Showing posts with label #rainydayfunds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #rainydayfunds. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

The Washing Machine Saga by Konnie Enos

 


One to two years ago I started noticing that my clothes were starting to look old, even taking on a grey tinge. It was some months after I noted this that my daughter insisted we change from a powder detergent to a liquid one.

Why?

Because those family members with a lot of dark clothes were noticing a visible amount of soap residue on their supposedly clean clothes. Liquid detergent couldn’t be leaving that residue.

Ah! That might explain the grey tinge.

It was a few months later that I noticed my clothes were starting to retain some stains, making them look even older with the still present grey tinge. Then my kids started complaining that the agitator wasn’t working. Though, every time I checked it, it worked.

Then Royce started complaining that his clothes and bedding still stank after washing them. (More like Melinda complained.) I put that up to his sweat issues and the fact he didn’t do his laundry often enough.

Then one day I went to put on a supposedly clean nightgown and it smelled and felt like I’d lived in it for a week. None of my pajamas smelled clean.  That’s about when the kids said the agitator had stopped altogether.

Okay, there is a problem.

Solution. New machine.

New problem, well old problem. No money.

Okay, Jerry has a Home Depot card. I checked it for an available balance.

Okay, real problem.

In the process of making sure we had a working toilet in our main bathroom, we’d maxed out his card. I mean I pay on it regularly but there seems to always be something else that needs repairs. That and the money Jerry invests every year to try to raise a garden. (Try being the operative word.)

So I looked at what money I did have.

We are in luck. I’d saved a substantial sum to cover a once-a-year bill and it ended up being less than I’d anticipated. I planned for that to be a “rainy day fund”.

Well, it’s a rainy day. So I investigated getting a new machine.

I went to Home Depot and looked at some models. I even asked an employee to help me find one that would meet our needs. Our biggest one is a large capacity, mostly because the men in our household tend to just dump all their clothes in at once without sorting. (Mostly unnecessary when most everything you own is jeans or dark-colored t-shirts.)

With the employee’s help, Royce and I debated the merits of models with and without the agitator. We finally settled on one, which was on sale, without an agitator. Due to our inability, lacking a truck, to transport a washing machine, I placed an order, with free delivery and set up, plus hauling away the old machine. This was near Christmas so due to the holiday we had a wait a week or so for delivery.

Now here’s the thing about this machine. It is the most expensive appliance I’ve bought ever bought, (our fridge wasn’t quite this much). This thing is full of technology. We don’t even have to select the water level (size of the load) we need because it senses how much is in the tub and fills accordingly.

Now my kids took right to it and figured out how to use it the very first day. Royce even figured out how to connect it to his phone or something. (He can control it from his phone.) Me, it took a bit. The first couple of times I had to have Melinda set it for me. I understand it’s harder to learn new things as you get older, and this grandma isn’t getting any younger.

Of course, one of the first things we noticed was our clothes were smelling clean again.

I don’t know about anybody else, but recently I noticed the stains on my clothes were much less noticeable. So our old machine hadn’t been cleaning anything for quite some time.

The other day, while I was folding my last batch of clean laundry, I realized that the grey tinge was even fading. I contemplated that fact for a few minutes then figured out this rough outline of just how long our old machine had needed to be replaced.

Hopefully, we won’t have another major repair or expense anytime soon because my “rainy day fund” is gone now. Story of my life. I think that’s the only time I ever had such a fund.

Smile. Make the day a brighter day.