Slowing Down and Simplifying: Laundry

 Back home, we have a laundry room with a fancy washer and dryer, super capacity, with steam drying, every bell and whistle, etc. I also have dozens and dozens of shirts, pants, sweaters, and jackets. 

Here, the armoire that Wendy and I share, with all of our clothes, looks like this:

And that's good, because here is our washer and dryer:

Oops, hookups, but no appliances. There is a laundry service a few blocks from here, but we haven't used it yet. Instead, we bought some laundry soap, and we've been doing this:

A couple of minutes of scrubbing, a little soaking, rinse, and hang. The climate is pretty dry here, so clothes dry easily in a day or so. And instead of letting laundry build up, I wash a couple of things every day or two. 

It may seem like a hassle not to have a washer, but it actually isn't bad. It's quickly become part of our rhythm. It also makes you more deliberate about washing. When the climate is perfect and one is rarely hot or sweaty, is it really necessary to wash every shirt after one wearing? Or can some clothes be worn more than once? Can we have just a few shirts in neutral, solid colors and unobtrusive patterns, or do we need to have a huge closet stuffed full of them? So far, I'm discovering I need less than I would have thought, in clothes and in other things, to feel content and happy here. I hope I can keep these thoughts with me after our time in Mexico is over, and I find myself again in a more consumption-oriented environment.