Today I am doing laundry and reflecting on my time in Switzerland. I have often blogged on laundry days because it is something I can do in the short time blocks between loads. Today is not really my official laundry day, but don't tell anyone else that. I am just exploiting a loophole in the system. See, this is the way the system works... Most people in Switzerland live in apartments. Some units have their own laundry but many have shared facilities. Like everything else in Switzerland, there are specific rules and schedules governing how and when you must do your laundry. In my building the main rules to follow are: 1) You may only do your laundry between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm. and 2) You have one assigned laundry day per week. There are 6 units in my building and 7 days of the week, so there must be an extra day in there, you say. No, because you are not allowed to work on Sundays here and laundry would most certainly be considered work. I'm quite certain all of our neighbors knew we were not Swiss right from the beginning since we moved in to our apartment on a Sunday, while everyone else was observing their day of rest. While one laundry day a week may seem a bit limiting, I have heard that in some larger buildings you may only have a small block of time per week. The Swiss seem to be fine with it and we have adapted just fine too. The only problem is when you are not at home on your designated day. Our day is Wednesday. Every Wednesday I look forward to my morning ritual of doing the laundry. There is some very reassuring about strict schedules and routines. I guess that means I am assimilating. Except for the fact that today is Friday and I am poaching time in the laundry room. Through a glitch in the system, there is one guy who doesn't do laundry here and hence has not signed up for a laundry day. His day would be Friday, so I occasionally use it as a backup day. That's my loophole.
The other thing to know about the system is that each unit is issued a keycard that lets you activate the laundry facilities. A clever way to properly bill you for your energy use and to ensure that no one sneaks in and does any illicit laundering (I don't think that is a problem here). There is of course a whole list of other rules about what to do with your detergent bottles and boxes, how to clean the room after each use and other minutiae that I need not bore you with. Gotta go put in the next load...
Today I am doing laundry and reflecting on my time in Switzerland. I have often blogged on laundry days because it is something I can do in the short time blocks between loads. Today is not really my official laundry day, but don't tell anyone else that. I am just exploiting a loophole in the system. See, this is the way the system works... Most people in Switzerland live in apartments. Some units have their own laundry but many have shared facilities. Like everything else in Switzerland, there are specific rules and schedules governing how and when you must do your laundry. In my building the main rules to follow are: 1) You may only do your laundry between the hours of 8 am and 10 pm. and 2) You have one assigned laundry day per week. There are 6 units in my building and 7 days of the week, so there must be an extra day in there, you say. No, because you are not allowed to work on Sundays here and laundry would most certainly be considered work. I'm quite certain all of our neighbors knew we were not Swiss right from the beginning since we moved in to our apartment on a Sunday, while everyone else was observing their day of rest. While one laundry day a week may seem a bit limiting, I have heard that in some larger buildings you may only have a small block of time per week. The Swiss seem to be fine with it and we have adapted just fine too. The only problem is when you are not at home on your designated day. Our day is Wednesday. Every Wednesday I look forward to my morning ritual of doing the laundry. There is some very reassuring about strict schedules and routines. I guess that means I am assimilating. Except for the fact that today is Friday and I am poaching time in the laundry room. Through a glitch in the system, there is one guy who doesn't do laundry here and hence has not signed up for a laundry day. His day would be Friday, so I occasionally use it as a backup day. That's my loophole. 
The other thing to know about the system is that each unit is issued a keycard that lets you activate the laundry facilities. A clever way to properly bill you for your energy use and to ensure that no one sneaks in and does any illicit laundering (I don't think that is a problem here). There is of course a whole list of other rules about what to do with your detergent bottles and boxes, how to clean the room after each use and other minutiae that I need not bore you with. Gotta go put in the next load...
