Ethnography

The Laundromat

I chose to write an ethnography about the Laundromat. I chose this because I know that nobody else was going to choose it. I figured it was a random place to write about and people would be interested.
As I take my laundry out of my car from my thirty second car ride, I enter Delkin’s Laundromat. The smell of detergent breezes past your nose as you walk by the washing machines. The first person you see is the cashier; she is usually watching divorce court or a sitcom. The room consists of large and small washing machines, and large and small dryers. There is also folding tables, couches, and plenty of magazines to read. I walk over to the regular small washing machine I normally use, spread out my colors and whites and throw them into the machine. I choose to bring my own detergent, most people I see, don’t. I see many people buying detergent from the machine that usually costs them about two dollars. This doesn’t make sense to me, because you can go to Wal-mart and buy an 80 oz. of Downy for around five dollars and it will last you about a month and a half. As I pour my detergent I say to myself, “I wish I owned a washer and dryer, it would be so much easier.” I’m sure everyone who goes to the Laundromat says this.
The atmosphere of the Laundromat is pretty calm. After awhile you will get used to the rumbling and tumbling of the colors and whites. The couches could be more comfortable, and the magazines could be a bit more updated, but it is a recession right? Aside from aesthetics, the people all seem to be relaxed. It appears that there isn’t any rush. There really isn’t a need to rush because the machine is timed, and we all know you can’t control time. You can tell the differences between the experienced from the amateurs. I remember the first time I went into the Laundromat, about 2 months ago. I just moved to Fall River and I had always had a washer and dryer living in the suburbs. I had a reason to ask ten questions in five minutes. I kept the cashier busy with all of my questions while the little old lady sat in her corner and knitted a sweater. She was very helpful as she laughed at my jokes about not knowing how to work it like it was some sort of unidentified spacecraft. After the second time I visited the Laundromat, I had it down like the back of my hand.
As I went there to do my research and of course to do my laundry, I learned a lot about people. Some put their laundry in and leave, come back and finish their laundry. Others stay. I usually put the laundry in and go back and forth from my house because it is very close to the Laundromat. This time, I did my people watching and took down my notes. Like I said, it is a very calm atmosphere, until the little kids come and play tag down the aisles. Their mother ends up screaming at them as the lady knitting her sweater gives them the evil eye. There seems to always be at least one college student, not including me. I can tell they go to college because of their age and their clothing (wearing college sweatshirts). This is not a surprise to me, or to anyone else. When you walk into a Laundromat you could expect a college student and not to sound ignorant but a family struggling with money. You just don’t walk into a Laundromat and find a successful business man there very often. It’s the truth. I do find it a little weird when people are folding their laundry on the folding tables. They always look around to see if anyone is watching them fold their clothes, almost like they are nervous. This was strange to me, but I guess I did the same as I folded my clothes.
I spend about an average of Three dollars and fifty cents each time I visit the Laundromat, that includes using that cup of detergent. If I were to go out and buy an energy star washer and dryer from Wal-Mart, it would cost me around two-thousand dollars. Going to the Laundromat every two weeks and spending three dollars and fifty cents would equal about one hundred dollars a year, plus however much detergent would be every 2 months. Point being, spending the money on a washer and dryer combination would be well worth it in the long run. Especially if you have a big family, having the machines would help out greatly on time and money. Being a recession and there are many job losses, I would think the Laundromat business would expand. If people are losing their jobs, why would they go out and spend two thousand dollars on a washer and dryer when many Americans are struggling to pay rent each month. Fortunately my mother and I don’t mind driving thirty seconds to the Laundromat; all in all it takes about an hour from getting in the car to folding our laundry. That isn’t too much time out of the day to go get your laundry done.
In conclusion I’ve found that the social norm in the Laundromat is quite consistent. It seems to be more middle class based, rather than having the “successful business man” come in and find him doing his laundry. This ethnography I researched and wrote helped me better understand the social norm of the middle class. Even though it is a very small chunk of middle class, it gave me a lot of information and knowledge that could maybe be used to my advantage in the future.