Making People Feel Normal: Amanda Sidell’s Human-First Approach to Laundry

Amanda Sidell, co-owner of The Laundry Basket in Bangor, Maine, never believed that she’d be in the laundry industry.

20 May, 2026 6 min read

Making People Feel Normal: Amanda Sidell’s Human-First Approach to Laundry

Amanda Sidell, co-owner of The Laundry Basket in Bangor, Maine, never believed that she’d be in the laundry industry.

“If you had told me five years ago that I was going to own a laundromat, I would’ve just laughed at you. Truly,” she said.

Amanda Sidell showing off her branded van.

A licensed clinical social worker who spent years working in psychiatric evaluation and hospital management, she stumbled into laundry ownership through a 1031 exchange after selling a mobile home park during COVID.

“We had a week left to complete the transaction,” Sidell said. “I was aware that there was a laundromat for sale. I saw it like a week earlier, and I was thinking, ‘I’m a notoriously messy person, I’m not domestic at all, I’ve never used a laundromat before.’”

But the idea stuck with her, and a Google search changed everything. Sidell read up on laundromat ownership and decided it might be an interesting path. Days before the 1031 exchange deadline, she put in an offer, setting in motion her start with the industry.

People Are the Business

What Sidell lacked in laundry expertise, she made up for in understanding human behavior. Her background in clinical social work and training in human-centered design became her competitive advantage.

“Understanding people is my strength,” Sidell said. “I really use myself as the example and put myself in the position of people using the laundromat. What are the parts that confuse me? What makes me hesitant to use that facility? These thoughts guide my thinking for how to reduce barriers for confusion.”

Her approach is deceptively simple: assess what each customer needs and deliver it. “Do they just need a clean, safe place to get their laundry done and not be bothered? That’s what we give them,” Sidell said. “On the other hand, there are people whose only human contact each week is through their visits with us. They need a friendly face and they need someone who acknowledges them as a human being. We offer that too.”

The goal, she said, is consistently assessing what each person who comes in needs and ensuring that they feel better when they leave.

Normalizing the Experience

Going to a laundromat can be intimidating for reasons that have nothing to do with washing clothes. Sidell recognizes this and addresses it head-on.

“Maybe you don’t know how to use the machines, maybe every dollar you spend is anxiety provoking,” she said. “I try to normalize all of that and let them know they are not alone. We spend a lot of time educating our customers about the different options around the store. For example, showing them the smaller machines that can be more cost-effective for their smaller loads.”

She’s especially attuned to customers who feel ashamed about life’s chaos. “We have a lot of parents who come in with so much laundry and it’s so disorganized – they feel like a hot mess,” Sidell said. “I let them know I can relate – they are my people. Believe me, you should see my laundry. It’s just as bad.”

The philosophy is a simple one. “Everyone wants to feel normal,” Sidell said “No one wants to feel shame. And whether that’s feeling normal about being stressed about money, feeling normal about having a ton of laundry, feeling normal about not knowing how to use a machine — we ensure they know it’s ok and it’s a normal feeling.”

How You Make People Feel

When asked why customer experience matters so much in a business fundamentally about clean clothes, Sidell’s answer was immediate.

“Because people will not remember the things that you did. They’ll remember how you made them feel,” she said. And people will pay for that feeling. “We might be the most expensive laundry around,” Sidell said. “But customers will come to us – they will pay more to feel better, to feel like they’re coming into a clean place, a safe place, a place that’s friendly. A place where they can get help if they need it.”

This understanding shapes everything from hiring to operations. “When I start designing a process, I don’t start with the first few steps. I start with the end,” she explained. “What is this experience going to be like for the person? How do I design the experience to be the one I’m trying to create? And then I work backwards.”

Empowering Staff Through Modeling

Sidell applies the same human-centered approach to her employees that she does to her customers. She creates psychological safety by avoiding shame, judgment and punitive approaches. “If I can create a psychologically safe space for my staff to feel empowered to make those decisions on the spot, to feel empowered to solve a problem for our clients, no matter what, I will support them,” Sidell said. “If it was the wrong decision, that’s fine. We’ll talk about it later and we’ll learn from it. No big deal.”

The strategy gives employees clear direction: Make customers leave feeling better than when they came in. “This strategy allows employees to problem-solve in the moment with that end result in mind,” she said.

The workplace culture reflects this philosophy and Sidell considers it a major selling point in her hiring and retention efforts.

Staying Grounded in Your Own Journey

For aspiring laundromat owners watching industry giants, Sidell offers hard-won advice: Accept where you are in your business journey.

“I see the giants of our industry and sometimes feel pressure to keep up with them,” she said. “I have to stop to remind myself that that’s not my goal. My lot in the laundry industry is just as valuable and just as important, and it’s really in line with what I want to do with my life.”

Her advice is simple. “You don’t have to keep up with anyone. Just honor your own journey and honor your own goals and be at ease with that,” said Sidell. “There’s no need for the pressure to keep up with others as long as you are meeting your needs.”

After all, The Laundry Basket is proof that success in the laundry industry doesn’t require following someone else’s playbook. Sometimes it just requires remembering that at the end of the day, you’re in the business of making people feel normal.

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The Laundry Basket is located in Bangor, Maine.