I normally use an appliance until I’ve wrung the very last drop of energy out of it.  A classic example is the wall oven that was in my house when I moved in 27 years ago.  It is large, self-cleaning, and has served me well.  However, in the last couple of years it hasn’t been reliable.  The chicken strips didn’t get done in the time the package said, the cake fell in the middle and was burned around the edges even though I cooked it longer at a lower temperature than called for, the pies I made for the holidays were runny in the middle, etc.  My final failure was the cornbread that was gooey in the middle and burned on top even though I adjusted the temperature and time.  The poor thing is tired and I don’t know how old it is.  But it has dials instead of being digital if that helps you understand.  The self-cleaning feature seems to work when it feels like it, too.

Then there is the dishwasher.  I am tired of washing my dishes by hand, putting them in the dishwasher, and then washing them again when they come out.  Especially the silverware.  I’ve cleaned it multiple times and it helped for a while, but it still doesn’t get the dishes as clean as I’d like.  It has push buttons on the outside that are cracked and the white plastic door has become yellow.  While not as old as the oven, only 20 years old, it has been a workhorse and now it is tired.

I went to the local big box store and looked at so many ovens and dishwashers, my head swam.  I went home and did the same online reading reviews of brands and models.  Then I went to the local mom and pop appliance store.  They had a lot of the same things.  They told me they were in a buying group and normally there would be sales around the 4^th of July.  So I went home to my limping appliances and tried to make them work. 

This week, I ordered a new dishwasher and wall oven at the same time!  They will arrive in about a week. I ran back and forth several times to the store and had the installation guy come to the house to be sure the wall oven would fit.  Finally, I ordered them both after settling on the best buy for the money.  I am looking forward to the installation.  It might be 2 weeks before this is done, but I cook and clean daily and need my appliances.  These two will probably outlive me.  That’s fine.  The kids can sell them with the house when I’m gone. 

Now all I have to do is pay for them!

What are you reading/writing/buying this week?