Laundry Room Thief

In the 70s I lived in army housing in Heidelberg, Germany and we shared a laundry room. I was a busy mother of two small children. One day I retrieved our laundry from the dryer. A few days later I grabbed clean jeans from the laundry basket but noted they were too tight. I thought I needed to lose a few pounds and put another pair on. The following week while at the playground my neighbor was complaining that someone had taken her teenage son's jeans from the laundry room. I realized I hadn't looked before throwing a load in the dryer and had scooped up her son's pants with my things. She was glad to get them back and I was embarrassed to say the least.

I still think about the white T-shirt someone stole out of my dryer 36 years ago. She probably looked better in it than I did!

This is hard to believe. So unfair. Buy your own things people. Neighbors, especially, should be better behaved. My only other thought is I sense the bath mat was drying alone. Would it still have been there if it had shared the round ride with other clothing? Would it have been harder to swipe? Did this person just need a bathmat? How come pieces of other clothing weren't snatched as well? And, good luck Ms. Valencia. I hope you don't have to babysit loads from now on. Too many other things to do in between. For example how about an episode of "Law and Order?!"

This happened to me once. Except it was 2 full loads of clothing, and the building immediately knew who took them -- she was an elderly woman who was a hoarder. The building inadvisedly left it to me to get my own things back (honestly, I don't know what they were thinking), so I had to show up, insist repeatedly that she return my things, and then locate them in a wretchedly filthy, overstuffed apartment crawling with bugs and almost no room for people to walk around in. She had only had them for a couple of hours, but they still felt tainted somehow. I felt pitifully sad for her, and also a little anxious about the fire and safety risk her apartment presented. You never know what your neighbors are dealing with, I suppose.

Was the new bath mat returned?

Long ago when I lived in New York, someone pilfered my underpants from my small load of laundry. Just the six of them, nothing else was stolen. Never found out who the culprit was (no security cameras then) - not sure I would have wanted them back even if they were returned!

The light-fingered neighbor must have been too surprised to come up with a better excuse! "Um, I inadvertently took the bath mat upstairs with me, it's the same color as my towels so.... um...."

Many years ago my family and I went to DC over the Christmas holidays. My dad and I decided to venture to the Air and Space Museum. It was rainy so I took my mom’s Ralph Lauren umbrella. Going through security I placed said umbrella and messenger bag on conveyor belt. Once through I got my bag but no brollie. Security noticed my confused state and asked what was wrong. He told me not to worry he would get to the bottom of the mystery. Within 30 seconds they found the culprits a yuppy couple who got in front if me. Security tracked them down and retrieved it. Glad you found your bath mat.

It’s been years since I have dealt with that, but still relate! Your super deserves a nice Christmas present!

Your super is a real gem - a super hero.

A laundry room security tape? Big Brother is watching you.

That's a super super.

I loved this! Very clever and funny.

This made me smile. Having shared many laundry rooms throughout the years, I have often thought about someone coming in and just taking something. The ending to this piece was so unexpected-I really enjoyed this one.

I never like to make excuses for pilfering someone else's property,but I suspect it was probably an older,perhaps poorer tenant who was afraid of slipping in the shower.you sound like the sort of person who would have bought one for him or her had they asked you.better you don't know who did it.it probably would have embarrassed them.all's well that ends well!

Loved this! Very clever and I did not expect this ending!!

This was such a great story! As a New Yorker who shares a laundry room in a large building, I can totally relate to this. I loved the ending:). Thanks for sharing.

Your story about the laundry room thief had an upbeat ending, Misha. Here’s my story. It also has a good ending, but with a different twist. Back in the 1970s, I lived in a rental house (aka a beach shack) on the Connecticut shoreline. Because the house had no laundry facilities, I would go to a laundromat about a mile away. One day, after washing a lot of clothes, I filled 3 dryers. Figuring that it would take about 45 minutes for the drying cycle, I went to get lunch at the diner located in the same small plaza. Forgetting to pay attention to the time (I think I was engrossed in a novel), I rushed back to the laundromat 2 hours later. My 3 dryers were filled, spinning around with someone else’s clothes! And then I saw my laundry—towels, sheets, pants, socks, shirts, everything—neatly folded on the table. A young mother and her daughter were smiling at me. “We figured you’d be back,” they said. “It passed the time while we were doing our own laundry.” I offered to buy them lunch at the diner, but they politely refused. Simon & Garfunkel had a nice line in “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright.” They sang, “When I run dry, I stop awhile and think of you.” From time to time I still think of the young mother and her daughter who folded my clothes. It’s a wonderful thought, especially in today’s not-always-very-nice world.

As an apartment dweller who shares laundry facilities with dozens of people, this is one of my favorite Diary stories ever. And a great ending on top of that. So worthy of a celebration in song lyric, but Joe Walsh's "Laundry Mat Blues" says it all pretty much as is!