Senior journalism major Ellen Fishel is a typical college student — except she lives with five boys.
If any of my roommates thought they lucked out domestically by moving in with a girl, they were probably quickly disappointed. In fact, the boys are much better and more thorough at chores than I am — when cleaning actually occurs that is.
But there’s one household task, for some reason, none of them can master: laundry.
Brad will meticulously bleach our shower, and Tim has completely cleaned out the fridge at least twice, but give them some laundry detergent and a pile of clothes and they just can’t handle it.
Two of them spent a better part of a year pouring detergent in the slot on the washing machine clearly marked “liquid chlorine bleach only.” And it could have gone on forever if the blue stains in the dispenser didn’t give them away.
The drying process isn’t much better. These guys can remember the most complex math equations and endless lines of music, but cannot remember to empty the damn lint filter for the life of them. Usually only after the clothes are still damp after two heavy dry cycles do they think to remove the sweater of lint causing a fire hazard in the machine.
My favorite laundry foible, however, comes not from it not being done at all. Now, we all are guilty of waiting until we have absolutely no options left before doing a load. But when there’s a designated spot in the house known as Clothes Mountain, things have become a little ridiculous.
Clothes Mountain, elevation 3 feet, is a peak of dirty, unclaimed clothes dating as far back as 2011. There have been many attempts to scale the mountain, but sadly no one has successfully reached the precipice. I, myself, am too scared to even attempt the climb.
Clothes Mountain almost met its destruction very recently. The loose items were laid out in the living room, and we were reunited with sweatshirts and socks we hadn’t seen in months. But still some items remained, making it possible for Clothes Mountain to regenerate in the living room corner in a matter of days.
No matter how hard they fight it, laundry seems to be guy kryptonite. And since my guys have been showing no signs of improvement, I’ve recently decided to start bartering my laundry services. It’s a win-win for me: I don’t have to deal with finding boxers on my living room floor and I get out of other chores I hate doing.
It’s just another great example of the perfect give and take the six of us have. I have no problem embracing the stereotypical laundry roll because I know they’re not taking advantage. Just don’t get me started on dishes…
