Write a short story about someone doing laundry.

Posted in Adults on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 95 stories

“The laundry machine” by Matt Render

Submitted to Contest #31

Often, it required two, or even three trips for Maggie to haul all the week’s laundry down to the laundromat. Between Petey, Phil, Henry, Dooley, Mikey, Micky, Nikki, Gurdy, Bobby, Pauly, and Finnegan, Maggie had her day’s work cut out for her. Toiling through the snow covered sidewalks, she would make her rounds while the kids were at school and her husband Gurdy was working at the post office. Between trips, Maggie would fulfill here other duties. A quick stop by the meat shop for the evenings mutton, or pork chops, if it were on a Wednesd...

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“Cleansing” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #31

I hated doing the laundry. I hated it far more than I hated cleaning the toilet, although I was squeamish, and far more than I hated clipping the hedge although I suffered from hay fever. I hated the smell of washing powder, and the feel of wet clothes, and I swore that if I could have afforded it, I would have donated my clothes to a charity shop, and bought new ones – or even different second hand ones from a charity shop. As it was, although nobody commented on it (which doesn’t mean they didn’t notice it!) I wore clothes u...

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“A Trip to the Laundromat.” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #31

A Trip to the Laundromat It was Sunday morning, time for my weekly trip to the laundromat. Usually this was a kind of lonely occasion. I was just another single guy doing his laundry. But this trip was special. Joanna, whom I had only known for about a month, had agreed to move in with me. She lived in an apartment, I owned a house, small, but big enough for two. I had to clean the place up. She had never seen the place ‘in the light’ before. I had spent all of yesterday doing what I could to make it ...

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“Khakis for Ahmed” by Daniel Nest

Submitted to Contest #31

Yara sinks her hands into the icy water and immediately withdraws them as her veins constrict. Slowly now; don’t rush it. She clenches her jaw and tries again, this time lowering the tips of her fingers in first and only then letting the rest of her hands follow.Careful not to damage the fragile fabric, Yara picks up a few soaked items of clothing. Now on to scrub away the worst stains. She can’t hope to ever get the clothes fully clean; the water’s already been used by three other families and is filled with specks of dirt and loose blades ...

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“Violet's Cure” by Eva Gryder

Submitted to Contest #31

Violet sighed as she dumped her family's clothes into the washing machine. The load was large because she had a family of five. Her three children were staying at their grandmother, Margaret's house for the night. Violet absentmindedly turned the knobs that changed the settings of the washing machine. She cursed as she stubbed her toe on one of Connor, her two-year-old son's toys. Violet occasionally regretted her decision to become a stay-at-home mother to her three children. She resigned from her job as a dentist a week before Amber, her o...

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“Dirty Laundry” by Rebekah Thompson

Submitted to Contest #31

Denise’s head swayed from side to side in time with the rhythm of the washing machine. The breeze from the window in front of her intertwined with the scent from the clean linens sent her mind reeling even further into the dark room of her memories; a room in which she had never imagined would welcome her so easily. What had brought her there was so unexpected, so natural, so magical. But why did it make her feel so… dirty? The washing machine chimed, waking her from her daydream and back to reality. She looked around the room and felt her s...

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“Dirty Laundry” by Brandon Barkey

Submitted to Contest #31

DIRTY LAUNDRY I hate doing laundry.One time is okay, takes like ten minutes. But then in two days, it starts all over. It’ll be that way unto death. I wonder how many laundry baskets I’ll vanquish before then…I can’t go on like this. I have better things to do. A concerto to write, children to raise. Oh that’s right, my children are all gone…I hate silence. It’s always so silent when folding laundry. I’d rather die than fold another sock.I need help. Honestly, my whole life has become as predictable and dull as folding laundry. Maybe if I ca...

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“Laundry Day” by AL Paradiso

Submitted to Contest #31

Rushing home from my college work/study job tonight is a bitter/sweet task. Spending the day in barely tolerable clothes overdue for a wash was embarrassing. So passing the day in my office and avoiding people was the bitter; stripping down to my briefs in the parking lot to shed the smelly apparel was the sweet part. I haven’t driven naked since my original college days. If a cop stops me — well, I have my dirty clothes to show him or her. Oh please Lord, let it be a “her.” A guy’s got to have some fun. So what’s the plan, ‘self’? Mom’s ...

