What $40 and a Basket of Dirty Laundry Taught Me

June 03, 2011

A while back I had the opportunity to do what most college kids and moms with extra-large comforters find themselves doing. I was a frequent-flyer member of my local laundromat.

I was in the process of having a laundry room put in at my house. Great news, except that instead of having the convenience of working from my desk while my laundry churned away, I was going to have to haul my laundry elsewhere. No problem, I thought. I will tough it out. The project was set to be completed in 2-3 months’ time.

Five months later, (there’s a thing called Contractors Standard Time that I still haven’t mastered) I was still standing in the laundromat, watching my clothes spin in a machine with rationed water supply (I swear it was deliberately set at an incredibly low level so that you have to do more loads!), kids running about, defying their parents to correct them in public, the college kids looking at me like, “Dude, what’s with the dress shirts in the basket?” I built up my biceps hauling my 50 plus pounds of laundry, but other than a good workout, I was not seeing the benefit of this laundromat-induced fitness plan at all.

At last, my laundry room was completed. I called my friends and family, beaming about my new set-up, so excited to tackle the mountain of laundry I had decided would wait until the happy day! It was one of the most fulfilling days of my recent history. My clean laundry, done with plenty of water and a sufficiently hot dryer, folded before the wrinkles set in. I had a feeling inside I didn’t think I’d expect. It was contentment.

Contentment. What did it take to make me content that day? To most people, it would seem very little. After all, a washer and dryer isn’t much to expect in today’s times. But somehow, that life lesson in the laundromat helped reset my “contentment button.” I was thankful. For the little things.

In today’s world, many of us are going through the school of lack. Just a few years ago, the thought of going without a washer and dryer may have been even more surprising than today. We dare not assume that we all have the basics anymore. Maybe the “financial basics” of an emergency savings account with 6 months or more of expenses or a pension that can be counted on to provide retirement income are a thing of the past. On the outside, it looks like there is nothing to be gained from such a lesson. But, let’s look at it this way. When the road turns and things improve, will we find ourselves more content with the restoration of what we previously had? Will we be more content than we would have been if what we had simply would have increased? Do we humbly realize that a period of lack followed by gain is more appreciated than continued gain? Do we grow as people? Does our new found contentment make us more compassionate towards others or perhaps more charitable in good times?

Well, one thing I have learned from my trips to the laundromat – I know that if my neighbor needs to do their laundry, I am opening my laundry room doors wide open.