Ironing, linen and textiles in Monster
Monster is a village with a double identity: a horticultural village in the Westland and a coastal village by the sea, with the old fishing hamlet of Ter Heijde a quarter of an hour's walk away. That combination produced a clothing culture all its own. Market gardeners wore the Westland smock with starched Sunday shirts beneath; the fishermen of Ter Heijde wore woollen jumpers and narrow trousers, and their wives a local variant of the fisherwoman's costume with a black skirt and a stiff white lace kaper (a Dutch lace cap).
Both villages came together on feast days at the Grote or Machutus church in Monster — one of the oldest village churches of the Westland, dating from the thirteenth century. On Sunday morning the church square was a small exhibition of starched caps and crisply ironed collars; the quality of your starch went round by word of mouth.
The boundaries between horticultural village and fishing village have blurred. Monster now has newer districts such as Polanen and Molenslag, and Ter Heijde is a modern seaside resort. Many residents work in the Westland horticultural cluster or commute to The Hague. Church dress is no longer a compulsory Sunday matter, but a well-ironed shirt is still appreciated.
Since 2013 we have been driving out from our laundry on the Henricuskade on fixed mornings through Monster. We collect your laundry, iron everything, and deliver it back — the same delivery driver, on the agreed day.
How does Strijkservice Haaglanden work in Monster?
For residents of Monster our service works exactly as in the rest of Haaglanden: on a fixed day of the week our driver comes by, picks up your laundry bag and brings your laundry back clean and crisply ironed. No appointment needed — your routine is set.
You get one regular driver and a fixed pickup rhythm so you always know what to expect. No carrying, no full drying racks in the living room, no evenings at the ironing board.
Everything is handled in our own laundry on Henricuskade in The Hague. Shirts, blouses, table linen, bed and bath textiles — we iron it the way it should go back into the cupboard at home, neatly folded and ready to use.