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“The absurd weight of late night laundry” by Ophelia S

Submitted to Contest #31

I woke up with the sound of the upstairs neighbors marching as if to invade Poland. One must give to Caesar what is Caesar's and say that the walls of my building were made with the sole intent of keeping the structure up; when it came to drown out the noise, I don't believe the builders gave a rat's ass. That thought made my irritation towards the upstairs neighbors less inflamed.Waken up by such heavy footsteps, for a moment I didn't quite know where I was, but slowly the consciousness came back and I realized I had dozed off while watchin...

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“TO FUND A SECOND LAUNDRY LOAD” by Andrew Grell

Submitted to Contest #31

It’s come down to this. A marriage depends on a man’s ability to get a second load of laundry done. And before I could do that, the first load had to be wrapped up. Gone are the days when you’d put your change in a bucket and then fish out some dimes and quarters, toss your gatkis in a bag and take the elevator to the basement. Cleanliness and titillating entertainment. As Andrew Dice Clay used to say, “If they had any underwear to put on, they wouldn’t be doing laundry.” I wasn’t even supposed to be home that d...

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“Sisterhood at the Laundromat” by Saralyn Richard

Submitted to Contest #31

Ten p.m. was no time to be doing laundry. Especially at the twenty-four-hour laundromat on the far end of town, fifteen miles from the garage apartment I’d been living in ever since fleeing from an abusive husband two states away. It had been ten weeks now, and, although I was grateful to be alive and safe, I wasn’t enjoying the perpetual tiredness that came from working at a minimum-wage job in a bustling café, and the after-hours responsibility for cleaning-washing-maintaining-bill-paying, and the isolation. &...

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“River Gossip” by Daphne Matiza

Submitted to Contest #31

“Sera’s husband has a flat behind!” Tasha whispered, albeit loudly, and the two women with her laughed.I rolled my eyes and tuned them out, focusing on my chores instead of listening to the local gossip. Even though I was curious to know just how Sera had found out that bit of information, I was racing against time. A soft sob had me lifting my head again, distracting me from the task at hand. Across the river, Hannah was quietly crying as she went about her own business.Oh Hannah, I thought.I watched my neighbor as she slowly reached for th...

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“The Laundry Trick” by Chantel Chamonix

Submitted to Contest #31

Shelly froze momentarily as she entered the dorm’s laundry room. Loading up a dryer was one of the most gorgeous men that she’d ever seen in her life. The ratty Queen t-shirt he wore strained to keep his muscular torso under wraps. He was lean in a way that had he been wearing normal clothes, you would have struggled to notice how toned he really was. His hair was lovingly tousled as was the trend with college boys. A flash of anger caused her to slam her basket down on the folding table harder than she meant to. She sighed. She ...

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“Heart” by Mady Oswald

Submitted to Contest #31

It's funny, what most horror movies nowadays make you believe about blood on clothes. It's funny that most people believe it stays stark red -- like candy coating on an apple.Ah, I wish it stayed that way. It might make it easier to look at. But the crushing weight of reality will always set in when the sun goes down. It, like everythin' else, doesn't stay in a constant state. After a while it turns a sickly, grotesque brown, crusting up and staining everything.And in this case, it really DID stain everything. My shirt, my pants, my underpan...

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“What Happened at the Laundromat” by Julie Squires

Submitted to Contest #31

Trigger warning: threat of sexual assault On a muggy June afternoon, a mass of black rolling clouds overtake the sky above our little town, charging in like a herd of running bulls stirring up dust. And Everett and I barely make it inside the laundromat before the downpour starts. As the washing machine does its thing, we sit silently across from one another in plastic yellow chairs. Each time the lightning casts its ghostly glare through the windows, I brace myself for the moment the splintering sound of the thunder’s booming voic...

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Write a short story about someone doing laundry.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 95 stories

“The laundry machine” by Matt Render

“Cleansing” by Deborah Mercer

“A Trip to the Laundromat.” by John Steckley

“Khakis for Ahmed” by Daniel Nest

“Violet's Cure” by Eva Gryder

“Dirty Laundry” by Rebekah Thompson

“Dirty Laundry” by Brandon Barkey

“Laundry Day” by AL Paradiso

“The absurd weight of late night laundry” by Ophelia S

“TO FUND A SECOND LAUNDRY LOAD” by Andrew Grell

“Sisterhood at the Laundromat” by Saralyn Richard

“River Gossip” by Daphne Matiza

“The Laundry Trick” by Chantel Chamonix

“Heart” by Mady Oswald

“What Happened at the Laundromat” by Julie Squires

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a short story about someone tending to their garden.

Write a short story about someone cooking dinner.

Write a short story about someone going to the corner store to buy an everyday item.

Write a short story about someone heading home from work.

Contest #31

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

373

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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