Conserving Water
So, when we got this front-loading washer way back when in the old house, we found out that it used much less water per load than the old top-loader we had, even though it had a much larger capacity. This is a very good thing.
In part, of course, because it conserves water, leaving more water for the fishies in the ocean and for all of us to drink and blah blah blah.
In part because as our family grew, and the number of loads of laundry done in a month increased, those gallons saved each load added up to a difference in our water bill, I'm sure, though I've never done the math to figure out just how much more we'd be spending if we still had the top loader. (If i knew exactly how many loads of laundry I did in a month, I would either immediately feel exhausted at the thought, despair that even with that many trips up and down the stairs with laundry baskets I'm still in awful shape, lord it over anyone I know who thinks about laundry in a weekly instead of daily sense, or realize that I'm more justified than ever in getting one of the even larger washers currently on the market and would immediately spend our Christmas budget on one. At least the kids would be crying in clothes washed in fewer separate loads, right?)
But most of all, it's a good thing because when one tries to figure out why the laundry coming out of the washer feels just a bit more sodden than it usually does and eliminates the lint trap as the culprit by putting on a new one, and then checks the drainy-thingy by taking the front panel off and unscrewing the cap at the bottom of the washer to check the drain for baby socks and Legos and then replaces it but forgets to twist it one last time to *completely* seal it and then starts the washer because a set of queen size sheets is needed before the cleaning ladies come, then the number of gallons of water that drain onto the basement floor because of the not-quite-totally-screwed-on-cap-thing is not more than can be absorbed by a pile made up of two-plus loads of clothes generated yesterday just because all ten of us managed to walk around dressed plus nine beds' worth of sheets plus four week's worth of "Gee, I haven't looked under here since the last time the cleaning ladies came!" found laundry. (Yeah, they only come once a month now--that, plus cutting down on pizza plus cutting down on tuition by homeschooling two of the urchins is how we're swinging Liam's high school right now. Did you know that one can find over $200 a month just by not ordering pizza for ten every week? And that when you can no longer call for pizza at least once a week the copay for therapy still leaves a decent monthly savings, though when you order pizza just twice a month and forego therapy in lieu of just a few more maternal tantrums it pretty much comes out the same and you still get to indulge in garlic knots?) A few more gallons and even Mount Laundry might not have soaked it all up....
At least having all the laundry sopping wet now will motivate me to get it all washed as quickly as possible. Which I could do much more efficiently if I had an even larger washer and dryer....
In part, of course, because it conserves water, leaving more water for the fishies in the ocean and for all of us to drink and blah blah blah.
In part because as our family grew, and the number of loads of laundry done in a month increased, those gallons saved each load added up to a difference in our water bill, I'm sure, though I've never done the math to figure out just how much more we'd be spending if we still had the top loader. (If i knew exactly how many loads of laundry I did in a month, I would either immediately feel exhausted at the thought, despair that even with that many trips up and down the stairs with laundry baskets I'm still in awful shape, lord it over anyone I know who thinks about laundry in a weekly instead of daily sense, or realize that I'm more justified than ever in getting one of the even larger washers currently on the market and would immediately spend our Christmas budget on one. At least the kids would be crying in clothes washed in fewer separate loads, right?)
But most of all, it's a good thing because when one tries to figure out why the laundry coming out of the washer feels just a bit more sodden than it usually does and eliminates the lint trap as the culprit by putting on a new one, and then checks the drainy-thingy by taking the front panel off and unscrewing the cap at the bottom of the washer to check the drain for baby socks and Legos and then replaces it but forgets to twist it one last time to *completely* seal it and then starts the washer because a set of queen size sheets is needed before the cleaning ladies come, then the number of gallons of water that drain onto the basement floor because of the not-quite-totally-screwed-on-cap-thing is not more than can be absorbed by a pile made up of two-plus loads of clothes generated yesterday just because all ten of us managed to walk around dressed plus nine beds' worth of sheets plus four week's worth of "Gee, I haven't looked under here since the last time the cleaning ladies came!" found laundry. (Yeah, they only come once a month now--that, plus cutting down on pizza plus cutting down on tuition by homeschooling two of the urchins is how we're swinging Liam's high school right now. Did you know that one can find over $200 a month just by not ordering pizza for ten every week? And that when you can no longer call for pizza at least once a week the copay for therapy still leaves a decent monthly savings, though when you order pizza just twice a month and forego therapy in lieu of just a few more maternal tantrums it pretty much comes out the same and you still get to indulge in garlic knots?) A few more gallons and even Mount Laundry might not have soaked it all up....
At least having all the laundry sopping wet now will motivate me to get it all washed as quickly as possible. Which I could do much more efficiently if I had an even larger washer and dryer....
posted by Sue Freivald at
10:13 PM
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