Laundry Woes

AKA: Why I miss having my own washer/dryer.

AKA: A post of complaints.

In the form of a letter.

Dear neighbor who always takes my things out of the washer/dryer minutes before I come to do it myself,

I recall one day when we were in the laundry room at the same time (you might recall, you were taking my stuff out of the dryer the moment it finished its last spin, right as I came down to remove it myself and take it home) you mentioned that you had recently moved from a place with your own washer and dryer. Well, you know what? Now you share. So you need to learn a few things.

Let's just use today's experience as an example. When you were taking your things out of the dryer and putting your last 2 loads in the washer, you saw me bring my large bag of laundry into the laundry room. I was able to put 1 load in the washer you were not using, but there were still many clothes left in my bag. This should have been your first clue that someone would be waiting for you to finish your laundry to use the machines.

But no, when the washers were finished, you did not come. And so I waited. And I waited. And when you still did not come, I moved your laundry to the dryers, but did not start the dryers in case you wanted to hang dry or dry on low. And I proceeded to use the washers for the rest of my laundry. When I came down to switch my laundry to the dryers, you still had not come, so your wet clothes were still in the dryers where I put them - at this point over an hour after your washers had stopped. So I moved them to the side table and used the dryers myself. I mean, who knows when you will show up to start the dryers since you haven't shown up in an hour. I shouldn't have to wait... So I put mine in - 3 full loads, one in each dryer. They did not start all at the same time because I only have 2 hands, but fairly close together.

So then why, when all dryers were on timed cycles, were 2 of my loads removed from the dryers when I returned when the 3rd load had 20 minutes left of the cycle? I actually came down early because I knew your track record of removing clothes from dryers... When you don't come down to change your laundry for hours then you have no right to remove my clothes before the cycle is over. And honestly, even if the cycle was over, the clothes were still warm - can't you wait 5 minutes for me to come down? Unlike you, some people actually keep track of the time and know when their laundry is ready. Although, I really appreciate the lint and dust that my formerly clean clothes have on them now since you had to take them out and put them on top of the dryers.

So overall lesson: yes, some clothes need to be removed because dumbasses like you forget to retrieve their laundry within a reasonable amount of time. But no, that does not mean you assume that everyone will leave their laundry indefinitely, therefore allowing you to remove other people's laundry without a reasonable passing of time. One good cue? When the clothes are still hot - the dryer probably just finished. Give your neighbors some time to freaking walk down the stairs. And under no circumstances is it ever ok to end someone's dryer early to remove their clothes - even if the clothes are dry. That is just rude.

Sincerely,

Your responsible laundry room sharing neighbor