The Business of Being Clean

New Yorkers love laundry. Or, rather, they hate it, and will pay top dollar to have other people take care of it for them.

Case in point:
-the frequency of dry cleaners (even exceeding the Starbucks per mile ratio)
-the advertisements at laundromats that they will do your laundry for you, charging by the pound
-the existence of vans canvassing the city that pick up and drop off your laundry at your doorstep

Laundry can be time-consuming, laborious, and, at times, stressful. Anyone who has ever had a dark color bleed all over your whites, or a fuzzy blanket explode with lint all over your jeans, knows how much of a hassle it can be.

However, with the exception of that rare silk/fine fabric/dry clean only clothing item in your closet, it really IS possible to do your own laundry, even when you have a busy schedule. I'm all for supporting local businesses, but I do think the average New Yorker's usage of external providers for laundry is excessive.

Here's my compromise: 

• Dry cleans the items that must be dry cleaned.   
• Set aside a few times a month (or less, depending on how many pairs of underwear you own), and do all of your laundry in one concerted effort.
• Expert Tip: Do your laundry at an off time, i.e. on a Saturday night or Tuesday morning. All of the machines will be available and you won't have to wait between cycles.
• Don't give your regular, run-of-the-mill laundry to other people to wash, especially your unmentionables. It means that other people will be touching them, and while your panties may be clean after laundering, the hands folding them may not be. Just think about it.