Since moving in together we have never had access to a washer/dryer unit in our home. Whether it was in an apartment or our tiny trailer home, we have been going to laundromats to do laundry.

When we lived in apartments we talked about the day we could own a laundry machine. Now that we live in a tiny home we realized that the laundromat life is just a part of us now.

Even if you have the space for laundry units, there are still benefits of going to laundromats. The laundromat might not be as bad as you think as there are some easy ways to make it better.

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Benefits of Going to Laundromats

Meet New People

Do you live on the road like us or did you just move? It can be hard not to know anyone where you live. Going to the laundromat lets you meet new people and maybe make some friends.

You are sitting there for a while letting your clothes wash and dry so it gives plenty of time to socialize. When we did our laundry down the street from our RV park, we met a lot of our neighbors who then helped us with mail while we were away.

Less Time

Thanks to the heavy-duty equipment at laundromats, you can do double or even triple the amount in one load. For us, we only do laundry one day a week. That will usually include our clothes, towels, and bedding.

In one washer/dryer, this could take hours and probably 2-3 loads. Going to the laundromat saves us time and energy because we can use the big commercial washers and dryers and get everything into one load. What would take us 3-4 hours might take us only an hour and a half.

No big Purchases

If you have to buy a washer/dryer to put in your house or apartment, that can cost you anywhere from $500 if you buy secondhand (which we always suggest) to $2500 for the top of the line stuff! That's a chunk of change spent all at once.

If you don't have the finances to make a big purchase the small cost every week is more manageable. Plus you never have to worry about taking money from your savings if a costly repair comes up.

One Less Item to Store

Since we are minimalists we are always trying to have less in our homes. Having a big washer and/or dryer takes up a lot of space.

Even if you try to downsize and get smaller units it still needs some amount of space and somewhere by hook-ups. Plus the smaller the unit the more loads you have to do.

Tips for Making Laundromats Better

Run Errands

Going somewhere to do laundry gets you out of the house and lets you explore. We have dropped our laundry off and gone for runs, talked to people or went for a bite to eat. It's just easier when you are forced out of the house to tackle some errands.

We typically only leave our clothes unattended while it's washing since the doors lock until it is finished. During the drying time, we stay nearby to keep an eye on our clothes.

Bring Work

We try to be as efficient with our time as possible. When we go to the laundromat we don't just sit there.

While our clothes are drying we try to catch up on work or bills, basically anything that needs to get done. Some laundromats have WiFi and even tables to use.

We always travel with our smartphones making it even easier to get other tasks accomplished.  We can hotspot our phone for WiFi or skip the computer and just do tasks easy to complete from our phone.

Find Cool Laundromats

Some towns only have the typical laundromats but it's always a good idea to at least check what is around you. Some laundromats have a better set up for doing work or a play area for kids.

The COOLEST laundromat award goes to Spin Laundry Lounge in Portland. They have a fully stocked bar, cafe, lounge area, and an arcade!

One Last Thing...

No matter where you plan on doing your laundry use our DIY powder laundry detergent. It's easy to make, has fewer chemicals, and is more eco-friendly. Check out our DIY powder laundry detergent recipe here!

We have been forced to use laundromats but we see the advantages of using a laundromat. It gets us out of the house, it saves us from that big upfront cost and the difficulty of moving a huge washer/dryer everywhere we go.

If you already own a washer/dryer, don’t give it away just yet but consider visiting one sometime just to see how you like it. Or you can simplify your at-home washing/drying by skipping the dryer and hang drying all your clothes like we used to do back in Santa Fe.