Shiny!
This morning, as part of my preparations for moving, I bought a washing machine. A brand new, small, energy & water efficient front loader. What's more I paid cash - or at least put it on my everyday card, not my expensive credit card - & thus got a discount for cash.
I walked away feeling very excited & adult, which got me wondering when I last bought a washing machine, new or used. I know I bought a new front loader once before, way before they were popular, being as I am (or was) a technological early adopter. It must have been in about 1983, for we had it when we were starving in the country at Stanley, when the tank water was such low pressure that it took forever to fill the machine, & I could only manage one load of washing a day. I assume we took it with us when we moved back to our little regional city, but I can't remember what happened to it. All I know for sure, is, that since I moved to NSW 13 years ago - coincidentally on the date that I'm moving into my new apartment (ooh, spooky, possums!) - I have always rented a washing machine, getting a new model every 2 or 3 years.
Now I'm returning the behemoth combo washer dryer I rented in Katoomba, which is way too big & powerful for me, & taking the gamble that a washer of my own will not die on me after a few years of use. I've taken out an extended warranty on it, which ate up the discount but means it will be eligible for servicing for 6 years. The money I save not renting the behemoth will pay for the new washer in 6 months, & thereafter will help with my general cash flow.
Tonight I've been taking down pictures and removing hooks from the walls. The stick-on hooks really do work! Only one refused to come off smoothly & made a small hole in the plaster; the others glided off, perfectomundo! And I discovered that white out is great for covering up the tiny measurement marks, at least on white walls. At first, when all the pictures & hooks were down, I felt sad, but then I perked up because they mean I'm that much closer to moving back to Newtown.
This time next week, I'll be home!
I walked away feeling very excited & adult, which got me wondering when I last bought a washing machine, new or used. I know I bought a new front loader once before, way before they were popular, being as I am (or was) a technological early adopter. It must have been in about 1983, for we had it when we were starving in the country at Stanley, when the tank water was such low pressure that it took forever to fill the machine, & I could only manage one load of washing a day. I assume we took it with us when we moved back to our little regional city, but I can't remember what happened to it. All I know for sure, is, that since I moved to NSW 13 years ago - coincidentally on the date that I'm moving into my new apartment (ooh, spooky, possums!) - I have always rented a washing machine, getting a new model every 2 or 3 years.
Now I'm returning the behemoth combo washer dryer I rented in Katoomba, which is way too big & powerful for me, & taking the gamble that a washer of my own will not die on me after a few years of use. I've taken out an extended warranty on it, which ate up the discount but means it will be eligible for servicing for 6 years. The money I save not renting the behemoth will pay for the new washer in 6 months, & thereafter will help with my general cash flow.
Tonight I've been taking down pictures and removing hooks from the walls. The stick-on hooks really do work! Only one refused to come off smoothly & made a small hole in the plaster; the others glided off, perfectomundo! And I discovered that white out is great for covering up the tiny measurement marks, at least on white walls. At first, when all the pictures & hooks were down, I felt sad, but then I perked up because they mean I'm that much closer to moving back to Newtown.
This time next week, I'll be home!