Laundry Day!

Laundry day has meant different things for us at different times. In the states it meant sorting piles and loading machines, waiting, folding...etc, simple enough. Here in Mexico it now means something quite different. When we first arrived, we took happy advantage of the closest Lavanderia, where you drop off your bagged laundry, it is weighed and you pay per kilo for the "lovely laundry lady", as we will call her, to wash/dry/fold everything, ready the next day for pick up, snugly packed away in a clear plastic bag. This was a welcomed service for us as we were new to everything here and having someone else do all the laundry seemed like a dream! We became quite the laundry snobs and found ourselves complaining that we actually had to put away these pre-folded items once home...can you imagine, we should be ashamed of ourselves!

Oh how the tables have turned....see, we have since been endeavoring to find creative ways to pinch pesos here and there and laundry service came up on the chopping block. Mike was reluctant to let me do our laundry myself...he is quite good to me that way, but I insisted on giving it a try to save the money...the paid service adds up and I felt it was worth considering.

Typical Yucatecan laundry sink, right side has ridges in base

OK, so I am going to do our laundry..."what's the big deal?" you may ask. Well, we don't have a washing machine, did I forget to mention that? But don't worry, we have a typical Yucatecan laundry sink instead, much more authentic than Whirlpool.  Notice the built in wash board, those natives are really clever! Yes, I began the chore of soaking, scrubbing and wringing by hand each and every item of laundry...and guess what? I really enjoyed it. Our sink is located on the second floor, outside, in a shady and breezy part of the house. The roof where we hang clothes to dry is just a few steps away, very convenient. I had the time to devote to this money saving endeavor and after a short while became quite proficient and faster.

But let me mention one setback. When this process first began, Mike went to the Dinosusa, a local small grocery store a few blocks away, for some laundry soap. I had started to use some powder soap, but without much success. He returns with a cute bottle of sweet smelling liquid with only Spanish writing on the bottle. I began the process of hand washing, and for two full weeks used this product. At one point I ran out and sent him back for a second cute little bottle. As the second bottle ran low, I decided this was working well enough and I would like to fully commit to hand washing and buy a really big bottle of detergent. So on our next trip to Walmart we found ourselves in the laundry aisle, quite overwhelming may I add...many things look familiar, but who really knows. I turn to realize there is a whole other section of bottles to choose from and what do I see? The fabric softener aisle!!! Yes, it was then that we both realized the cute little bottles we originally started washing with were in fact FABRIC SOFTENER!! I almost screamed right there in the Walmart, we both laughed our heads off, and then I wondered how clean were our clothes really? Oh well! What are you gonna do? Lesson learned, stick to the big bottles and make sure they say the right stuff. Now we are much better at label reading. And we smell better too!

Laundry area, I put the tumbler
right in the sink now.

One day I was remembering an infomercial offering a portable laundry tumbler...to do laundry on your kitchen counter by hand, fill, tumble, still hand wring, but no more scrubbing of every garment. So I researched it an ordered one online to be sent to FL, we brought it back with us after our visit. I have since been "tumbling" the clothes in small batches, it saves a lot of time and elbow grease. I no longer use the wash board, but still do the washing upstairs by the laundry sink, it is a good place to make a mess with all the water. Hanging clothes to dry is something I have truly come to love. I hope I can always do this, where ever we live. The second story roof is perfect. Between the heat and the constant stiff breeze at that elevation, the clothes dry in no time and the breeze pulls on the clothes just enough to remove any wrinkles.

breezy roof top

We may get a washing machine one day...and if we do, I would not mind. As much as I enjoy the physical process, it is tiring in this heat and I could use the time on other things. But for now, I am embracing the experience.