[hga]

Errr, as a member of the middle class rapidly becoming "upper middle class" during that exact period, I don't think I have much visibility into this.

I have the strong impression that white goods like your three or four basic appliances, fridge, washer, dryer and maybe freezer, were major things, and that purchases were made with care and perception of reliability key (how Sears' Kenmore brand did so well, but there was of course the reality of reliability plus good service behind their stuff as well), but then again my parents were from the Silent Generation, who's formative years were in the privations of the Great Depression and WWII. And finishing on impressions, a freezer might be considered something of a luxury (but also a money saver, especially for a big family), but not the washer and dryer.

One approach would be to get statistics on laundromats in suitable areas (i.e. don't including college towns), how have their numbers and capacities changed, if by very much at all? Also correct for family size and sex ratios, my 2 brothers plus one sister and I certainly created more dirty laundry than a smaller or more female family.

[hga]

One other thought: were disposable diapers a luxury back then? (Are they today?) My mother certainly didn't use them, and dealing with a bin of my youngest brother's used cloth diapers was nasty enough inside a private house, hard to imagine opening it inside a laundromat....

[nickpsecurity]

Lol. Maybe. Add that to our long-term list of stuff to figure out.