Laundry… Every college student’s nightmare.
It’s definitely my nightmare, at least. With a jam-packed schedule, I’m already scrambling to find enough time to study, get to the dining hall, and see my friends. Laundry automatically becomes my last priority, as I reassure myself that I’ll have plenty of other clothes to wear for the week.
This is the mindset that never fails to come back and haunt me.
Before I know it, my laundry bag is overflowing and the thought of even attempting laundry is horrifying. As a dorm resident specifically, the process can become so layered, complex, and frustrating. I’m here to unpack the common experience of doing laundry in the dorms, as well as what has helped me be more efficient in the process!
Finding time
When I was a freshman, my dorm building didn’t even have its own laundry room. Looking back on it, this is a wild concept to me, but this is what I had to work with.
With that being said, finding time to do laundry was exceptionally challenging, given that I had to quite literally go outside and travel to another building. If it was raining, snowing, or even a bit windy, doing my laundry was automatically out of the question.
Given these parameters, I had to set at least three to five hours during the day to complete this task, especially since I’d have multiple rounds of clothes to wash.
Whether your laundry room is in your building or across the quad, my best piece of advice is to look at your weekly calendar and see when you have a few hours in your schedule to get some laundry done. Things do come up that are much more important, but setting aside time every week is the key to success here.
You will thank your future self!
The horrors
If you live in a dorm in general, I think it’s safe to say we’ve seen it all. But specifically, let’s talk about the horrors of the laundry rooms.
I’ll set the scene for you: You have an overflowing bag of clothes and only a couple of hours until your next class. You gather your things to head downstairs to the laundry room. Once you arrive, you’re completely out of breath just to see that three out of eight washers are broken, every dryer is in use, and you’re standing in a puddle of soapy water filled with miscellaneous socks and lint.
Do you trek back to your room and let your clothes sit for another day? Do you sit in the singular chair in the corner waiting for an open machine? The questions are endless, and stress levels are high.
Sometimes it’s worth the wait, and other times it’s not. It all depends on your schedule and your amount of energy!
The Ideal hours
Despite there being endless difficulties to the laundry world, I’ve always had success with a quiet laundry room at very early hours of the day. Some weekends I will wake up by 7:00 a.m. and decide to do my laundry. At this hour, not a single machine will be in use, allowing me to use as many as I need without being disrespectful.
I recognize that this is not a super convenient time, as we are all exhausted college students who just want to sleep in when we can. But early mornings will certainly give you a peaceful laundry room, and sometimes it needs to get done!
Weekend afternoons and nights are surely the busiest, since most people usually have free time. I usually try to avoid it during these times so I don’t get stuck waiting for machines!
Conclusion
Aside from the various complaints I’ve made in this article, I truly am so grateful to have access to laundry facilities on campus and inside my building. In addition, on-campus laundry at UConn is completely free, which is not the case at most other colleges.
Doing laundry is a life skill that is to be learned at some point, and college is an ideal time for many of us to navigate it!