This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2487, Laundry in English, part three.
Overwhelmed by laundry?
Make it a connection moment.
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On today's episode, we finish up our laundry series by talking about all the ways to connect over laundry.
Find out how this seemingly mundane topic can lead you to a new friendship.
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Hello, Michelle.
How are you today?
I'm good, Lindsay.
I was just on vacation, guys.
I was on a cruise with my family, so now I'm excited.
I'm refreshed.
Yay.
I'm super happy to be back and recording with you, Lindsay.
How are you?
Good, Michelle.
I'm glad you're back.
We took a week off, but it's always good to get right back into podcasting.
But Michelle, I want to talk about laundry today.
We're coming back into this part three of our laundry series.
Who knew that such a it is right?
Yes yeah um, yeah.
So what is your question?
Well michelle, do you tend to fold your laundry before putting it away?
Do you do that?
Um, i do, like a semi-fold, i mean i did.
I did have a moment where i read remember that marie kondo book?
Oh yeah, that was hot for a while yeah, yeah.
So i read that and so i learned how to fold from her.
So i got really excited about it at that time, and then I can't keep that up.
So just today I was putting away some laundry and I don't know.
But it's funny because we were.
It is kind of timely that we're talking about this today, because on the cruise you know I had to.
I didn't want to do laundry.
You have to pay extra for that.
So it's hard to know how much to pack, especially with the kids.
Right, right.
So we have a lot of laundry to do right now.
Do you fold your laundry before?
I kind of half fold it, but some of the stuff is going to get get hung up anyway.
So I don't even see the point.
You know what I mean?
Right.
So I'm not the most thorough laundry folder in the world, but so I'm excited to get into this today, Michelle.
But there have been two other episodes in this series.
What were those episodes?
Yeah.
So, guys, part one was here on the All Ears English podcast.
It was episode 2478.
It was Laundry in English part one.
Don't shrink your clothes.
And the second one, Lindsay, that wasn't over.
That wasn't on this podcast.
That was over on our other podcast, the Business English podcast, right?
Absolutely.
That was episode 468.
And you guys should definitely be over there if you don't know about Business English.
That is where we talk about all things related to English and our careers.
So go and type in the search bar business English and hit the follow button over there.
And again, that was 468.
468, yeah.
Laundry in English part two, what's on your to-do list?
So definitely check that out.
So today is part three and our final episode of the laundry series.
Guys, yeah, remember to hit follow for sure.
So yeah, today we're going to talk about how to connect over laundry.
We've been talking, Lindsay, about these mundane things topics.
Even you did an episode with Aubrey about connecting over something about charging.
Right.
But it was so funny because these are some of the best episodes, because as we go deeper into these episodes, we realize this really is a connection topic, because these are things everyone does and everyone maybe encounters someone while they're doing it.
It has a chance to build a connection.
Right.
Right.
It's those ordinary mundane parts of life that everybody experiences.
So they it can lead you to a lot of connection.
So a lot of times people connect over the amount of laundry they have.
Right.
Especially with kids or pets.
Right?
Yes.
It's crazy.
We don't even have kids and it feels like we're constantly doing laundry in our house.
I can't imagine what it feels like for you, Michelle.
Yes.
It's just wild, especially in the summer, when they're going to camp and they come home with wet towels.
Even today, because they're home from school, they go back to school next week.
And they had friends over and They decided to play with the water hose and they got everything wet.
And so then all of a sudden my laundry pile became higher because everything was wet.
Oh, you can imagine.
Jeez.
Yeah, but they had a good time.
So that's okay.
But yeah, I mean, some people vent about doing laundry or they talk about their laundry habits.
Yeah.
By the way, what does vent mean?
That's a great bonus for today.
If our listeners don't know, Michelle, what is that?
They just kind of talk about it or complain or they have so much laundry to do.
Right.
Laundry day, right?
Kind of like commiserating or complaining.
Commiserating, that's a good word.
Yeah, and this would usually come up if somebody says you know they have to do their laundry or they had to spend the weekend doing laundry.
So let's talk more about this.
So a couple of the connection topics, I would say the first one is just when, right?
So they might talk about when they do their laundries, weekends or how often they do it.
So, I mean, Lindsay, would you say do you have a laundry day or do you just do it as it comes?
Yeah, so I'm not the person in my house that does the laundry.
So luckily, I know I get a pass on this.
Maybe those responsibilities will be flipped and will be changed soon.
But yeah, so I think, you know, we do laundry at different times throughout the week.
I think it's not just done on one day.
It's kind of a rotating schedule, right?
