Laundry

Doing laundry has never been fun. Our ancestors spent all day at their washboards, wooden tubs and wringer machines. And when the wash was done, there was still a mountain of ironing to face. Today's working women and men have it much easier, but it seems there is more laundry to do than ever: The kids' soccer clothes need to be washed after practices and games, school clothes and gym togs pile up, and the hamper is perpetually overflowing with sheets and towels. Thanks to the convenience of modern washers and dryers, we can toss in loads at all hours of the day and night.

One amenity that's often missing in small homes is a real laundry room with space for washing and drip-drying delicate items, a countertop on which to fold clothes and a spot to do the ironing. Creating working spaces for these activities takes some real imagination. A handy wall-mounted fold-out drying rack from The Container Store is a terrific and inexpensive solution for hand-done wash. You might install this in a bathroom or consider hanging it in a closet or back porch. You might even entertain the idea of mounting such a rack behind a bedroom door.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Surveyors spent part of this week marking the locations of new gas tanks for the Turkey Hill Minit Market coming to the intersection of CV Avenue and Pa. 16. The Laundry Station at the intersection since the 1960s soon will be demolished to make way for the tanks. A Turkey Hill spokeswoman previously told The Herald-Mail that 12 fueling stations are planned for the convenience store, which today is the shell of a building immediately behind the coin-operated laundry service.

Is the sock under the couch? Behind the bed? Beneath the dryer? Where is my other sock? "You'll just have to read the book to find out," said Esther LoPresto, author of the children's book "Where's My Other Sock?" LoPresto, 20, of Hagerstown, will sign copies of her book from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 22, at Borders bookstore at the Centre at Hagerstown, west of Hagerstown. "Where's My Other Sock?" is an illustrated children's book released through Tate Publishing and Enterprises, which offers a film-like trailer for "Sock" and a digital download of the book on its website, TatePublishing.

Phyllis Davis unloads laundry Wednesday evening at City Wash Tub Laundromat on West Church Street in Hagerstown. Davis' washing machine broke down so she went to the laundromat.

A stuffed frog is attached to the wall, which is decorated in a rain forest theme. Books for children from babies up to school-age students sit in shelves, waiting to lead children on a reading adventure. Members of a local chapter of the Girls Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital have been working to help children staying at The Salvation Army of Hagerstown, at 534 W. Franklin St., have a more cheerful experience through a “Reading Rain Forest” they developed. As part of their Silver Star project, which requires them to put in more than 50 hours of community service, four girls from Troop 40165 painted a rain forest mural on the walls of a laundry room in the bottom level of The Salvation Army.

Think of all the times you want to make a good impression - not just a strong hello or how do you do - but an IMPRESSION. cont. from lifestyle You want to make a lasting image in the long-term memory of your guests, a real "hall-of-fame" event. Those impressionistic times you may remember may include a first date, a first kiss, the first meeting of your future in-laws and, in the case of my neighbor, the first dinner at her new house with her boss. Any "first dinner at your house with your boss" is just ripe with opportunity for gaining honor and high standing if all goes well.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The west side of the intersection of CV Avenue and Pa. 16 would be overhauled under plans on file with the Borough of Waynesboro. A Turkey Hill Minit Market, two retail buildings and a coin-operated laundry service are included in the sketch plan engineered by CEDG of Mechanicsburg, Pa. A sketch plan recently went before the Waynesboro Planning Commission, which returned the proposal with a list of considerations, Borough Engineer Kevin Grubbs said. "They're working on their preliminary submission," Grubbs said.

Here are suggested items students should pack for college dormitory living: School supplies Bookcase or shelves Comforter and sheets (check with college for mattress sizes) Pillows and pillowcases Power strips Extension cords Phone, jacks (check with college to see if they supply a phone) Pre-paid phone card Floor lamp (some colleges ban halogen lamps) Desk lamp Fan Television VCR/ DVD player Stereo Playing cards/games Computer Alarm clock Refrigerator (check with college for limits on watts and size)

Week of Oct. 23, 1955 Washington County Hospital will observe a half-century of service to the community Wednesday, Oct. 26, when it marks the 50th anniversary of its opening with an open house, hosted by members of the Women's Auxiliary to Washington County Hospital. Visitors will be guided through various departments, including the operating room area, medical-record room, representative patient floor, X-ray department, laboratory, laundry and kitchen. The 31st Alsatia Mummers' Parade Saturday will cost well over $15,000 to produce.

