Canceling plans to do laundry

When the sun is shining, you will find me hanging my laundry.

Something I didn’t really consider before moving: what appliances might or might not be popular where I’m headed? I’ve lived in literally dozens of apartments in the US, and generally for most rentals, most appliances would be in-unit, with the exception of laundry. But, if you did have in-unit laundry, you would likely have both a washer and a dryer.

If you didn’t have the good fortune to have in-unit laundry, you’d either have on-site free or coin-operated laundry, or you’d go to the laundromat.

Wait, where's the dryer?

When we arrived in Uruguay our first Airbnb had a washer, but no dryer. And our second had the same setup. Then, our long-term rental. This is all totally fine until the rainy season comes, and it’s an El Niño year… so there’s a lot of damp weather and it’s colder than usual.

With two regular adults, one messy adult, and two dogs in our home, there’s a lot of laundry.

Game of skill, or chance? 

All this to say, it started as a joke, but we have cancelled plans to do three or four loads of laundry so we can ensure we take everything in dry. The winter days are pretty short, so I try to make a strategy and tackle heavier items first and move them around the line to follow the sun. I keep seams and thicker embellishments from hanging low so they don't collect moisture. I do the fleecier things and light towels that dry quickly last.

I light a candle and hope el sol stays out and no coastal weather anomolies catch me off guard. 

The things you don't think of, like heat or hot water

Going back to the appliances, there are some things you know you will pay to fuel, but you don't consider supplying the appliance itself. 

Weather has been changing all over the world, and Uruguay had an unseasonably warm summer. We were able to pay to have the wall-hung air conditioner replaced in our rental, and our propietario let us take the total off the rent. We use this air conditioning sparingly on extremely hot days, but this appliance also removes humidity - and it's how we take the chill off our common area on the colder winter mornings. 

We have some friends in Montevideo who moved into a lovely apartment and had to purchase a hot water heater and a fridge. These are two things I would never have considered for a rental. Of course, they can negotiate their own deal and potentially leave these items behind for future residents. It’s just one of those things you don’t know until you know. Now, you can make sure your inmobillaria has a list of appliances that you really can't live without - but you kinda can. 😉

Appliances of all kinds, including dryers, are readily available in Uruguay for all sorts of budgets, but with imports having high taxes, you kind of want to be sure you need it before you commit. 

I need your laundry hacks

I have to go move my laundry around the line and check the weather radar. In the last few months, I’ve watched a number of videos online about how to hang laundry to optimize line drying, so if you have any tricks or a video to recommend, go ahead and leave a note in my form!