Laundry
Laundry is an exciting yet competitive activity that occurs across campuses. The goal is to have clean clothes, of which the obstacles are others waiting to wash their's as well, and finding time to do said laundry. The machines only take quarters, which are more valuable than paper money in the TiP universe. The exception to this is Georgia, where they have decided quarters are too hard and you are required to get a card from the vending machines room in order to do laundrey. Detergent and softener are not provided, although one can borrow from friends or buy it (for West, at the Bryan Center).
At East
TIPsters are allowed to do laundry pretty much whenever they want, because being forced to choose laundry as an evening activity seems kind of ridiculous, as well as, you know, independence and such. Laundry rooms are located on the second floors of all of the residential buildings. The most popular times for doing laundry are Friday night and Sunday morning, so one is advised to wake up at an insane hour to claim a washer. Or wash your clothes during the week, either one.
East laundry rooms are notorious for being hot as hell and jam-packed. During hours of particularly bad congestion, TIPsters often bring in fans, ipod speakers, and the like.
For those who have watches, doing laundry is actually not that bad, as long as you come back in half an hour to get your clothes, or an hour after they're dried. Warning, though: TIPsters who leave their clothes in a washer or drier and leave for hours on end WILL come back to see their clothes lying in disarray on the ground/hanging out the window. Bras may or may not be returned if found (although TIPsters are advised to check the Brown third floor commons).
Laundry isn't actually that bad ever. Sure, you may end up in the hallway outside the laundry room for up to five hours, but it's fun as long as you have friends and fans. It is recommended that one member of the group be convinced to go fetch a bag of food from the Union before breakfast ends so no one starves. These laundry parties often come to include even people who have no need to do laundry, just because it's fun.
At East Term I 2011 a second year infamously flooded the Alspaugh laundry room with bubbles after a towel soaked in shampoo (long story) made its way into her laundry load. Halfway through the wash, she noticed that the machine was so full of white foam that her clothes were no longer visible. Naturally, being a TiPster, she did the smart thing and ignored it. When she came back twenty minutes later, the machine was shaking and foam was pouring out the cracks. In a panic, because, after all, those were the only clothes she'd brought to TiP, she opened the door. Thick white bubbly foam poured out, coating the floor of the room. Trash cans, RCs, and two whole RAGs were brought in to scoop the bubbles into trash cans. Eventually, the floor was clear. The girl never did laundry by herself again.
At West
In Duke West, the laundry room is located downstairs in the basement, which can be reached through the stairs of O and P house. Due to the fact that there is a stupid rule that TIPsters are only allowed in the basement with RCs because there are computers down there, they are are only allowed either as an evening activity, or on Sunday during free time. For Sunday, it is less chaotic (and much more efficient) if RAGs are scheduled as groups to go. Otherwise, movies and other entertainment can be used to occupy time for those waiting on queue. When an evening activity, it is usually accompanied with a movie in O Commons. However, laundry can be done right before lunch on Sundays, and can be successfully transferred right after the meal, thus passing time efficiently.
In Term 1 '09, for those waiting on the list, the Notebook (in whole!) was shown one afternoon, some playing cards (ERS, etc) or drawing with nifty beeswax crayons.
In Term II 2010, on one Sunday afternoon, Forrest Gump was epicly shown in O Commons, though regrettably there were two couples making out underneath the sole table in the room, which was of course detrimental to the movie-watching experiences of the two sitting above the ruckus, who were just trying to wait for their laundry, tend their sexual tension, and eat Twizzlers that tasted like Play Doh.
It is also advised that many quarters be brought, as in the same room are vending machines for Snapple and snacks. Also, if clothes are finished drying and others need to use them, they may be taken out and bagged away for pickup (thus not risking scattering and bra-snatching). Detergent and softener left inside may be used by others, but most do leave them anyways. Occasionally, a few machines will not work properly. When they do, the first numbers that appear are the credit required (1.25~50, or 5/6 quarters). The next display should be the time remaining.
One small trend is to leave one's lanyard to reserve a machine (mostly the washers). The card is stuck in the slit between the machine's door.
