Friday, October 17th, 2008 by Nathan
Before entering college, I was one of those lucky individuals whose mother often did their laundry (by often I mean always). Upon entering college, there were so many exciting events occurring in my life that doing laundry was often neglected (by often I mean always). However, during my first year at Gustavus, after an impressive month long streak of not doing laundry, I was faced with the reality that I needed to take care of the growing mound of dirty clothes in my room.
The Gustavus laundry rooms are conveniently located in the basement of most residence halls. When I first was preparing to do laundry, I was very excited to learn that the laundry machines at Gustavus are free for on-campus students, which meant that I didn’t need to carry a handful of quarters with me to the laundry room.
My first laundry experience went very well. I am sad to report that I had forgotten what water temperature different types of clothes required upon entering the laundry room, but a helpful Gustie who was also doing laundry gave me the answer.
Aside from that initial forgetfulness, doing laundry at Gustavus has been a smooth experience. Unfortunately, certain times of the week are really busy in the laundry rooms, and this makes it difficult to find an open machine. However, if you time it right, finding an
open machine is very doable. Armed simply with your dirty clothes, some laundry detergent, and maybe some fabric softener sheets, a couple loads of laundry can be completed in a little over two hours.
Since my first year at Gustavus, I have done better at taking care of my laundry before it becomes a problem. Having accessible laundry rooms within each residence hall has allowed me to do laundry on a pretty regular basis and without too much hassle. This feature of the residence halls at Gustavus is one of the many aspects that I like about on-campus dorms. The recreational areas, study lounges, computer labs, televisions, and of course laundry rooms make Gustavus dorms a complete package. For more information about the many features of residence halls at Gustavus, follow this link.
While I often nostalgically remember the days before I had to do my own laundry, cleaning my own clothes at Gustavus has been easy to do, and a surprisingly liberating experience.
