Spin Laundry Lounge - Small Business Revolution

If I was going to recreate the laundromat, I wanted to do it right. It was go big or go home.

While some tend to complain about tasks they don’t enjoy, others decide to change them, make them more enjoyable and efficient—essentially, make them better. Morgan Gary is one of the latter.

Frustrated by the inefficiency of the typical laundromat experience, Gary turned her MBA thesis project into a sustainable business. With a mission to create the first eco-focused laundromat in Portland, Ore. Spin Laundry Lounge was born. Gary is committed to using only efficient, environmentally friendly products and machines. “If I was going to recreate the laundromat, I wanted to do it right.”

Gary’s goal for Spin was to do something good for the environment and the community. Spin provides a clean, safe place for people to do the necessary task of laundry, using the fastest and among the most energy-efficient machines money can buy. Customers can take advantage of the complimentary environmentally friendly laundry soap that is free of harsh dyes and chemicals, while enjoying a cup of coffee, local organic food, beer, or wine. Even the to-go cups and containers are compostable, further evidence of Gary’s dedication to reducing our carbon footprint.

Gary’s future business plans are focused on Spin’s commitment to community, Gary hopes to find more ways to give back. Currently Spin washes, folds, and delivers clothing donations to local shelters. Her next initiatives include loosely matching the left behind socks and donating them to the Portland Rescue Mission, as well as donating children’s clothes to the Portland Public School’s Clothing Center. “I love being involved in the community and I hope that that’s an area that we can grow and really make a big difference.”

In just a little over a year since opening, Spin has certainly changed the idea of doing laundry for its customers. It’s a place where people actually want to stay a while, for friends and neighbors to come together and feel that they’re a part of something that’s also doing good, not just for the Portland community but for the earth.

Photos by Jared Moossy

The exterior of Spin Laundry Lounge, Portland's only eco-focused laundromat, bar and cafe.
Customers at Spin Laundry Lounge take advantage of the free wifi while waiting on their laundry. Customers love that they can come in and get work done while their clothes are washing.
While waiting on their laundry, customers at Spin Laundry Lounge can relax in the cafe and bar, which serves up locally brewed coffee, organic, vegan and gluten-free food options, beer and wine.
A packed laundromat scrambles with busy worker bees. Owner Morgan Gary's goal for Spin is to continue to grow and find ways to be more involved in the community.
Gary Gamza helps a customer with their laundry as seen through the reflection of a washer.
Morgan Gary, owner of Spin Laundry Lounge, sweeps the floors of the laundry room while one-off socks hang in the background waiting to be reclaimed by their owners.
Morgan Gary started Spin Laundry Lounge with the goal of doing something good for the community and the environment. At Spin, customers can save time and money, reduce their carbon footprint, all while making a routine task enjoyable.
A customer at Spin Laundry Lounge folds her clothes. The customer base at Spin consists of a variety of demographics with many repeat customers.
A customer carries their laundry into Spin Laundry Lounge, Morgan Gary's eco-focused laundromat that has revolutionized the experience of doing laundry for the Portland community.
A customer enters Spin Laundry Lounge, Portland's first eco-focused laundromat. Owner Morgan Gary started Spin as her graduate thesis project for her MBA in sustainable business, after recognizing an opportunity to make the laundromat experience more enjoyable and efficient.
Morgan Gary, owner of Spin Laundry Lounge, helps team member Gary Gamza fold clothes for a drop off service they have with several small local businesses. In addition to their regular wash and fold service, Spin offers special prices for business accounts including restaurants, food carts, massage therapists, and even a Tiny House Hotel.
Customers fold clothes at Spin Laundry Lounge in Portland, Ore. Being active in the community and giving back is extremely important to owner Morgan Gary. One way Spin currently does this is through their clothing discard and donation service, in which they will wash and fold discarded or donated items and deliver them to local shelters.
Single socks left behind are hung in the window of Spin Laundry Lounge in Portland, Ore. with the hope that they can be reunited with their owners. "Anyone that has ever washed their own laundry has lost a sock!"