I stood in front of the washing machine and carefully read the
instructions. I was no stranger to washing my clothes, preferring to
hand-wash things. This was the first time I was going to use a washing
machine, and only because I had sheets and towels that would have been
impossible to dry in our bathroom.

Darn. Why didn't I still have Internet? I was tempted to run to a
cybercafe and look up instructions for machine-washing. Yes, silly
thing, but the Internet has everything. (Hey, I picked up tips for
handwashing off the Internet before.) Then I thought twice about
spending more time and money looking something like that up, and I
decided to go with… err… figuring things out.

It was with great trepidation that I measured the appropriate amount
of detergent, minding the sign on the wall that very sternly warned me
not to exceed the detergent manufacturer's recommended amounts. I had
previously picked out the box from a bewildering array of powder and
liquid detergents because it was the only one that advertised
“Color-fast!” in bright, bold letters. (Yes, humans are suckers for
packaging.)

Still, I didn't want to take any chances given my partiality for red
and orange tops, so I washed my white blouses separately.

Setting the washing machine to “Bright Colors” resulted in the cold
wash cycle that many of my clothes needed, and I figured that my
sheets and towels wouldn't complain about not being washed in a hot
load. I sorely missed Internet access at that point, as I could have
quickly checked the Net to see whether I should have separated my
towels and sheets instead. (Note to self: must set up wireless…)

The rest of the wash was uneventful. I used my cellphone to remind me
to transfer my clothes to the dryer after half an hour, and pick them
pup after an hour after that. I whipped up a quick mushroom-and-cheese
omelette for lunch while waiting for my clothes to dry. Surprisingly
straightforward.

Keeping the no-ironing trick in mind, I folded the clothes as soon as
I took them out of the dryer. I was pleased to see that most of my
clothes seem to have survived the ordeal not much worse for wear,
although either the dryer or the washing machine had started fraying
the threads in my black socks and ever-so-nice striped red
long-sleeved blouse. I guess I should wash those separately, then.

I need to look up that demo on how to fold shirts. I remember seeing a
video of how to fold shirts correctly and efficiently. It's one of
those lifehacks floating around. Hmm…

Casualties:

• Black socks, one pair
• Red long-sleeved blouse
• White and green pajamas: tinted slightly reddish

Go ahead. Laugh. Remember, you were a newbie once…