Appliances for Small Spaces have Big Hearts

New Microwave in it's new home!

This week was a monumental one for me.  My husband and I plus our two sons have lived in a three story townhouse for 24 years.  It's not a big space but we've been happy here and the kids have always had plenty of friends nearby.  It's city living.  We do not have to worry about yard work, garbage or snow removal and outside maintenance is taken care of by our management company.  It's not for everyone but works for us.  We would never have been able to spend as much time with the kids' grandparents if we had to devote a large chunk of time to home care.  The down side to all of this is that space is a precious thing.  There is no room for big appliances.  Every single thing that comes into this house has to have a purpose and be well thought out.  We frequently donate items to Goodwill and the local library sale.  If something comes in, that means something has to depart.  Appliances (I was going to get to it sooner or later) need to last and they had better be prepared to work hard.  Lots of research goes into the purchase of any item of significant value.  That includes carpet, televisions, computers in addition to kitchen and laundry appliances.

Over the past year our combination washer and dryer which lives in a laundry closet had started to exhibit some signs of serious aging.  The spin cycle was an exciting event for everyone in the house (even the animals thought so) and the dryer had started to dry clothes in a less than efficient manner.  Now, we are not foolhardy and have our dryer vent cleaned on a regular basis so we knew that was not the issue.  This washer and dryer had survived for 19 years!  It was delivered when I was 9 months pregnant with my second son and saw us through countless loads of laundry through every stage of my boys life.  But the time had come...the noise was unbearable and we had to start thinking about our neighbors that live on the other side of the wall!  For those of you that understand washing machine tub size - you won't believe this - the tub on that old machine was only 2.5 cubic feet!!  I survived.  The boys always had clean clothes but big stuff had to go to the cleaner and I did many more loads of wash than some of my friends.  You'll be happy to know that the new machine, while still a stackable that fits our laundry closet, is a roomy 3.9 cubic feet and is so quiet that at first I thought there was something terribly wrong.  I did a lot of laundry yesterday because it was a pleasant task.  I know.  I'll get over it.

Official GE picture of new microwave!

On to the next appliance miracle!  We had a combination microwave/convection oven delivered at the same time!! I never would have thought my husband would let that old one go.  After 22 years (yes...22) I finally put my foot down and declared it 'dead'.  Did my husband listen?  No.  He dragged that thing to the break room at his office.  Lucky them.  I embrace all the new technology that is available.  It truly helps when you have a small kitchen.  We have a galley kitchen that needs to function efficiently.  Our toaster oven is extra large and also has a convection feature as does our standard oven.  Now with the microwave operating as an oven as well, cooking will be less onerous.  I won't have to superheat that small space by turning our large oven on during warmer months and if we ever get to the point where entertaining is a possibility again*, I'll have several cooking tools with which to work.  Many people I know have declared the convection oven and its use a waste.  In fact, I have heard people that only use the microwave for reheating and have also declared toaster ovens dinosaurs.  Pity.  I know that the women that went before us (my own grandmothers included) would have learned every trick in the book and embraced anything that could possibly lessen time spent being held hostage in a hot kitchen for hours on end.  The freedom these kitchen gadgets provide us with is revolutionary!  By the way, Julia Child had a collection of kitchen gadgets and embraced all new products!  Spending time with guests is the goal - for me anyway.  If you believe differently, good for you, enjoy scrubbing that sink. 

So in the final analysis, while it's exciting for me to get these two new appliances, I know they will be with me for a long time.  My husband and I will have many arguments about getting rid of them over the years and he will prevail every time with a trip to the hardware store and the purchase of a $1.00 fuse that will extend it's life that much longer.  Aaah well...

Below are closer pics of my new stackable washer and dryer.  We couldn't get the trendy 'front loading' models available today because they would block access to the electricity and water.  It is in a closet after all.

 

*Many of you know that our little family has had more than our fair share of serious illness in the past 8 years.  It is in the past.  We're looking forward to a healthy and active future which includes sharing our table with friends and family once again.  You're invited!