<p>GsMom~Great news on the housing. I am sure it was a big relief for her and you.</p>
<p>Idinct~So sorry about the XH’w. Not everyone’s needs are the same 
</p>
<p>Fl~Thanks for the warm breakfast…needed here as well this morning!</p>
<p>Have a great Day Everyone :)</p>
<p>Idinct, coming forward to voice sympathy for your S with the dirty laundry on the other side of the Atlantic. Just want to say washing clothes here is way different to washing clothes in the US. I am currently in a short-term London rental with a combined washer dryer and it takes a minimum of 5 ½ hours to wash and dry one set of sheets. You say your S has the option to send his things out to the hotel laundry, do you think he is holding back because its so expensive? Maybe point out to him it may well be worth it in terms of saving him time? Other than the dirty clothes issue, trust he is enjoying his time in his new sorroundings.</p>
<p>5 1/2 hours??? Why does it take so long?</p>
<p>^ Our machine in Europe was very small.
It used little water and I could fit only a few things in–or say one large bedsheet etc. So doing sheets for a large bed and 2 single beds took all day.
The cycles run a very long time–
The “short” cycle just to wash and rinse was more than 40 minutes.
Then it went on a line or rack. We didn’t have a dryer nor the combo Smauck speaks of…</p>
<p>So if you ran just a few items on wash–a regular wash was about 90 minutes. The machin tumbles one way for a few seconds, stops then reverses. Also you cannot add anything to it once it starts–it locks the door shut.</p>
<p>We had to do laundry almost daily…since the kids were small and we didn’t have alot of stuff. We had a rack that hung from the radiator…we’d use it for socks etc. A line on the back porch for sheets, larger clothes etc. When the weather was damp and poor, we’d use the radiators and that heat helped dry the jeans etc.</p>
<p>On college things…skyped with kiddo - was first time to “see eachother” in nearly 3 weeks since the computer had been a mess and the web cam etc.
Looked great. Saw lots of pics of the recent parties so life must be good. 2 mid terms this week so alot of study for that going on…Seems really happy. Asked about housekeeping details as the tree was still up and kiddo says they are taking it down this week… As for laundry–it got done yesterday. Kiddo does it every week including sheets/towels. Likes a clean room that way. Will be interesting to see how kiddo and roommate pick others to join them in a larger suite next year. They have an enviable room, organzied, clean, great furniture/lamps etc. We and the other parents set them up nicely. As soph they need to be in a larger room and not everyone is going to be a clean, neat, organize and thoughtful as they are of eachother. It ahs been a great first year roommate match…</p>
<p>fogfog - Thanks for the education. I’ll never complain about our washers & dryers again.</p>
<p>I’m sure he’s never even tried to do the laundry yet. Why he couldn’t send it out at the hotel when he was there for 3 weeks I have no idea. It apparently is a thing that he just can’t do.</p>
<p>My H has been basically unemployed for a year and a half, with only a couple of interviews in there. He has done some temp work from time to time but has not had a permanent job of any sort.</p>
<p>He has a phone interview this coming Wednesday. If he gets a job it would mean a relocation two states away and I would have to give up my job. The move and my job loss would be OK, this new job for him would be about 1 1/2 times what I get paid and I could still look for something there.</p>
<p>I am hoping something works out for him soon. I am getting tired of being almost alone in supporting the family financially as well as supporting him emotionally because he is upset that he isn’t supporting us financially.</p>
<p>Oh Bajamm so sorry about your situation. Hope Wednesday’s interview bring some good news.</p>
<p>FL~Washing machines in Europe are very comparable to the front loaders we have here now. Top loaders simply do not exist.Dryers are not widely used. Just not part of the culture i guess. Cleaners are also very expensive. You iron your shirts, you do not take them to the cleaners as we do in america. :eek:</p>
<p>bajamm–sending good thoughts for the job interview!</p>
<p>Avondad–It was pretty cold here in the DC area, hope Williamsburg was a bit warmer for the tourney.</p>
<p>ldinct–hopefully XH can show DS how to get laundry sent out. It would be cheaper than buying new clothes all the time, and I’m sure once he’s done it/seen it done it will be like a miracle and he will continue (I hope!) </p>
<p>I’m surprised my DS is doing laundry on a regular basis. He does like clean clothes so I guess that’s what motivates him. I would have bet money that he would be the one sniffing for another day’s use on all his clothes!!!</p>
<p>bajamm- Sending good thoughts your way.</p>
<p>My sister and her husband lived in England for a few years. They bought a "US style’ washer and dryer. I remember trying to do laundry when we visited, and it took forever- especially to dry the clothes.</p>
<p>bajamm - I know so many families in your situation. It is so difficult. Fingers crossed.</p>
<p>Bajamm - sending prayers and good thoughts your way, both for Wednesday’s interview and for your situation in general. </p>
<p>I’ve been fairly surprised @ how diligent younger DD has been about laundry; she basically stays on top of hers and does a load or two just about every week. Older DD still hauls home mounds of it when she comes home on break; I think she’s pretty good about it during the semester but just ignores it for the last few weeks as she finishes papers and projects and studies for exams.</p>
<p>Have a good day, everyone!</p>
<p>Bajamm - good luck to your H with his interview. I also know several families in a similar situation. It is very stressfull all around.</p>
<p>Bajamm, Sending up prayers and luck for the interview Wednesday, must be rough. Moving would be an adjustment as well but I hope it all works out!!</p>
<p>HH and Scoutsmom, It’s a small world, I wonder!!! My D went to a concert Friday or Saturday night, not sure what genre but I wonder if she was at same concert! She is doing well, taking an art class where she has to paint one picture per class plus timed homework. She is really getting good, has always been very artistic but this “speed painting” has forced her to let go of perfectionist tendencies and I must say the results are great. Even she is liking the class where initially it stressed her out. Has decided to stay with her roommates from last year plus a few new girls. They all get along well but don’t always hang out with each other outside of the room, but they kind of like it that way. D had considered moving to a more social rooming group but in the end decided she likes to have the more laid back place to come back to.
