<p>Can any current SMU student or parent tell me what percentage of the kids use the campus laundry service? As the mother of a son, I was very glad to hear that there was a service that he could drop off his dirty clothes and then pick them up clean but several people are telling me that I should trust him to do his own clothes. I am just afraid that if I dont' do the laundry service, that I am going to show up for Parents Weekend at the end of September to a ton of dirty clothes.</p>
<p>So any real life stories would be appreciated.</p>
<p>College is a time to grow up. If your son is incapable of doing his own laundry there are some problems. That being said, at my school (U of Colorado) the laundry service van came to my dorm and there was a good 30 person line to drop off and pick up, so people do use it.</p>
<p>My daughter, who will be a sophomore this fall, did use the laundry service this past year. She always did wash at home so she was perfectly capable of handling things on her own. It was really an issue of time more than anything else and the concern of having to hang around the dorm while loads completed instead of spending her time either studying (she preferred studying in the library) or participating in the many campus activities she was involved in. It was a real mix of people who did their own laundry and those who used the service. All in all she was happy that she had the service first year, but will not be using it this year as she will be living in her sorority house where she’s not as concerned about items left unattending for short periods of time.</p>
<p>Thanks - that was more of my concern was not that he couldn’t do his laundry (which he has at home) but when he would have time to do his laundry.</p>
<p>I don’t know the percentage of students who use the laundry service but it comes down to cost (much less expensive to do your own and the personal choice of what you want to spend your money on) and teaching life skills and time management. We had a discussion with our student last summer and together made the choice for our student to do their own laundry. Our student is a very busy student who was involved in several major campus activities and took honor level classes and made all A’s both semesters but still found time to take care of personal laundry and thought it silly to pay for a service. Nothing was every taken or lost (items could still be taken or lost by laundry service). The laundry is free at SMU so the only cost is your laundry supplies. Be aware that the machines are HE and need HE detergent.</p>