Laundry.

So I realized I never really blogged about the “experience” of doing laundry as a study abroad student in Dublin, Ireland.

When we first moved in, they told us we’d be doing laundry in the sink, which I don’t think any of us really believed.

But when we realized that one load would cost about six euro in our Blackhall accommodation, many of us quickly became comfortable with the fact that the bulk of our laundry would be done old-school; in the sink, bent over like an old Hungarian woman (to quote Lara’s blog, “I’m A Stranger in a Strange Land”), hoping the hot water would not run out before the last towel was clean.

This was fine at first, and I actually had a pretty good time the first few weeks.

I would turn up my music, bust out the powdered detergent, and get to scrubbing. I did it in the kitchen sink the first time, then realized how silly that was since I had my own sink in my room.

I must say, I felt like Charlie’s mom in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” but it didn’t matter-I was having fun! It was de-stressing and a good time for me to reflect, while also being productive! Meg even bought us a rope to line-dry our wet clothes and we had a good system going for a while.

Then, things started to get complicated. Annoying even, especially when my knuckles were sore from scrubbing my socks, or when my dress wouldn’t air-dry in time for the next day of school.

I became so inconvenienced with waiting that I eventually took to blow-drying my clothes with my dad’s travel-sized blowdryer (thanks again, dad!) in a frantic effort to expedite the process.

A couple weeks in, I realized I hadn’t washed any big-ticket items, like towels or my north face, so I was without any real outfits for a good solid days.
I realized this would just not do, and I gave in to the Laundromat down the street, Mr. Tubbs.

Ohhhhhh Mr. Tubbs!

Mr. Tubbs (or just “Tubbs” as it became affectionately known) was about a five minute walk outside of Smithfield, and the study abroad students could be seen camping out inside with their laptops or a deck of cards, waiting patiently for their laundry to finish.

I could personally be seen trekking down the River Liffey sporting my sweatpants and hoodie (looking like a legit Smithfield Hooligan) with a mesh laundry bag slung over my shoulder like Santa Claus.

Tubbs cost us about 8 euro for a load of laundry, so I tried to avoid that place like the plague. Plus, the woman who owns and operates the business was VERY anti-american, and VERY vocal about it. In short, she hated us, and has been quoted as saying so.

I often went to Tubbs with a book, or my journal, and would listen to the angry lady become hostile with some of her customers. She despised ignorant customers, or those who had never been to Tubbs before and did not know the Laws of the Land. She also could not stand anyone over the age of eleven.

After a few visits I learned, though, and she seemed to despise me less. I even tried to play down my “Amercan-ness” by wearing my Dublin Business School hoodie a few times.

It really puts my American life into perspective, especially how convenient everything is. It's so easy to multi-task in the States, and life is so hurried. But simple things, like doing laundry in the sink, or walking instead of driving, can really force one to slow down and smell the roses. I guess I have laundry to thank for re-teaching me that lesson, and I'm so grateful it has!


Thankfully, we all got through the Dublin laundry experience alive, and managed to wear semi-clean clothes the entire semester, haha. I won’t say I never wore a cardigan four times in a row without washing it, but it's all part of the experience.

Cheers!