The Dryer Saga, Part 3

Who'd have thought? You may have been around when I posted this about our dryer breaking down in January. Then, we were able to replace it with a free one, even though I was pining for a cherry-red, front-loading model. After a few months, it broke down, and I talked about that here. We were able to fix it, amazingly, as dryers don't seem too challenging to understand, once you figure out how to open them. So we were able to keep the free one after investing in a $14 part.

A few days ago, one of our sons just happened to mention that they had noticed the clothes in the dryer were still wet - the clothes they had put in a couple of days prior. They informed me - the dryer is broken, mom. Oh great.

How far do you push a free dryer? When do you throw in the towel and get a 'new' one? When do you throw in THAT towel and buy a really 'new' one from the store that gives guarantees and delivery and hauling away of the old one (or old ones in our case)? Those were the tough questions in our household this weekend.

I was ready to bite the bullet and get a brand new one. I'm tired of taking on other people's problem appliances. Why should I have to learn how a blower wheel works when other people get to watch their laundry spin round and round in their brand new front loaders? Grrr.

Earth to Jill... Remember why you started this blog in the first place??

Um... Yeah. So I started to do some research. The machine just wasn't starting up at all - no juice whatsoever. It could be many things, but we had to start at the door switch. Having learned recently how to open the dryer front, I took it off and quickly found the switch in question. Having unplugged the machine (of course), I removed the switch and set about looking for a replacement. Two appliance parts stores later, we found the part. Now to go home and find if this was the problem.

The part fit perfectly, with a little squeezing of some pliers, and low and behold... it started up. It's been drying all day now - and yes, we re-washed the stinky boy load and everything is just fine now. (Gotta give them kudos for trying to do their own laundry, right??)

What items have you fixed when you could have replaced?

I Have a New Reason to Purge My Drawers!

You know all that mindless junk lying around in your 'junk' drawers?  How about that box of doo-dads you have stashed away in some closet to go through 'later on'?  Do you have any pile of 'have to get to that's' anywhere?  Well...

I found a new website, courtesy of Family Circle Magazine, that not only recycles your old electronics, but may pay you for them as well.  How cool is that??  Not only do you clean out that drawer full of old cell phones, but you get paid for it as well.  And the shipping is free. The program is Gazelle.  They take the following items - so go clean out your closets:

Cell Phones

Digital Cameras

MP3 Players

PDAs

Laptops

Gaming Consoles

GPS Devices

Camcorders

Satellite Radios

External Hard Drives

Video Games

Movies

LCD Monitors

Blu-Ray Players

Calculators

Desktops

Wow.  It is great to know one can actually profit from recycling their odds and ends.  I received an offer for a camera ($28), playstation ($11 - though my kids would kill me), 2 cell phones ($8 each) and an old non-working laptop ($0) for a total of $55.  Not too shabby for junk lying around.  I get to clean out the cupboards, and the stuff gets recycled, then I get to stash the cash.  Now, that's what I call being mindfully resourceful!

Check out the website.  Once you add up what they offer you, post it back here.  

Back in Business Again!

We have had a couple weeks of no dryer for our clothes.  I'm sure you know how that feels - like your right arm is gone all of a sudden, and you have to figure everything out with the left which is on backward...

We have been surfing Craig's List religiously every day to find something we could afford.  Today, we finally found it.  A working, gas dryer in the next town over from us.  And the best part - it was FREE.  Wow - we're on a roll here with the free stuff (see yesterday's post), and I really hope it lasts.  The only issue with the dryer, is it makes this loud sound like horses charging or really big sneakers banging around in there.  When we tried it out before bringing it home, it seriously made me jump it was so loud at first.  Then it quiets down a bit, but it's still loud.  We needed some help from our tenant who is an electrician to get the dryer installed.  As we turned it on to see if it heated up in the basement, I apologized profusely for the noise (it's right below their apartment).  But he just smiled and said, "No worries".  I'm beginning to think he's either somewhat hearing challenged or just incredibly nice.  Well, definitely nice as he was able to help us get the darn thing installed.  So now, the washer is humming away, and the new dryer awaits it's maiden voyage with our clean clothes.  So nice not to have to wear the same clothes a few times each week.  My coworkers will be so grateful.  So, no, it's not the cherry-red, front loading dryer I dreamt of, but it was free, and it works, and it's ours.  I didn't have to hawk my engagement ring for it, and I won't have to work 2700 more hours to pay for it.  It won't go to the dump or sit unused.  It will be put to work daily until the day it dies.  And until that day, I will save pennies until I can find the next model up - in cherry-red and used, of course.

Why do things break in tandem?

Our furnace, a hot-air blowing gas furnace of the ripe old age of 17 (!?) has decided to call it quits. We were warned last year that we would need to consider another mode of heating our 3rd floor bedroom as something was wearing out on the furnace and would be astronomically costly to repair. And being that the unit was installed in a tight squeeze of a crawl space, it would be even more challenging to replace it. Great. I loved the news then, and I love it more now that we freeze our putooties off every night. Now that I've started my simplified, mindful life, I am forced to find a more economical and ecological way to stay warm upstairs. So don't tell me body heat. That only works while you are under the covers. Try getting out of the shower during a New England winter with no heat in your room. Yikes. So we are looking into a gas fireplace, secondhand furnace (do they exist?) or at least cheaper part for the one that died and a pellet stove as replacement ideas. Have you had a furnace die recently and reheated your space in a creative manner? (share your ideas!)

The second thing to go was the gas dryer (see a pattern here?)  Here when we bought the place (10 years ago), it has run mostly fine for all this time.  And it was no spring chicken when we moved in - it had definitely seen some life by then.  So, after a few minor fixes by my husband here and there, I suppose it was time to meet the great dryer maker in the sky.  Actually, I think it heard me talking to my mother-in-law about beginning to use an outdoor line and not using the dryer as much.  Perhaps not drying with the dryer ever again.  Do you suppose it has feelings?

But what now?  It's the beginning of winter...drying clothes on a line doesn't really work here. Unless of coursed you enjoy wearing popsicles every morning.  I have a local laundromat, and will need to find the time to run a couple of loads while we figure this out.  One thing is very clear: I know what I do not want.  I do not want to go to a big-box store to get a fancy, shiny, perfect dryer to replace my old and graying one.  Yes, deep down I would LOVE a cherry red, front-loading washer and dryer set.  LOVE.  But with my new life focus, it can't be new and can't be from a big-box store.  They get enough money.  I can find a way to get a recycled one.  Already, we've looked into Craig's List and found several free units.  No, not cherry red, but that will come some day.  For now, I just need to get the clothes dry!