Out with the old, in with the new to me!

In July of 2003 I had just graduated college and become a homeowner and was looking for a cheap way to furnish it - as any recent college graduate would. So, me and my mom went to an auction of a lady who recently passed away. She had a ton of furniture and appliances and I was lucky enough to get her brand new refrigerator (papers still hanging inside and everything) and her washer and dryer. The washer and dryer were not so new. In fact, they were 1964 models! They worked and I gave $100 for them, so it was all good to me! The washer lid was not connected, so for the past 8 years I have been taking the lid completely off and putting it in the floor to load it. It has been a running joke in my family that I have the special "lift off lid" version for years!

A few years ago the dryer quit working and we had to wash our clothes at home and then load all the wet clothes up and dry them at the laundry mat - it was not convenient but it worked and was kind of fun after awhile. It was our own little date night, McDonalds at the laundry mat :) Other than that, the dryer has worked great!

I am always getting accused of overloading our washer - I disagree. Just like the dish washer, I like to use all available space so I get the most out of the energy and water used! Well, on Christmas day I was washing a load of clothes and it started making a high pitched squealing noise. Then we smelled something burning. My poor 47 year old washer had died! It was a sad day :( Nathan and I usually just buy something for the house for Christmas each year and a new washer and dryer was on our list next, until we started pricing them! Unless they go way down in price soon, it was not feasible for us to do. So, it was kind of strange to me that the washer quit on Christmas day! It was a sign! I advertised on Facebook that I was looking for a washer and within an hour I found one. A friend of ours got a new washer and dryer set for Christmas and sold us their old ones for an amazing price thanks to me being "such a sweet girl"!

My old washer - she was a good ole gal!

So, Nathan and his brother went and got them yesterday and we were back and doing laundry again last night. I was thankful because when we were trying to fix the old washer I kept having to finish washing the clothes in the bathtub because it would quit in the middle of washing the load. That is alot of work! I am so thankful to have a working washer again! I always find myself thinking about situations in the future about what would cause me to have to part with things like that - furniture and appliances, etc. (weird, I know). It is crazy how things work out and God provides things just at the right time - even washing machines! I am really sad to see the old washer go, but I got my moneys worth out of it and it had a good life! :)

The new washer - isn't it beautiful?! :)