any idea the percentage of kids who use it? is it a must have? does the answer depend on whether the school is formal dress or not? On the one hand, the thought of paying someone to wash his close is borderline infuriating! On the other hand, I would rather have him spend what precious free hours he will have studying, not ruining and losing his clothes.
Thoughts on this???
Here’s a thread with about every answer possible - included some heated debate at times. 
My own never signed up for laundry service for various reasons which are probably found in that thread.
@doschicos - I love that thread. 
Thanks for posting that link! That should be a pinned thread!
I used to be anti-laundry service, until I wasn’t. George has a VERY affordable plan, and we signed 7D2 up for it this year. I guess I’m getting soft in my old age.
If it’s in your budget, it might be worthwhile.
I know plenty of kids that manage it just fine, but it is much less hassle and stress to be able to do the laundry service. I thought it was absurd at first, but I now see why many find it helpful. If it is something that you are able to, talk to your son and see what he wants. I’m not sure what school he goes to so I can’t say how many students will use the laundry service at his school, but he can always go and see what kids do and then decide.
@AppleNotFar I am certain it would be in his best interest, but I also wouldn’t want him to be the one of the few using the service and be pegged as an entitled elitist - especially since we are anything but!!!
Once you know where he is going, you’ll know the cost of the laundry program (does vary a bit) and you can get some feedback on how widely used it is at that particular school.
I’d also consider how close your home is to the school. Could the student bring items home to be washed/dry cleaned on breaks or not? Not talking about daily laundry as much as comforter and items used less frequently. School breaks do happen every month or so even if just for long weekends.
@Korab1 I wouldn’t worry about him being pegged as something. I know at my school a decent amount of kids (maybe 60/40) use the laundry service and are definitely not pegged as snobs. The laundry service shouldn’t give your child a reputation or let others have any other pre conceived notions about him. I can only speak for my experiences from my school, but I wouldn’t word to much about that. Best of luck to you and your son!
thanks for all the input everyone. I am still laughing my way through the thread @doschicos posted!
A young woman spoke at graduation a year or so ago on the topic of “how many times can I wear these jeans?” It was a very funny, and ultimately quite touching tale of negotiating laundry chores.
When my boys were at JBS, they wore the same pair of pants for days ( perhaps weeks… ) when they had at least 4-6 clean pairs hanging in their closet. It was gross. I remember holding my breath every time I entered the dorm or their room.
At the end of the school year, I wanted to throw all their clothing on the Weber. I had to wash everything twice just to get the dorm smell out.
And…
it never really came out… and then I had to take my car to the carwash because the car smelled like the dorm, too. I used to pray that it wouldn’t rain on pick-up days just so I could roll down all the windows on the way home. I remember it poured once or twice, and I rolled the windows down anyway. :-&
OMG LOL @PhotographerMom ! Best post of the day for me!!
Lol, @PhotographerMom ! The lax gear bag won that prize in our house. The smell of sweat, fear, dirt and whatever else. Awful.
As amusing a @PhotographerMom 's story is, the winner has to be from the “bad kitty” user:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18532058/#Comment_18532058
DS does not use the laundry service. If he used a linen service it would mean he’d have to strip and remake his bed every 2 weeks, which would be very time consuming - their room is so small he has a high loft, which he scaled the footboard to access and which has about an 8 inch clearance from the ceiling. I remade his bed after Christmas and nearly concussed myself. He has machines on his floor and he knows how to use them. Even better, the school’s sports programs require the students wear practice uniforms, and every day they change at the gym, return the practice kits to the cage, where they are washed for the boys and given back the next day. Brilliant - otherwise I fear sports socks would never be laundered.
You are so right, @PhotographerMom – as a dorm parent to 49 LAX/Hockey boys, there were days when I wished I had a Hazmat suit for room inspections.
And if he doesn’t use a laundry service, he strips his bed how often? Never? Waits until mom comes?
JBS laundry service was built into tuition… a prime example of divine intervention. That is- if the kid actually placed the clothing in the bag.
When we received our first laundry brochure and price list for SS, my husband almost died but relented because my SD needed the dry cleaning option for much of her wardrobe. Thankfully, by V Form, she wised up and packed more washable clothing so we didn’t have to pay for the super duper ultra deluxe package again. That was brutal- but she did use it every week… unlike two other people I know.
Our two boys also transitioned to formal dress SS, but for them we chose the bare bones basic service without dry cleaning. They had to bring their ties and jackets home for breaks, or face the penalty of death. Their bedding was brought home in a tightly tied garbage bag for laundering, too. If I had to do it all over again, I would buy gray sheets… to go with their gray socks and gray t-shirts… the gray everything that was once a brilliant white.
You know- that really pretty grayish sludge color- that one. That way one wouldn’t see what a appeared to be a chalk outline from a murder scene on their sheets… it was gross.
My husband to the boys : You will send out everything you own every. single. week.
Yeah, that didn’t happen. But, the laundry service was great. If a dry clean only item did find its way into the bag, they would clean it and bill us. Sadly, ties aren’t always removed from button down shirts before entering the bag.
I did notice a slight improvement overall when they discovered girls… Suddenly, they were running out of things like soap, deodorant and dental floss…