There are some things in life that HAVE to be done, regardless of your lack of time, lack of motivation, lack of energy, or lack of funds. And one of those things is LAUNDRY. There is only so long you can wear that pair of jeans or sleep on those sheets before, well, they simply must be washed.
Now, I live a life of privilege,
and having access to a washer and dryer in my own home is proof of that. I can simply carry a basket of dirty clothes
to my basement, put a load in the washer, and go about my business. I am even privileged in the DETERGENT
category – I have a membership to a big box store, so I can buy a BIG box or
jug of detergent, saving me money.
But many, many Americans do
not have the same privileges that I do.
For lots of people, the laundromat is a way of life. So recently, for the second time, Kindness
Activist hit up a local laundromat to pay for some strangers’ laundry! And it was fun! We had one item that needed a big commercial washer
to clean (a duvet), so that was just the excuse we needed to go into a
laundromat and treat people to free cleaning.
We started by cashing a
$20 bill into quarters. Then we realized
we needed another $20 for this mission.
We were going for it!
Now, when we did this kind act last year in Arlington, Virginia, it was an interesting social experiment (link to that story at the bottom of this post). Several people that we approached declined our offer to pay for their laundry. Maybe it was our approach? Who knows. But I went into this mission in Ormond Beach, Florida steeled for a bit of rejection.
But honestly, not much
rejection happened!! People were surprised
and happy when we approached them and offered to pay for their laundry. We paid for a mom and daughter’s several
loads. We paid for 2 elderly women’s
drying (they had started their washers before we arrived). We paid for a young man’s drying (again, the
washing was going when we got there). We
paid for several loads a couple brought in.
And we had a good time!
Three people we met stood out.
1.
A man probably in his late 30s was loading up
his dryer. My partner David approached
him and explained what we were doing. He
said, “It’s ok, I’ve got it. Please use
that money for someone who needs it more than me”. After
he got his machine going, he walked over to us and gave us a $5 bill. “Here, get some more quarters so you can help
more people,” he told us. Heart. Melt.
2.
A woman had a big
basket full of dirty clothes and I approached and told her that the laundry was
free tonight. She couldn’t really
believe what was happening until I showed her the quarters… She was so delighted! After the washers were going, she came over
to talk with us. “I don’t want to be nosey… And if you don’t want to answer that’s
fine. But… Are you Jehovah’s Witnesses?” she asked
quietly. We explained that we were not, then
I asked her if she was, and she smiled and said yes. She thanked us several times and told us the
story of her car having trouble just today when she was driving across
town. She has an appointment to take it into
the shop tomorrow, so not having to spend money on clean clothes was perfect
timing.
3.
A man came in
with a backpack and bag full of dirty clothes.
From his appearance, I guessed he might be living on the street. David went up and explained that we were
paying for everyone’s laundry tonight. Boy
was he happy!!! He said he hadn’t been
able to wash clothes for 3 weeks because he didn’t have enough money. When David offered laundry detergent, he gladly
accepted it. “Oh great! I just have dish soap,” he said, “And really,
all that does is make bubbles…”. Once
his load was in, he set about doing all of the other things that a trip to the
laundromat could include, like charging his phone and using the bathroom. I saw him peek in a trash can and pull out an
empty small bottle that had held detergent.
I wondered what he planned to do with it, but I didn’t need to wonder
for long. He added some water and used
that diluted soap to spot clean his dirty backpack. Ingenious!
The clothes he was wearing were quite dirty and I wished that he could
throw those into the wash, too, but that isn’t possible when you are doing
laundry in public instead of in a home.
When his load was finished, I went up and said, “OK, which dryer? Let’s get these done!” and he explained that
he couldn’t stick around to dry them, he was going to fold them up and leave
with them wet. “I am on a bicycle,” he explained,
“I can’t ride after dark, I don’t have a light.
If the cops get me, that’s a $36 ticket.
And that would be TWO tickets…”.
Ahh, so he must have an unpaid ticket in that backpack. Oh boy.
David and I looked at each other and both said, “I wish we could just
buy him a bike light”. It’s moments like
that when it hurts – you can’t save the world, no matter how hard you try. At some point, you have to accept that what
you have done is enough. The man took
off his dirty shirt and replaced it with a clean, wet one. And as he left with his heavy bag of wet
clothes, he thanked us again and shook our hands. He was very grateful.
Just
then the man who had given $5 came back inside to retrieve his clothes from the
dryer. David went up and quietly thanked
him again for the donation and said that the man now going out the door had
clean clothes because of his generosity.
Well, the donor reached for his wallet and went out the door, turning in
the direction of the man who had left with his big bag of wet clothes. We don’t know what happened because we were
still inside. Maybe he gave the man some
money, maybe he offered him a ride somewhere, we aren’t sure. We do know that when we left, the man with
the bicycle was still outside and the sun had gone down. Three police cars with lights on were in the
parking lot and had a car pulled over.
I hope he has a place to lay those wet clothes out to dry. I hope he didn’t get another $36 ticket. And I hope he is happy and peaceful.
Kindness Activist funds used: $37
Donations that came in and
were used on the spot: $5
Link to previous story about the laundromat: Clean Clothes of Kindness
