the big reveal

Do you know what my least favorite household chore is? Cleaning the bathrooms. But a close second is LAUNDRY! I don't mind putting it in the washer, or putting it in the dryer for that matter.  But I absolutely despise the chores of folding and putting away. And because I know that a laundry folder doesn't come standard on some of these new model washers/dryers, I haven't been in that much of a hurry to replace the ones we have. However, it was getting harder and harder to deny that we needed to break down and buy a new set.

About two months after Doug and I started dating, he moved into an apartment that had a washer/dryer connection and so I went with him to buy this set...





...the basic Kenmore washer and dryer, no frills, just wash and dry the laundry. And really, considering we've moved this set 8 times AND put them in storage for a couple of years, they had held up pretty well. Until about 6 months ago, when the dryer started leaving brown streaks on things. And it started taking two cycles (three for towels!) to dry a load. Also, the start button broke a couple of years ago, and so the dryer would automatically run while the door was closed, but if you took anything out mid-cycle, you'd have to turn the dial to stop the dryer. And the door started not closing very well, so to close the dryer, I'd have to kind of lift up on the handle and push it closed with my knee. And then a couple of months ago, the washer would stop mid-cycle. It took a few days for me to figure out that the sensor was going bad and it wasn't recognizing that the lid was closed. So I would have to weigh down the lid with the detergent bottle to get it to run a full cycle. All of these things made doing laundry a little inconvenient, but the final straw for me was two weeks ago, when two kids were home with the flu and I was trying to wash a load of towels and the washer stopped. I thought maybe I had forgotten to weigh down the lid, but I hadn't. So I pushed down on the lid really hard and I heard a click and the washer started again. But then I went to do another load and it stopped just after the wash cycle again and no amount of weight or pushing down would work. As a last ditch effort, I jammed some scissors into the little sensor area and it worked. Of course, scissors made the lid open too much, so Doug came up with this solution...









It totally rocks living with MacGyver!!


Ahem, anyway...this was the final straw and I practically insisted that we go the very next morning to buy a new set.

(cue angels singing...) And now...

Aren't they beautiful?!

Yes, okay, I realize they are a bit...generic. I mean, have you seen the machines that are out there lately?? The bright colors, and the pedestals, and the remote sensors that tell you exactly what's happening in your laundry room while you're downstairs sipping coffee and looking out at your beautifully stained deck. And then there are the models with the gazillion buttons, that would require an advanced degree in Astrophysics to operate, that steam and sanitize and dispense laundry detergent automatically for 3 months! But here's the thing...I don't have an advanced degree in Astrophysics, nor do I have the bank account of someone who has an advanced degree in Astrophysics. And when it comes down to it, these basic GE machines do the one thing I need them to do...wash and dry the laundry. The doors open and close like they are supposed to, the buttons work, plus there is the added bonus of using less water and laundry detergent.

Now, this particular washer and dryer have presented a few challenges. Because of the way the house was built, the washer and dryer connections are backwards. In a perfect world, or at least a world where people aren't on drugs when they build laundry rooms, the connections would be reversed, and when looking at the washer and dryer, the doors would swing open and away from each other, allowing you to easily move clothes from the washer, over to the right and straight into the open dryer. But now, when I open my washer, I open it right into my hamper. And then I have to lean over the door and pull out the clothes and pivot back and to the left to put them in the dryer. So one of our solutions, in case you can't read the print on the photo below, is to install another, deeper shelf below the one that is already there, so I can put laundry baskets above the washer and dryer and get rid of the hamper. By doing this, I will be getting rid of the space where I hang clothes, so we're also going to hang a closet rod, perpendicular to the shelves, along the short wall of the room. And finally, we are going to pull the washer out a bit so that it is flush with the dryer, because I'm just a tad obsessive-compulsive. I'll probably post another picture of the finished room but I think you can kind of get the idea from this picture...

One other thing...other than the bit of vibration that occurs during the washer's spin cycle, these suckers are so quiet! Almost too quiet. Because now I can hear the weird sounds the refrigerator has been making all afternoon.