Susan McCarney was a woman in motion. Her family said it was typical for her to have completed several loads of laundry and have the house cleaned by 7 a.m. “She was always busy. She loved to clean, anything in the house, anybody's house,” said Erin Gay of Martinsburg, W.Va., the middle of Susan's three daughters. Susan was the oldest of two daughters and always was a helper around the house. One of her six brothers remembers her standing on the picnic table as a child to hang laundry on the clothesline because she wasn't tall enough to reach the line.

I just might have the world's best smelling bathroom. The skeptic would ask if I've smelled every bathroom in the world. The answer, of course, is no. And the rest of the answer is, "Have you smelled MY bathroom?" Not to brag or anything, but the scent of my loo and its surroundings calls to mind a field of sprightly lavender on the outskirts of a quaint village, perhaps on a Mediterranean shore. I'm not sure my teenage sons would explain it just that way, but I'm saying, it smells good.

The criminal mind is a fascinating thing, not so much for its ingenuity, but for the fact that if it were employed in honest pursuits, there is no end to the number of world problems it could solve. Like if the guys involved in “Oceans 11” had put that much thought into cancer research, melanoma would be a thing of the past. But I would give an extra gold star to the fellow who figured out that laundry detergent could be a high-profit target for organized crime sprees.

A stuffed frog is attached to the wall, which is decorated in a rain forest theme. Books for children from babies up to school-age students sit in shelves, waiting to lead children on a reading adventure. Members of a local chapter of the Girls Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital have been working to help children staying at The Salvation Army of Hagerstown, at 534 W. Franklin St., have a more cheerful experience through a “Reading Rain Forest” they developed. As part of their Silver Star project, which requires them to put in more than 50 hours of community service, four girls from Troop 40165 painted a rain forest mural on the walls of a laundry room in the bottom level of The Salvation Army.

A change machine was destroyed Tuesday when someone broke into the Funkstown American Legion Laundry Mat at 6 N. Wayside Ave., according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. The building was broken into between noon and 4:30 p.m., according to police, who said that two doors also were damaged in the burglary. Damage to the building was estimated at $5,000, police said. Anyone with information about the burglary may call Deputy 1st Class Thomas Routzahn at 240-313-2100, ext. 6169.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. --The Chambersburg Fire Department responded to a minor fire Friday afternoon at the YMCA on McKinley Street, a Franklin County Emergency Services dispatcher said. The fire, which was reported at about 4:30 p.m., was contained to the laundry room, the dispatcher said. Further details were unavailable Friday evening.

Is the sock under the couch? Behind the bed? Beneath the dryer? Where is my other sock? "You'll just have to read the book to find out," said Esther LoPresto, author of the children's book "Where's My Other Sock?" LoPresto, 20, of Hagerstown, will sign copies of her book from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 22, at Borders bookstore at the Centre at Hagerstown, west of Hagerstown. "Where's My Other Sock?" is an illustrated children's book released through Tate Publishing and Enterprises, which offers a film-like trailer for "Sock" and a digital download of the book on its website, TatePublishing.

On the Web: www.chambersburgproject.org WAYNESBORO, PA. -- Despite the depressed economy, the Chambersburg Project started this week with more volunteers and financial contributions than its previous 10 years. More than 200 teenagers have divided into teams that are doing repairs at Franklin County, Pa., homes whose property owners have financial or medical needs. One of those teams, with four boys and three girls, tackled the Pa. 16 home shared by Lee Weiss and her four sons.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Firefighters contained a Thursday afternoon fire at 10360 Fish & Game Road in Washington Township, Pa., to the laundry room where it started. Waynesboro Deputy Fire Chief Trayer Stoops said the first firefighters on the scene at 2 p.m. found smoke coming from the home and discovered fire in the first-floor laundry room of the split-foyer house. A woman who lived there was evaluated by ambulance crews, but not taken to the hospital, Stoops said. Firefighters left the scene at 3:30 p.m. The cause is under investigation, but Stoops said the fire appears to have started accidentally somewhere other than the washer and dryer.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- Surveyors spent part of this week marking the locations of new gas tanks for the Turkey Hill Minit Market coming to the intersection of CV Avenue and Pa. 16. The Laundry Station at the intersection since the 1960s soon will be demolished to make way for the tanks. A Turkey Hill spokeswoman previously told The Herald-Mail that 12 fueling stations are planned for the convenience store, which today is the shell of a building immediately behind the coin-operated laundry service.