Yeah, it's not really a schedule.
It's just as needed a few times a week.
Yeah, same.
Yeah.
But I think mine is every day or almost every day.
Yeah.
Every day.
Wow.
Okay.
Yeah.
So again, like I said, in the summer, definitely every day.
But what are some things, some expressions or some things that you can say to someone to connect over this when you do your laundry?
Yeah.
I mean, what you just said, I pretty much do laundry every day or I feel like all I do is laundry.
I love that.
And we could insert anything there.
Right.
I feel like all I do is house cleaning, or I feel like all I do is picking up the kids, something like that.
Right.
Yeah.
Or you could say something like, I can't believe how much laundry there is in my house.
Or you could say the laundry just piles up so quickly around here.
I remember I did have a designated laundry day when I lived in New York.
Cause you know, as we talked about in the other episode, you had to go to the laundromat.
I think you said you had a laundry machine, right?
In a common, in the common space.
In the common space.
Yeah.
I think I always did it on Sundays.
Just went down there, hung out in the laundromat.
Yes.
The New York life.
Yeah.
Yes, exactly.
Exactly.
So another thing you could connect over about over is how you do it, right?
Or, you know, I'm way too lazy to separate my laundry.
So we talked Lindsay, we've talked about the other.
Yeah.
And I think that's even come up in previous episodes too.
And that was a connection moment for us, I think, because we were both, I think.
If I'm not mistaken, we both said we're too lazy to separate.
We don't do whites and darks.
We just put them all in.
Is that right?
Yeah.
No.
Yeah.
Sounds like we have very similar laundry habits.
You could say something like, oh, I like to do my laundry all on the same day, folding and all.
So some people are very meticulous about it.
They're going to be organized.
They're going to get everything together.
When I first moved into my house, that was who I wanted to be.
I'm like, I'm in a new place, new habits.
We're going to start it all.
And I would just every day fold and put in and fold and put in.
It's a good aspiration.
It is.
And then it fell apart.
And now I have a giant pile.
Well, this is funny.
The next one is most of my laundry winds up on the floor.
It's horrible.
You can tell that I wrote this episode because that is true for me.
I love it.
I love that.
So good.
So yeah, the key here, it's not so much the content here that exactly what we're saying.
It's, you know, who are we around?
And can they relate to what we're saying?
Right?
That's how we build those connections.
Maybe we make a friend and down at the like the community laundry space or whoever we're around, we have to voice what's going on in our laundry lives, Michelle.
Exactly, exactly.
Yeah.
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Okay, so there are quirks that could always enter this conversation, Michelle, right?
We all have our own weird quirks.
What would be an example of a quirk, a laundry quirk?
Right, so for me...
Ever since moving to more of a suburban atmosphere where I don't walk everywhere, I'm always thinking of how can I get some extra exercise?
So, instead of folding all my laundry, just taking it up in one load and folding upstairs and then distributing it, I fold everything downstairs so that I can get exercise bringing it upstairs.
Okay, I like that very strategic.
Yes yes, what about you, Lindsay?
Any any laundry quirks, anything funny?
You do around laundry, but you don't do the laundry.
Well, I do.
I do help fold it, though when it's done, it goes on the bed and I do help fold it.
Um, so I would say yeah, sometimes I do have mismatching socks.
Um, That's just a symptom of who I am.
You know, like the other day we took our niece and nephew to Lava Land, which is just a play area.
We were babysitting for them.
And of course, I took my shoes off like, oh, my socks aren't matching.
Look at that.
You know it's like you're usually exposed.
You know when you're somewhere where you have to take your shoes off, when your socks don't match.
Yes, yes, exactly.
And I'm proud of that.
And my kids also don't have matching socks.
It's totally okay, Michelle.
It's totally okay.
Yeah.
So let's throw out a few good laundry conversation questions.
One is just how often do you do laundry?
Yes.
We've already talked about that.
And I have another one I want to throw in here.
Do you iron your sheets?
Sheets.
It's a good question because I feel like there might be a little cultural differences going on here.
We may have to do a survey question here, because I know that I've heard hearsay of friends that have studied abroad, in different parts of Europe, where the sheets were getting ironed.
Sheets and even underwear were getting ironed.
And I definitely don't do either of those things.
Do you, Michelle?
No, absolutely not.
I didn't even know I had an iron in my house until my mom found it a few weeks ago.
Yeah, so we're in the no category for that.
But I do wonder around the world, what are the norms for what gets ironed, what gets washed in certain ways, what gets folded right?
Yes.
Yes.