GSmomma, glad the rooming worked out!</p>
<p>Washers in Europe are a PITA! If I forgot to put the Eco wash on it my normal wash the cycle ran 3 hours and 40 minutes and my dryer was an extraction dryer. In other words it took the water out of the clothes and drained out of the washer. Unfortunately Indict laundry may continue to be a problem for you son. Having someone to do your laundry in the hotel will cost a fortune!</p>
<p>Bajamm: Hoping the interview on Weds. goes well for your dh. I understand the stress.</p>
<p>As for the laundry, I’m pleasantly surprised by S2’s attention to his laundry. S1 seems to do a good job during the semester, but – like your dd proudmom – saves it up at the end of the semester and brings it home. His college is only a couple of hours from home, so he can do that. S2’s school is a plane ride away, so it’s not as easy for him to bring the laundry basket home with him. S2 has a friend from home who attends the same university that he does. They were on the same flight home for fall break – a 4 day weekend in early October. S2 shows up with a carry-on bag. His friend shows up with a gigantic suitcase crammed full of – dirty laundry! Apparently his friend had not mastered the use of the laundry facilities so he packed it all in and brought it home. S2 said that his friend’s bag was over the weight limit at check-in, so they scooped out enough clothing to get it under the limit…and then carried plastic bags full of his additional laundry onto the plane. When I talked to his friend’s mom later, she said that her son’s first attempt to do laundry at school wasn’t until November and then involved sending photos of the dials of the washing machine and dryer so that she could decipher them for him. Laundry seems to be a bigger hurdle for some than others!</p>
<p>One thing they did have in Europe were dry-cleaning machines.
They look like a large dryer and steam the clothes (think commercial Dryell)
It was convenient</p>
<p>I had forgotten how long the washing took --EAO is correct. I think I blocked some of that out…haha when you see pics of people having laundry hanging on racks/lines on balconies all over Europe, or small porches etc…that is why. I dont think we knew anyone with a dryer. Even those with large pricier homes. Partly due to environmental issues–people are better about being good with conserving utilities etc. </p>
<p>We had different colored dust bunnies depending on the laundry…consider what does get caught in the lint catcher of your dryer–it does end up sloughing off. We’d have blue/black dust bunnies from doing the socks/jeans etc. ;)</p>
<p>So is it truly a small world HH/Scoutsmom?</p>
<p>Bajamm-Best of luck to your H. You are not alone. We are in the same boat. H was laid off beginning of Nov, has had some interviews and hopes for the best that he will be employed soon. Many of our family friends/neighbors are in the same situation: either husband or wife is out of a job.</p>
<p>bajamm - good luck to H; I can relate - my H was in a similar situation a while back and it was very hard for him; so much of his self esteem was tied up in his professional situation. Hugs to you. Hard for the spouse too - financially and emotionally.</p>
<p>GSM - hooray for the housing news</p>
<p>My mom (Brit that married an American) has been in the US for about 30 years. She still is amazed at the ease of laundry here. </p>
<p>D lost her phone! Once again, my scheduled phone upgrade will be going to one of my children. Of course, they will both mock me for my dinasour of a phone even though their fancy phones are thanks to me!</p>
<p>^so glad to hear I’m not the only one who lays down on the sword of scheduled phone upgrades! My phone is so ancient, but every time I become eligible one of my boys desperately needs some new form of technology, so my trusty phone stays with me. It’s now so comically old that both boys are rather sheepish at the technology gulf between their phones and mine, so I’m thinking next upgrade is truly going to be mine!</p>
<p>Love the small world story going on here, with HH and scoutsmom- do fill us in if you can</p>
<p>About next years roomies, S2’s suite is also remaining intact. I guess everyone’s success in the roomie dept really speaks to the time and effort they spend grouping everyone at the beginning of freshman year.</p>
<p>S2 is filling out many many internship applications. He is desperate to not have to work in his old summer job building trails and infrastructure for the county. I remind him that working outdoors can be nice and air conditioned offices in the summer are their own kind of misery, but he’s dead set against it. Hoping that something works out- he’s focusing on abroad internships, so I may need to go back and read about the laundry issues in Europe if something works out for him…</p>
<p>Good luck to bajamm’s H on the interview! That is so stressful, and so hard on the self esteem.</p>
<p>I think Scoutsmom and I won’t be in-laws after all; there were a number of events going on. But we’ll keep you posted.</p>
<p>Happily, laundry is not an issue here right now - although D claims she will need a whole new wardrobe again this summer because the equipment is so hard on her clothes. But I am sure I will be complaining about it on the '14/'18 list when S goes off in a couple of years.</p>