My school had a laundry service.
They picked up the clothes once a week, removed the buttons, and returned the clothes, neatly wrapped in a brown-paper wrapper, a couple of days later.
Ding! Time to throw your drawers in the dryer. That’s the message University of Iowa students can now receive by e-mail. Thanks to software installed along with new high-efficiency washers last fall, the school’s dormitory residents can receive e-mail alerts when their laundry cycles have finished.
(Actually, I never lost a button, but they did starch everything. Everything.)