laundry day

French washing machines are often located in the kitchen, especially in apartments. Machines are much smaller, and can handle about half as many clothes as my fancy Kenmore front-loader at home. I can't imagine how long it takes for a family to get all of their laundry washed!

My lave-linge is located in the bathroom, just off the kitchen. (The w.c., however, is in the hall). What I do have in common with many other French families is that there is no clothes dryer. No big deal, I just hang my clothes the rack to dry. If I'm lucky, there's a touch of sun and a bit of a breeze, so I place the rack outside to dry the clothes quickly.

The first summer I stayed with Kathy & Damien in St. Cloud, I learned that laundry, when placed outside on wheeled drying racks, can quickly escape if you're not careful. To prevent our clothes from rolling down the hill, we had to tie the rack to Notre Dame des Airs, the church they lived next to. And clothespins were a must as well, lest our unmentionables land on the church steps! That cool, rainy summer taught me that it can take days for jeans to dry, so one must learn to plan in advance... no more last-minute laundry for that must-wear outfit tomorrow!