In Cold Blood, In Warm Water

Doing the laundry is something I'm getting better at. I think I went whole semesters in college doing the laundry no more than a couple times, but I seldom let it slide so long that I have to start wearing dirty clothes. There are pitfalls for me, and getting stains out of things is one. The whole system I have  for washing three loads and reducing it to two dryers is tough to manage sometimes, and having enough quarters is a constant problem.

Another issue is in the behavior of other people using the machines. I rush to get my things out the machines and either transferred over or upstairs to fold. I may be the only person who places importance on that timeliness. I hate to inconvenience someone by leaving my stuff in a machine they need, and so I don't do it. I'm downstairs within a minute or two of the cycle ending, because I keep track.

Other people are, as I said, not so diligent. I sometimes come to find that clothes are lingering in a washer or dryer that I am counting on, and so I am faced with a decision. Do I hope that this anonymous person come soon to get their things, or do I take the severe step of moving their things for them? It's not a thing that I am quick to do, for I respect private property, but what is one to do in the face of such an obstacle?

In the past, I would have just waited and seethed as long as it took for the person to come down and get their things. I'm changing, though. The last two times I've done my laundry, this has come up. The first time, I wrung my hands a little and took the plunge of moving someone's things out of the washer into one of the dryers. This second time, I extracted someone's things from the dryer with little hesitation. It's getting easier, like most things for me.