Um, I know where we're starting to get a little tight on time.
So I want to move on to the role play in a minute.
But just I will ask you one more question is do you ever avoid buying certain clothes because of how you think they might wash?
Oh, yeah, for sure. because sometimes I just have no idea what to do with it.
I don't even understand the label, frankly.
And so I just think I won't be able to handle this, owning this piece of clothing.
It's too nice for me.
Let's go back to cotton.
Do you ever avoid washing something altogether?
No.
Yeah.
I mean, I think sometimes I try to make things stretch, especially nicer business-oriented clothes.
Like, if I go to a conference I can think oh, could I do one more day?
You know, next conference, you know what could I do here?
Yeah, exactly.
Because I will do that to avoid messing something up.
Right, because it always looks worse, honestly, after you wash it, right?
Yes, it's true.
On the cruise I had a couple dresses that I was wearing and I'm And I'm so torn because they were new so I hadn't washed them yet.
And I like to wash things because I don't like the idea of then, oh, they were, you know.
But I know that that's the last time I'll ever see them like that.
So I'm trying to decide.
Yeah, it's true.
It's true.
Oh, gosh.
All right.
So this is a great topic that lends itself to a real role play.
So shall we dive right into it, Michelle?
Let's do it.
So here we are just friends talking about our weekend.
All right.
So how was your weekend?
I just spent so much time doing laundry.
It was completely piling up.
Story of my life.
I feel like all I do is laundry, especially in the summer.
Completely.
I can't believe how much laundry there is in my house.
All the wet bathing suits and towels and hats up.
That's why most of my laundry lines winds up on the floor.
It's horrible.
I'm good at full.
I'm good about folding.
But honestly, I'm way too lazy to separate my laundry.
Oh, I never do that either, Lindsay.
And I never fold anything, especially socks.
That's why I always mismatch my socks.
You're too funny.
Nice.
Yeah, I mean, and this is the cool thing is, you know, people connect over imperfections, right?
Which is something we talk about connection, not perfection here.
People are imperfect in the way they live their lives.
And that's the beauty of people.
And that's where we find the connection moment.
So we're revealing a lot of the things about ourselves here Michelle, that you know we're not perfect.
Who is, right?
Yes.
Exactly.
It shows you're vulnerable, maybe a little self-deprecating.
So it's good stuff.
So I just talked about in this role play.
I said the laundry was completely piling up, which that's a really good one you can use to pile up.
Yeah.
Imagine this mountain of laundry.
And then I agreed with you, or I resonated with you, not by saying oh, me too, by saying a bonus phrase for today.
Story of my life.
And that's a whole other episode that we could do on that one, Michelle.
Right.
Exactly.
So guys, hit follow because I will be planning it.
Ooh, can't wait.
So we'll get to that in the next episode when we come out with that.
But basically, I'm just saying me too, is what I'm saying, right?
Mm-hmm.
Yes, me too in a big way, in a major way.
And then I said, I feel like all I do is laundry and I want to punch the all I do is laundry.
Yes.
Yes.
And then I said, I can't believe how much laundry there is in my house.
And then I said, that's why most of my laundry winds up on the floor.
Yes.
And then he said, it's horrible.
And then I said, I'm good about folding, but honestly, I'm way too lazy to separate my laundry.
So everyone has kind of a line, right, between what they will do and what they just won't do.
It's interesting to compare the lines.
Exactly.
And then I said, I never fold anything, especially socks.
That's why I always mismatch my socks.
Yes.
Love it.
Look at this topic.
Look at how we can connect around such a mundane thing.
But the relationships that could come out of the connections in the conversations won't be mundane.
Right.
Right.
Because you're learning.
You're getting kind of a behind the scenes experience into somebody's normal daily life instead of this formal.
Oh, now we're going to talk about this right.
It gives you a little peek and you can learn a lot about somebody about like, when you're talking about these topics.
100%.
I love it.
I love it.
And that's the takeaway for today.
I mean, don't overlook these.
You know, while we're busy preparing for exams or worrying about business, English or these important things, don't forget these little moments of connection.
And I bet, if we look closely, we could find 20 or 25 of them in our everyday life waiting for the bus being on the train.
There's so many of them.
We'll try to cover more here in the fall.
Right, Michelle?
Exactly.
All right.
Awesome.
And guys, remember to listen to those other episodes, All Ears English 2478, Business English 468.
And of course, you have this one.
Yep.
And hit the follow button so you don't miss a single episode in any future series.
All right, Michelle, you take care.
Talk soon too.
All right.
Bye, guys.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
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