Adventures in Red Hook

So…

Today I decided that it was finally time to bite the bullet and wash my non-tumble-dry-able sofa slipcover because it was, in a word, disgusting.

I removed it, found some sheets with which to cover my now naked couch, applied stain stick to the more profound spots of grime, double-checked the washing instructions online, went searching for quarters, realized I was out of laundry detergent, went out to buy more, came home, lugged everything to the Laundromat, and washed the slipcover.

When I pulled it out of the washing machine half an hour later, it looked worse than when it had gone in. One of the back cushion covers was now an interesting shade of yellow, none of the afore-mentioned grime appeared to have gone anywhere, and in fact some of it appeared to have spread. I pointed this out to the man working at the Laundromat, who said it was my fault for not using bleach. When I explained that the washing instructions specifically stated not to use bleach, he mumbled something else and wandered away.

Perfect.

So I loaded the still-filthy mass of formerly white fabric into my laundry bag and lugged it home. However, before attempting to find some way of air drying the sodden monstrosity, I decided to check IKEA’s website to see how much a new slipcover would cost.

Lo and behold! Since I am apparently one of the only people crazy enough to actually have a white couch, the white slipcover was on sale for $49! I figured it would cost me at least that much to attempt to dry-clean the current cover back into some semblance of decency (if it didn't succumb to mildew during the drying process), I decided it was time to take a trip down to the new IKEA that was recently built in Brooklyn—in Red Hook, to be exact.

One train and one bus later, there I was… and let me tell you, I have been a customer in several IKEA locations, and am used to their labyrinthine floor plans, but good grief!

After finding out where to get my slipcover, getting lost in a maze of closets, picking up a few other items along the way (who? me?!), and getting acquainted with the backs of the heads of the other customers in the TWO open check-out lanes, my mission was a success!

My couch looks brand new… and I have a wok, an apron, some new oven mitts, a lifetime supply of tea-light candles, and two new glasses… one of which I just discovered is cracked.

Guess I’ll have to go back to IKEA.