedding, rugs, etc, that need to be washed. FML...

I Left Just In Time

When I moved onto 9th Avenue and 53rd Street on Manhattan's West Side 16 years ago, "Hell's Kitchen" was a typical working-class neighborhood. There were hardware stores, delis, grocery stores and laundromats. It had been inhabited by Irish and Puerto Ricans (think "West Side Story") since the days when Hell's Kitchen was a crime-ridden pit next to crime-ridden Times Square. There was only one gay bar (the neighborhood hadn't been discovered by The Gays yet), only one fast food restaurant (McDonald's), and no Starbucks.

But things changed rapidly. As Times Square became sanitized for the masses, so did Hell's Kitchen. Real estate developers started buying up lots and building condos. Working-class people could no longer pay the rising rents and moved out. Hardware stores became frat-boy bars. The greasy-spoon diner on my corner became an upscale restaurant called "eatery" (no capital letters). The grocery stores disappeared and became banks. Corner bodegas and cheap ethnic restaurants became high-end boutiques and specialty eateries - including one that serves nothing but fancy grilled cheese sandwiches. Seriously (below).

But the thing I most noticed was that the neighborhood's laundromats kept disappearing, one-by-one. Even with the new condos, Hell's Kitchen is still primarily a neighborhood of 5-floor walk-up tenement buildings. And most of those buildings don't have laundry facilities - so you have to either send your laundry out or do it yourself at a laundromat. But it takes A LOT of quarters for a laundromat to pay Hell's Kitchen rents these days. And wine and cheese bars bring in a lot more money and thus can pay a lot more in rent ...

Yesterday's New York Post did a story on how the last two laundromats on my stretch of 9th Avenue recently closed due to rising rents. The one pictured below was directly across the street from my apartment. I spent countless hours sitting on that small, sturdy, blue bench (bottom right corner) reading newspapers and waiting for my clothes to dry.

The other one was two blocks away and was fantastic - with plenty of space, great people-watching and even internet access. And now it's closed and rumored to be turning into another bank...

If I lived in Hell's Kitchen now, I have no idea where I'd do my laundry - but it certainly wouldn't be across the street.

My new neighborhood, Astoria (Queens), reminds me of Hell's Kitchen from the early 90's - mom and pop stores, bodegas and plenty of laundromats. Like the Hell's Kitchen of before, Astoria is diverse, working class and affordable. But the winds of change are blowing ... on my block alone, FOUR new condo buildings have gone up in the past 1 1/2 years. It is becoming less ethnically diverse and more white. And, yes, there is now a wine bar on my block.

I'm doomed. But at least, for now, I have clean clothes.

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Laundry Day

Yesterday I finally did laundry (my underwear situation was getting critical) - and Miss Dusty discovered that warm jeans left in the laundry bag is a great place for a nap. Smart kitty...

Laundry Time

Broadway Boy Charlie Williams

I've been putting off the trip to the Laundromat all weekend, but clean underwear cannot be postponed any longer. Ugh...

Just Call Me "Edith Bunker"

Over the weekend I felt good enough to get some laundry done - so I packed up my new red laundry cart and went to the laundromat.  In other words, I have officially become a middle-aged lady from Queens.

My cart, by the way, is awesome.  It has a huge compartment in the front to hold my laundry/groceries/whatever and a smaller compartment in the back for my purse and a cocktail.  Oh, and there's even room for a kitty...

Now I need a name for my new wheels - any suggestions??