laundryroom swapmeet

August 3, 2006 10:58 AM

laundryroom swapmeet"I live in an apartment building. We have a laundry room. The laundry room has a table. People put things on the table, and other people take those things away later. It's a laundry room swapmeet. I take pictures of the things and write about them. Hilarity more-or-less ensues." Awesome. [via mefi projects]
posted by mathowie (28 comments total)

You know that 1% rule? I'm pretty sure it's all cortex. In fact I no longer believe cortex is one person. It's not possible.

That being said, cool...It's kind of like the guy who posts about grocery lists that he finds.
posted by poppo at 11:09 AM on August 3, 2006

I just moved into a new apartment that has this same thing going on. It was one of the reasons we chose that building: it's like a Freecycle down the hall.
posted by jefgodesky at 11:09 AM on August 3, 2006

Sir, I salute you.
posted by dame at 11:10 AM on August 3, 2006

(Also, I think The Machinist is that movie with Christian Bale all cracked out. I loved Christian Bale when he was in Newsies. But I was 12.)
posted by dame at 11:11 AM on August 3, 2006

Consider yourself lucky, all my apartment laundry rooms ever traded in was slander and passive aggressive load dumping
posted by prostyle at 11:18 AM on August 3, 2006

MetaFilter: passive aggressive load dumping
posted by ninjew at 11:19 AM on August 3, 2006

I loved Christian Bale when he was in Newsies

He was good in American Psycho, too.
posted by inigo2 at 11:20 AM on August 3, 2006

Yeah, but it's hard to crush on someone when he's being all homocidal and vapid.
posted by dame at 11:24 AM on August 3, 2006

I find free clothes in my laundry room all the time.
posted by brain_drain at 11:32 AM on August 3, 2006

My (old semi-converted industrial) building has the perpetual swapmeet going on the loading dock near the dumpster. Books, clothes , furniture, bikes, every damn thing. I once got a working ancient little guitar tube amp. And the freight elevator is right there, too. S'wonderful.
Great idea for a blog.
posted by zoinks at 11:38 AM on August 3, 2006

[this is cute]
posted by blacklite at 11:47 AM on August 3, 2006

brain_drain: me too. whole piles of 'em!
posted by papercake at 11:50 AM on August 3, 2006

This is from cortex. And, like all things cortex, it is an interesting, creative, and off-beat piece of imagination that brings a smile to my face.

Thanks for posting it.

(Regarding cortex, do we have a clinical diagnosis yet? I have no expertise, but I see by OCD and ADD with him. His creative minds has all they great ideas that he puts a lot of energy into right off the bat, but then gets sidetracked with all other great ideas. OCD ADD monkey and all-around cool cat.
posted by dios at 11:53 AM on August 3, 2006

Speaking of communal laundry rooms, I'm always hesitant to leave clothes unattended in them for fear that someone might open up the washing machine during the rinse cycle and take a dump in it.
posted by gigawhat? at 12:01 PM on August 3, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

This is truly among the Best of the Web. I love it. Matt, I don't suppose this could make cortex eligible for today's $30?
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:04 PM on August 3, 2006

needs better lighting.
posted by blue_beetle at 12:06 PM on August 3, 2006

This laundry machine. It vibrates?
posted by yeti at 12:24 PM on August 3, 2006

Community laundry rooms are a strange dynamic. I used to have to walk a half block to the Launderland on the corner in my old apartment in L.A. Invariably, I would find someone else's underwear (usually women's) or baby socks in my load when pulling it from the dryer. Additionally, since I hated wating at the laundry for my clothes, I would go home for a bit and come back. If I was ever late, the mexican women (the ones washing their underwear and baby socks, I presume) would get impatient, and I would return to my clothing neatly folded on a table somewhere. Once I discovered this, I used it to my advantage on many occasions.
posted by kingpixel at 12:26 PM on August 3, 2006

gigawhat?, I actually saw a drunk girl do that at a party once. We were all shocked.
posted by Gamblor at 12:37 PM on August 3, 2006

Awesome.
posted by sveskemus at 12:48 PM on August 3, 2006

I too have returned to the laundry room and found my clothes folded in a neat pile. (Bless you, older retired lady from the 9th floor.)

But the laundry room episode that stands out in my mind was the time I returned early, found my wet clothes removed from the dryer midload, and dumped in a lump on the table. A neighbor whom I often shared an elevator with, but didn't really know, was frantically shoving her wet clothes into my dryer, running on my quarters, as I walked into the room... caught in the act!

As I stood there, confused, she made a run for the elevator. Suddenly everything fell into place. It was not the first time my clothes had been dumped, and my time stolen.

For the next six months (until I moved), I would run into the time thief woman two or three times a week on the elevator. I always made a point of saying hello, and giving her a big smile. She would, in turn grab her forehead and turn bright red in embarrassment.

I have always felt it was the lost Seinfeld episode.
posted by R. Mutt at 1:21 PM on August 3, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

My cousin lives in a building like that. She lives in a basement apartment, next to the laundryroom. Easy access to new inventory. Once she discovered this, she never gave another gift again that didn't come from the laundryroom swapmeet.
posted by necessitas at 1:58 PM on August 3, 2006

That does sound like a lost Seinfeld episode, R. Mutt.

This is a well executed idea. Kudos, cortex. I like it.
posted by raedyn at 2:06 PM on August 3, 2006

Thanks for the kind words, folks. I had no idea Matt had posted this. Maybe an "email user when Projects entry gets posted" function.

No idea what the frequency of updates will be—I'm more or less bound by the frequency with which people drop new stuff off down there.

I've thought about inviting guest swapmeet material—as several people have said in thread (and as a few acquaintaces have mentioned in person), my building isn't unique in this respect, so it might be interesting to see what other folks come across. But it's a bit early yet.

And dios, it's not OCD. ADD I wonder about sometimes, though.
posted by cortex at 2:31 PM on August 3, 2006

Very funny stuff--this flotsam swap meet. The scary towel with nasty brown stains, the burnt orange rug, for me, churns up that characteristic laundry room stale soap odor. For some reason I keep thinking about Kendra and her soccer sweatshirt, “Run Kendra, run to the laundry room,” and find there your lost youth.
posted by BillyElmore at 2:44 PM on August 3, 2006

I want the green teapot.
posted by deborah at 4:21 PM on August 3, 2006

Alas, it is gone.
posted by cortex at 4:32 PM on August 3, 2006

I thought this was just something my neighbors did. I'd never seen it before in any of my other apartment buildings. I've snagged a few interesting things downstairs, including a very pretty little glass paperweight that's sitting on my desk right now. Neat post.
posted by LeeJay at 6:31 PM on August 4, 2006