How 40 dollars saved my sanity........

So, like most of you, I popped out of bed this past Monday morning raring to go!  My "To-Do" list was a mile long, and I was ready to tackle it.  I was going to "labor" on Labor Day!  When my head hit the pillow Monday night, it was going to be with a great sense of accomplishment!

But you know what they say about the best-laid plans..........

By 9:30, we were cruising.  Jeff had gone to meet some friends for breakfast, and the kids and I were knee deep in piles of junk lovely used items that we were busily sorting and pricing for our upcoming community garage sale.  Everything was going exactly as planned.  Until...........

I knew that I had a Rubbermaid container of gently-used toys that I had been saving for our next garage sale.  (That in itself is a minor miracle because I don't save anything.  And I won't be saving anything in the future.)  As I reached up to the top storage shelf to grab the container, I lost my balance and the container hit the floor.  That wasn't such a big deal except that before the container actually hit the floor, it managed to hit and break the main pipe coming out of our water pump.  Can you say "Old Faithful"?  IN. MY. BASEMENT.

Yep!  Hysteria ensued!  The kids, bless their hearts, grabbed EVERY. SINGLE. towel and washcloth we own.  And I'm not kidding.  I'm pretty sure they managed to find some towels and washcloths that we don't own, but I'm choosing to ignore that fact!  Sydney got Jeff on the phone and screamed at him to get home NOW.  Somehow, I managed to turn every knob/switch I could see and get the gusher under control.  But it was too late.  We were standing ankle deep in cold, dirty water.  And I found out the hard way that Rubbermaid containers really can float!

While I cried, the kids retrieved our Shop Vac and then ran next door to borrow the neighbor's Shop Vac as well.  We started vacuuming up water, which was a great plan, until I realized that once the Shop Vac was full, I couldn't lift it to empty it.  So we had no choice but to wait for Jeff to come home.  The kids found more towels, and we managed to get most things to higher ground. 

Finally, after about an hour, the worst of the crisis had passed.  A kind neighbor came over and told Jeff what he needed to fix the pipe and offered to come over and fix it later that afternoon.  We thought we were going to have to call a plumber on a holiday, so this was a huge blessing!  We got all the water vacuumed up and had every fan we could find going to attempt to get rid of the dampness.

Once things calmed down, I surveyed Lake Rubbermaid the wet basement and realized that not only did I have about 5,730 wet (and heavy!) towels to clean up, but I also had NO water.  And even when our water returned, it would take 12-18 hours for the water pressure to build up enough so that I could run the washing machine.

So, right then and there, I made a snap decision.  I didn't care what it cost.  I didn't care that it would further ruin my already-ruined day.  I grabbed Sydney, loaded up the van, and we went to visit Tina.  We don't know Tina.  We've never visited Tina before.  But somehow I knew that Tina and her Tubs and Suds that would save my sanity!  Yep--we went to the laundromat.

Now I have to tell you I am not a complete stranger to laundromats.  When we were newly married, I visited the laundromat several times a month.  It was the laundromat in Cedarville, Ohio:  not a place you enjoy spending a lot of time.  Since then, I've only been to the laundromat a few times to wash things like oversized comforters, bedspreads, etc.  I heart my LG front loading washer and dryer, and I normally have no need to visit the laundromat.

But Monday, I had a NEED.   I had a need to have all those thousands of towels and even all our other laundry as clean as possible as quickly as possible, and dear Tina with her Tubs and Suds met my need!  For a price--of course!

When we walked in the laundromat door, I'm pretty sure I heard angels singing and saw bright lights shining down on this sign.

Please excuse the poor cell phone pictures. 
Amazingly, I failed to grab my camera.

Seriously?  I could do 75 POUNDS of laundry in ONE washing machine!  I didn't have to think twice.  Sydney started loading wet towels, and I hit the change machines.  Within 15 minutes, we had four 75-pound washers spinning and sudsing.  My wet towels and dirty laundry were happy.  And I was enjoying my book and smiling at Sydney, who was completely and totally enthralled with the sub-culture that exists in a city laundromat.  And, let me assure you, there is definitely a sub-culture! (I should also say that Sydney was a great and willing helper!  I could probably have left her there with all that laundry, and she would have taken charge and gotten it done!  Thank you sweetie!)

Everyone was very nice and polite and, as far as laundromats go, this one was the Ritz!!  Clean and shiny with sparkling chrome washers and dryers and ten different televisions for the patrons' viewing pleasure.  Within 90 minutes, we had clean, dry, and folded towels and laundry and were happily headed home. 

Jeff nearly choked when I told him how much my little "therapy session" had cost but, you know, that $40 saved my sanity and redeemed a little part of my day.  I'm thinking I may have to have a monthly session with Tina.  Just sayin'........

P.S.  Yes, those of you who know me well will be happy to know that I do see the great irony in the fact that a Rubbermaid container was my downfall.  My children have taken great pleasure in reminding me of that fact!