It’s a tale as old as time. It’s a Sunday afternoon, you wake up from a long night out and realize that all your clothes are dirty. It’s officially laundry day. So, you go to your drawer to get the quarters you need for your floor’s laundry machines, but much to your horror, there’s nothing left.

It’s a problem that resonates with many students at Penn State and something that can be a nuisance when you’re already paying an arm and a leg for rent.

Where can you get some good ole shiny metal coins, you ask? We compiled the options so you don’t need to.

Common Spaces

All right, all right. Let’s get the obvious ones out of the way first. To our understanding, most common spaces in the dorms around campus offer quarter machines. But, if you’re like some of us and don’t live in a dorm, this option isn’t very convenient.

The Bank

Where else would you go for money? Most banks let you exchange cash for some nice copper and nickel discs. Seems pretty logical if you ask us.

Grocery Stores

According to the world wide web, most grocery stores like Weis or Giant should have change machines in their stores. This is a great way to knock out your grocery shopping and quarter-hunting at the same time. One of the only drawbacks to this is that the two Weis locations are a bit outside of town, but that’s nothing a quick bus ride can’t fix.

Laundromats

We have been told that most laundromats around State College offer coin machines for people looking to get some sweet, sweet change. Places like Get The Funk Out and Laundromat One Eleven would probably be most Penn State students’ best bets.

Vending Machines

Many buildings on campus have vending machines for snacks and drinks, and rarely do these items cost a dollar. If you insert a dollar bill into the machine and click the cancel button, it should release four quarters. Repeat this process a few times, and you’ll be set.

The Bars

For all the older folks out there, a few bars around town likely have quarter machines for you to use at your leisure. The only rather huge downside is that these quarters are meant to be used for the bars’ pool tables and other games. Employees of those establishments probably wouldn’t like you using those quarters for personal use. But hey, if for some reason you’re a couple drinks deep at a crowded bar on a Saturday night and you feel the need to do something productive, more power to you.

The Ground

Desperate times call for desperate measures. In our experience, there’s actually a pretty decent amount of quarters just laying around on the ground, if you know where to look. Usually, if you’re lucky, you can find quarters laying around vending machines or in restaurants by the cash register. While this is absolutely a Hail Mary and a half, you need those quarters. These clothes aren’t going to get washed on their own.

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We wish all you dirty clothes-wearing people out there good luck in your pursuit of quarters so you can finally get that pile of dirty clothes out from the corner of your room.

Have another tip for finding easy-access change downtown? Drop us a line in the comments!