At the Laundromat

a writing prompt from the archives

Welcome to Writing in Company. Each week I share some words and a writing prompt, meant to be jumping-off points for you to write about what matters. Use the prompts however you like—to journal, to draft thoughts for your own writing project, as meditation or prayer ideas, or for another creative endeavor. You can always look back through the archive for more ideas. Grab your pen and paper, and let your words loose on the page.

It’s an up-and-down week here. We are about three weeks from our move, the house is full of cardboard, and I keep packing things I need. While we are getting excited about what’s ahead, there is still much to do before we get to what’s next.

Plus, it’s the first week of June, which—27 years after our Jack died—still holds both overflowing joy and overwhelming sorrow. A few days ago, I found myself under the covers in the middle of the day—not usual for me. I couldn’t figure out what was up. Was I tired from packing? Was I getting sick? Then I realized my body was curling up in deference to all the memories packed into this week. Hospital, hope, birth, joy, death, grief. Some years hit harder than others, and this is one of those, I guess.¹

I’m taking care of my heart and my moving to-do list, and sharing a prompt from the archive. This one is from two years ago when we were also moving. Most of you were just a twinkle in my not-yet-a-Substack eye back then, so it should be new for you.

from May 2022

Our washer broke recently. It happened two days before our house went on the market, of course. How do appliances know when the worst time to break will be? I think perhaps they listen to us, sort of like Siri and Alexa. There is plenty of evidence for it. Our dishwasher died the week we moved into this house. The refrigerator gave up just before our first Christmas here. Our hard-working coffeemaker broke right before we hosted out of town family for Thanksgiving—twice. 

When the repair person told us it was a lost cause, we took three loads to the laundromat. It's not a bad place to hang out on a warm afternoon. There's good people-watching to be had in the laundromat, and good writing inspiration. 

• What brings the other people here? 

• Is it a regular weekly chore for that grandmother and granddaughter?

• Are they friends with the other woman they are talking to, or did they just meet today over quarters and detergent? 

• What prompted the man to wash and dry his blue plaid comforter? 

• And who is he talking to on the phone while he does it?

a writing prompt

Write about doing laundry—at home, or in a laundromat. 

Write from your memory or your imagination. 

laundromat quotes

Is there any place on earth that smells better than a Laundromat? It's like a rainy Sunday when you don't have to get out from under your covers, or like lying back on the grass your father's just mowed—comfort food for your nose. 

— Jodi Picoult

It's funny how certain objects convey a message - my washer and dryer, for example. They can't speak, of course, but whenever I pass them they remind me that I'm doing fairly well. "No more laundromat for you," they hum. My stove, a downer, tells me every day that I can't cook, and before I can defend myself my scale jumps in, shouting from the bathroom, "Well, he must be doing something. My numbers are off the charts." 

— David Sedaris

Write in different places—for example, in a laundromat, and pick up on the rhythm of the washing machines. Write at bus stops, in cafés. Write what is going on around you.

— Natalie Goldberg

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Photo by Ambitious Studio* | Rick Barrett on Unsplash

1. Today is the June day of joy—the birth day, and day we celebrate our oldest child, who has claimed the name June. They are one-of-a-kind. They are also kind, and smart, and creative, and I celebrate them in a burst of pride and color and soul music and gratitude. The in-between days come next and then the day we call Jack’s day, when we remember him.