Our laundry room is adjacent to the garage. And the garage has been construction central for the past two months. With the garage full of sand and gravel as well as roof tiles and other tools, the laundry room became the lunchroom for the guys working here.

They are now gone but the painter is using the garage for his ladders, paint, and tarps. We spent a couple of hours and cleaned it up but it really needs more than just cleaning. New tile on the counter, a new sink, further scrubbing on the floor and paint would make it a place you'd dare to walk through with clean clothes.

So we are still taking our laundry to the lavanderia. I usually take a couple of bags of laundry to the lavanderia on Monday or Tuesday. If I take it early enough in the day I can pick it up the same day in the evening. That is the good part.

The bad part is that someone else is doing your laundry, and not the way you'd do it! Dirty rags and dog bedding is a pain. Sometimes our clothes come back with stains they didn't leave with.

I now pre-treat all stains and shirt collars, etc. with detergent. I also button all shirt buttons and zip and button pants. This has helped with little wrinkled bits that I think are where the cloth gets stuck in the machinery.

I have thought about finding a different place, but this family is the lavanderia for our neighborhood, and I really do like them. It's a hard job, especially when it is hot and humid. So I will take my laundry there until we get our laundry room squared away...and I really do look forward to that day.