Making the Most of Your Laundromat Waiting Time

A standard laundromat visit involves 60–90 minutes of time when you’re not actively doing anything — machines are running, and you’re waiting. How you use this time transforms the experience from dead time into something valuable. Here are the best approaches.

Work or Study

If your laundromat has WiFi (Love Wash Bella Vista and Zetland do), this is prime remote work time. Bring your laptop, connect to the network, and treat the laundromat visit as a change-of-scenery working session. Many professionals find the focused, distraction-free environment of a laundromat surprisingly productive — no colleagues interrupting, no home distractions, just work time.

Students particularly benefit from this approach. A laundromat study session means two chores done simultaneously: laundry and study.

Read

A physical book or e-reader, a stack of magazines, or your favourite articles saved for offline reading — laundromat time is ideal reading time. No phone notifications to fight, a comfortable chair, and 60+ minutes of uninterrupted reading. Many Love Wash regulars have worked through their reading backlog this way.

Listen to Podcasts or Audiobooks

If reading while surrounded by machine noise isn’t ideal for you, headphones and a podcast or audiobook provide a similarly productive use of time. Long-form content — multi-hour audiobooks or deep-dive podcast series — fits naturally into laundromat time, where you have enough consecutive minutes to actually get into the content.

Plan and Organise

The laundromat is a good environment for planning tasks: weekly scheduling, to-do list review, budget tracking, shopping lists, or personal planning. A few focused minutes with a planning app or notebook while waiting for your wash can set up the rest of your week effectively.

Nearby Errands

If there’s a supermarket, post office, pharmacy, or other service within comfortable walking distance of your Love Wash location, your laundry time is ideal for running those errands. Time your departure to return about 10 minutes before your machine finishes — don’t cut it too fine.

Simply Rest

In a busy week, 60 uninterrupted minutes where you have to be somewhere but don’t have to do anything is actually an opportunity to do nothing at all. Sit comfortably, let your mind wander, watch the machines. Rest is legitimate. Not every quiet moment needs to be optimised.