I’m doing my laundry

During the 70s and 80s, a standard reason (excuse?) for not doing something was ‘I am washing my hair then. My mother used to shampoo and set her hair once a week so I can maybe understand it. You don’t hear that anymore though.

In Sweden a totally acceptable reason for not doing something is ‘I’m doing my laundry then’ or ‘I have a laundry time’. Everyone completely understands and nods in sympathy. No one ever questions it because everyone has laundry.

This is probably a cultural thing, because Swedish women work. In all my years in Sweden and through all my friends, family, and clients I have never met a housewife. Women are expected to work, and men are expected to share childrearing and house chores. Someone women work part time (perhaps 75% of full time) to enable the puzzle to work, but still there are almost no housewives (less than 2% of the population)

Most apartments in Sweden have communal laundry rooms which can be booked in advance, electronically or on a board. These laundry rooms can be huge. Some of them serve 500 apartments. And they can be fully booked at ‘attractive’ times. If you are a family you have a lot of laundry. and only a few hours in which to do it.

The rules are pretty simple. You use a manual cylinder (the number on your cylinder corresponds to your apartment number) or electronic booking system to book one set of machines. In the case of manual booking cylinders, if someone has not taken their machines 30 minutes after the time they booked, anyone can use them. If you don’t want to book time, you can ‘park’ your cylinder at the bottom of the board. Our apartment switched from a manual to electronic system about two years ago.

Normally, one booking gives you access to two heavy-duty washers, one tumble drier, and one drying cupboard. You also have access to folding tables, ironing machines, spin driers, hand-washing sinks, and a heavy duty washer for things like duvets, carpets and sofa covers.

In our apartment building we have different laundry rooms for each ‘set’ of machines, and we have one spontaneous room that anyone can use if it is free. However, all the apartments also have washing machines, and I am lucky enough to have a combination washer-drier. Because there are only two of us, I wash every two or three days, hang to dry in the bathroom (we have a washline that you can lower and raise to the ceiling), and fold/iron the next day. I do sheets and towels once a week. I wash and dry the sheets because they are unwieldy. I love my machine

Newer apartment buildings are being built with no communal laundry room, and no basement/attic storage, allowing more space for apartments. Instead, you have your stackable washers and driers in the bathrooms, which can be quite difficult because bathrooms in Stockholm apartments are quite small to begin with.

All my South African friends and family have their washing machines in the kitchen, and line-dry their clothes. Do some countries find it strange that washers are sometimes in the kitchen?