About Appliances

The first major appliance I owned was a gift from the old lady who lived in the apartment across the hall from me in Salt Lake.  There were three apartments in the old house, and we and she lived on the main floor. The hippy couple and their crotch sniffing German shepherd lived upstairs.

I was 18 years old in 1970, and if you are old enough to remember 1970, you will also remember that it was still during the age of the cloth diaper.  I had a baby, a husband that didn't come home either to visit, bring food, money or transportation.  He was a dear that way.

Mrs. Thomas took pity on me and gave me an old washing machine, and I was thrilled.  It was a drum on wheels that I had to shove across the kitchen and fill with a hose.  The laundry agitated for as long as I deemed fit, and the wringers dumped it into the rinse water in the sink.  After the rinse water, the wringers directed the laundry (mostly diapers, of course) into a basket to be taken out and line dried.  

The line was very short, so the only option for me was to hang the diapers three or four at a time.  It worked in the fall, but not so well when the snow flew.  When it turned so cold, they would hang out during the daylight hours, then I would drape them all over the house to finish drying over night.  It worked.

Fast forward 40 years to a different residence, a different husband, and different appliances.  It's hard to say which is the most dramatic change, to tell you the truth.  I am now the proud owner of a very decent house, a very decent husband, and the laundry room of the future.  You've come a long way, Baby!

 The tile may be from 1957, but the appliances are state of the art!  These little babies not only wash and dry the laundry with no shoving around on big wheels, filling or draining with a portable hose, or getting personal parts caught in the proverbial wringer, they are entertainment express.

1970: Push washer to sink, attach hose to faucet, fill washer with laundry, water, soap, plug in to begin agitation, etc., etc., etc.

2010: Load clothes, soap, and softener, press power button, turn dial to required setting, push play, sit down and watch the show!

These little babies do everything but wax the driveway!  On top of that, we can all sit around as a family group and watch the antics of the washer!  THAT, my friend, is entertainment.


When they finish, they don't grind to a stop or buzz like a smoke detector. They play a catchy little tune that even I can hear upstairs.


I guess change can be good.