Laundry may seem like a rather mundane topic on Globe Trottin Granny. Well, it is, but because I am living in Sweden as an expat from the US, I also feature things that are different than in the US. Is laundry exciting? I don’t know… it depends on what excites you.
The first thing I need to do is,
RESERVE MY TIME
Reservation Board
This is done by using a special lock, that is given to you along with the keys for your apartment. The time slots are from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Even if I forget to reserve my time, often during the day there is a free slot. If I get desperate, I can always become an “early bird”, and use the 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. time slot.
WHEN IT IS TIME
I take my key for the outside door, and double check I got the right date, and schlep my dirty laundry, detergent and softener to the laundry room located a short distance centrally of the apartment.
NO COINS REQUIRED
Load the two washing machines, add the detergent, and softener, and select the cycles. A note here, Vanish in Sweden is a laundry detergent brand, not a toilet bowl cleaner.
Washers
Picture of Vanish toilet bowl cleaner
DURING WASHING TIME
I could stay there, but I usually return to the apartment, and return when the load is almost finished.
DRYING TIME
Then I load one, or sometimes both loads into the dryer. In my apartment complex there is only one dryer of the standard design. My only wish is that there were more dryers for faster completion.
Dryer in laundry room in Sweden
There is a large cabinet dryer. I don’t know what it is called. I have used it for some things that are easy to dry, or for things that are not quite dry when the rest of the load is dry.
Cabinet Dryer
Inside dryer cabinet
I think it is an efficient system, and you will find this system is standard in all apartment complexes in Sweden.
In the US, when I needed to use laundry facilities outside of my home, I have had to hope I would get a washer, and dryer without waiting, and hope I had enough coins for the machines. No reservations allowed.
Public Laundry
Coin operated washer
If you use a laundry outside of your home or apartment, what is the system? Do you think it is better or worse than this system? Leave your comments below.
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Free laundry, that’s nice. In my travels when I was working I occasionally had to wash clothes in the hotel. The machines were located in a room about 10 x10 and nowhere to sit and wait even if you wanted to. You always had to stop by the front desk for change and enough for detergent also. I always tried to pack enough so I didn’t have to wash or wore clothes twice except underclothes of course. This was not a chore I enjoyed while on the road.
Yes, it was an unexpected perk here in Sweden. Also, being able to schedule the time, and having the room to yourself is really a plus. Thanks for the comment, Grover.
Hej Granny! Nice post! As you know, I’m an American living in Sweden and my dear husband and I live in a detached house (Villa). We have our own washing machine and dryer which is very handy, that is, if you like to do laundry.
We even have his mother’s old roller press thingy which comes in handy for sheets, table cloths and quilting fabric. 
When we were newlyweds we lived with his mother for 6 months in a row-house. But even there we had our own washer. It was located in a little washroom just off the kitchen. There was no dryer, but we had lines up near the ceiling which came in handy to air dry clothes. It didn’t take much time at all for them to dry since the room got quite warm. When I lived in the U.S. I used my share of coin operated laundry facilities and though I felt a sense of kinship with my fellow attendees, it was no fun to sit for an hour or two while waiting for the laundry to finish. I’ve never had to be on the system you’re using now, which seems like a good one, but I do have friends who use the same system and have problems with others taking up someone else’s time slot and other’s who just complain because they don’t like to do laundry. 
I love doing laundry and I would love to have a cabinet dryer for my hanging clothes. A few summers ago, I got clothesline crazy and hung all my clothes. My family revolved, so now I dry towels and washclothes in the dryer. I haven’t hung laundry outside since I returned to work two years ago. I miss the smell of line dried towels. Yummy!
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