Off to the cleaners

I'm not the best housekeeper.  My apartment is cluttered, but it is reasonably clean (defined as no odd smells or critters).  And I don't change my sheets as often as some people (of course they don't get much use consider the amount of time I spend on hotel sheets so it's okay).  But occasionally I get it in my head to actually clean something.  This year it was the bedding.

It started with the pillows.  I haven't been happy with my pillows for several years.  For a long time I had a stack of three that worked really well, but I had to get rid of them.  I think the oldest was about 25 years old.  The others were much newer -- only 10-20 years old.  But eventually, they had to go.  I've bought additional pillows here and there, but never got quite the right combination.  

So it was time to reboot.

I bought all new pillows to start from scratch, but they're still in their packaging.  I decided I needed new pillow protector things and new pillow cases, since I was getting new pillows.

That led to sheets.  As long as I'm getting pillow cases, why not replace the sheets, too?  That's now on order.

And why not throw a new mattress pad into the mix, too?  Cleaning the existing one typically meant soaking it in Oxyclean in the bathtub for a day before prying it into the washing machine.

I'm also been told I need to get a bed skirt now.  I guess that makes it easier to hide stuff under the bed.  That's also on the way.

All this new stuff brings me to this: Blankets. Lots of blankets. And comforter covers.  Some new blankets and some that I had as a baby.  Most are somewhere in between.

I have a washer and dryer in my apartment, but a single throw really tests the limits of its capacity.  I've struggled to squeeze in king size blankets in the past, and then tried to dry them, with middling success. I was able to convince myself I successfully washed them.

Over the weekend, I finally did it right.  I hauled them all to an actual laundromat.  It's the first time I stepped in one in over 13 years.  Fortunately, the attendant took pity on me and helped me with my machine choice.

3 Industrial 40 pound washing machines, 6 dryers, and about 100 quarters later, I know have the cleanest blankets I've had in years.

If there's a moral to this story, it's this.  If you need to do laundry in Seattle, head over to Transformation-Surprise Laundromat.  The place was clean.  The attendant was friendly.  The machine all worked.  The other customers were pleasant.  It was one of the nicest laundromats I've been in, and even has glowing Yelp reviews.  They have some spiritual or religious connection that I'm not familiar with, and maybe that's why it's such a nice place. Check it out if you need one.

Now I'm just waiting for the new sheets to arrive so I can use my freshly cleaned blankets.  I'm sure that's the day my next road trip will begin.