my wash & fold surprise

Here in New York City it quickly became apparent that I had two choices of how to get my laundry done - drag it to the laundromat or use the wash & fold service at the local dry cleaners. Some people have small washers and/or dryers in their homes, but due to space constraints and pre-war plumbing it's a rarity. Since there wasn't much difference in price between the laundromat or the wash & fold, I opted for the wash & fold - a much less time-consuming option. I was a little paranoid about some stranger folding my socks and underwear, but my roommate assured me that once all of it came back nicely cleaned and folded, I wouldn't care who folded it or how it got done.

On my first trip to drop off my laundry at the wash & fold, I asked my roommate for directions to the nearby cleaners that she used (you can actually get them to come pick up your laundry for you, but I really needed to get my laundry done and didn't have the time to wait for them to come pick it up). She gave me directions, but I somehow took a wrong turn and couldn't find the cleaners that she recommended. Since there are about 2.6 cleaners per block in NYC (I don't know if that statistic is really true, I just made it up based on my own perception), I found a cleaners nearby and left my laundry with them. I told them I would be back that evening to retrieve it, as is customary if you don't get your laundry delivered after its been completed.

That evening I picked up my laundry, brought it home, and with marvel opened the shrink-wrapped bag that contained my clean laundry. I then starting sorting through my laundry in order to put it away (which I suppose is customary after you receive clean laundry back, although I sometimes don't make it to that step if there's an open armchair on which my laundry can "temporarily" rest). About 1/3 of the way through the pile, I noticed an oddly-shaped piece of clothing that I hadn't seen before. I picked it up and upon closer inspection realized that it wasn't mine - it was actually a pair of men's whitey tighties! I was shocked - and, I have to admit, thankful that if I was holding someone else's underwear, it was at least clean. I tried to give the cleaners the benefit of the doubt and even went as far as to ask a guy friend, who is a bit of a jokester, if he had slipped a pair of men's underwear into my laundry bag just to play a joke on me. He swore he hadn't.

I now use a new cleaners to get my laundry done. And, coincidentally, I can't find my favorite tank top!