By: Morgan Jacobus, Editor in Chief
College presents many challenges to incoming students: learning how to live on your own, being away from home, adjusting to the new rigor of college classes, possibly trying to pay for college… the list goes on. However, it has become apparent to me that for some people, having to do their own laundry is also a struggle.
For me, my mama taught me how to do laundry well before I was in college. I realize that not everyone learned how to do laundry, or perhaps they are not used to having to share laundry machines. However, your actions and behavior in the laundry rooms do not only affect you.
It’s story time folks. As a sophomore in college, this is my second year living and doing laundry on campus, and thus not my first time dealing with the various annoyances associated with sharing a laundry room with an entire building of students. However, recently I reached a new level of frustration.
When I do laundry, I try not to move someone’s load out the moment it is done. I respectfully wait a few minutes to allow them time to retrieve their load. However, one fateful day, I walked into the laundry room with my sheets, and I noticed that many of the machines were currently in use, so I looked to see how long was left on the machines to decide if I should wait or if I should just do laundry another night.
To my surprise, two machines were done, and one was almost done. So, I decided to wait for someone to move their laundry so I could use a machine. I also noticed that there were two dryers that were done, but with clothes still in them, and one that was almost done.
5 minutes pass.
Then it is almost 10 minutes.
At this point, three washers are done, and three dryers are done. I decide to go grab a pack of sticky notes and move one of the dryers’ contents out and put a washer’s load in so that I could finally start my laundry. I left a note that read, “I waited 10 minutes. Your load is in dryer 8. Please set a timer next time.”
There were six machines that were done, with no one in sight to retrieve them. That means that there were either six egocentric people who neglected to set timers, or a smaller number of people who thought themselves entitled to multiple machines at once.
We all have to do laundry, it is a fact of life, especially if you are living on campus. I try to be as courteous as possible. Unless most machines are open, I only do one load at a time, and I set a timer so that I do not leave my laundry in there for prolonged periods of time. I do not think it is right to take someone’s laundry out as soon as it is done, because I do not want some stranger handling my laundry, whether it is clean or dirty. So, while it is respectful to wait, it is discourteous to force someone to wait over 10 minutes for you to move your laundry. This is what iPhone timers and alarms are for, y’all.
Additionally, if you are leaving your laundry in the washer, it is sitting in the water it was washed with, and thus is no longer clean. Thus you are not only being rude to everyone else who needs to do laundry, but you are also not doing it correctly.
Although my issue with laundry room conduct doesn’t focus on the cleanliness of the laundry rooms, it is important that we collectively respect the space. Why? Well, in the archives of the Highlander, there was an issue in 2007 that featured an article detailing how laundry was no longer going to be free because of “students abusing privileges.” If it happened once before, it could very well happen again.
I understand if you are new to doing laundry, however, as I have stated before, you are not the only one who does laundry. Call your mom, have a friend help you, look it up online… FIGURE. IT. OUT.
You’re in college, an adult now, so please start acting like it. Set a timer and take your clothes out of the limited machines so that the rest of us who actually know how to function as adults can do our own laundry.