Amherstburg no longer has a laundromat. Imagine! The Amherstburg Laundromat has been a fixture for as long as I’ve out here and that’s close to a quarter century. And the mister says it been in operation for as long as he can remember and that goes back quite a ways longer than a quarter century. Then in February, it just up and closed. Up and closed, I tell ya!
As soon as the sign went up warning patrons of the impending closure, the two of us had to have an urgent talk. See, Pa is in charge of laundry. Every Thursday like clockwork, he’ll announce, “Alright now Ma, get your knickers t’gether, cuz I’m takin’ a load downtown.” I never dally when he says this as I don’t have that many knickers to begin with – everyday knickers and my Sunday-goin-to-meetin’ knickers, but that’s about it. And the thought of running out is enough to give me the shivering sweats. Pa has suggested countless times, “Jest turn ’em inside out and you kin stretch ’em out to two whole weeks, like I do,” but hillbilly though I may be, there are certain lines even I won’t cross!
So then what? Do we add in the cost of the drive to the nearest laundry establishment every week? Do we haul our knickers down to the river and pound them on a rock? (As if the neighbours don’t talk about us enough already!) Or do we bite the bullet and buy a washer/dryer? We decided we’d go with the latter if we could eventually get our weekly outlay to less than $8, which is what it cost us (minimum) to use the laundromat.
Yowza! Turns out with these new fangled energy efficient washing machines, the yearly cost averages about $13! Well. Alright then. We were sold. But when the good people at Sears tried to throw in an extended warranty, we balked until they told us that if we never use the warranty, we get every cent back in store credit. Okie dokie, artichokie – sign us up!
It’s been lovely every since! Everything is humming along nicely and Pa doesn’t have to worry about making the trip in bad weather as it rarely snows in our basement.
