Q. I wouldn't mind seeing the 'do it yourself vs. drop it off' subject hashed out in detail. -PB dot C, Brooklyn, NY

A. There is no downside to dropping off your laundry. It's easier, less time-consuming, and not much more expensive than doing it yourself. I dropped that shit off for years when I lived alone, and it made me very, very happy. The only reason I stopped is because my wife does not trust the laundry service folks to get it right. Well, more accurately, she prefers to use Dreft, and there's no way those dropoff people use Dreft. Which before was just a matter of preference but now that we have the kid is sort of a legitimate requirement. I suppose if we really wanted to invite a Larry David scenario, we could drop off the clothes along with some Dreft and request they use it, but that would be pretty lame. And PB, you are right about the kid changing everything. She dirties stuff up so fast that you almost have to do laundry every other night. It would be hard for us to get to a dropoff place that often, especially because we're often not home until after 8.