I "earned" my new dryer!

nuisance26 · 10-31-2009, 11:34 AM

~Our electric dryer died in September '08. Since then we've hung all our laundry loads(5 or more per week, and I said we because dh helps

) out on our lines or around the house.
Throughout the year of doing this I learned several things:
*I really like hanging laundry: it's a relaxing chore.
*I prefer the way the laundry smell when it's been out on the line.
*Hanging laundry adds about an hour every week to my chore load.
*No matter how many hours I spend in my yard, the neighbor's aggressive dogs are still going to try to bite through the fence to get to me and my kids.
* Life starts to revolve around checking the weather for appropriate laundry days, cutting into my homeschool mornings to get the laundry out and dinner prep time to get the laundry in.
*Hanging laundry on frosty mornings is really hard to do with gloves on.
*10-25% off what's put out on cold days comes back in still damp adding to my laundry chore time since I then have to hang the pieces around the house.
*Seeing laundry all over our 800sq. ft. house is messy looking and stresses me out.
So I decided that the bad outweighed the good and bought a dryer on sale. It was delivered yesterday.
Here's the frugal part. Those 5+ loads a week I hung out for a year saved us at least $30 a month in energy costs. We were able to buy a new dryer for $345, tax included. (30X12=360)
I had to shop a 10% off sale, use a coupon, go through MyPoints and use my rewards CC but we saved $80 off the list price.
It may seem silly but I'm really looking forward to doing laundry at 9pm, just cause I can.

I should probably figure out a way to "earn" the $30 a month it will take to run my paid-for dryer but for now I'll consider it an investment for stress reduction!~

IntlMom · 10-31-2009, 11:50 AM

Hanging laundry outside to dry is wonderful went you WANT to. But not so great when you HAVE to.

Enjoy your new dryer. Enjoy being able to make the choice too!

Debbie-cat · 10-31-2009, 11:53 AM

Yes, you earned your new dryer. Congrats! I think the lesson learned here is that if you HAVE to, you know you can do your laundry without a dryer and that is a great skill that you have picked up. Enjoy!

ladytoysdream · 10-31-2009, 12:55 PM

Good job

Yes you deserve your dryer.
I use mine in the cold weather. Good weather it goes out on the line. I been trying the last few weeks to put it outside, but it's been cold and wet. Does not dry well, and when brought back in, still has to go in the dryer for a bit. I pinch pennies in a lot of other areas so I don't feel guilty about using the dryer.

frugalfranny · 10-31-2009, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuisance26

~ I should probably figure out a way to "earn" the $30 a month it will take to run my paid-for dryer but for now I'll consider it an investment for stress reduction!~

You have earned it nuisance. Cute story too....thanks for posting.

Hey...a dryer is probably cheaper than Prozac(ove rthe long haul!)......so it is a win-win!

Enjoy your dryer!!! I would even do some laundry at 11:00 PM....just because you can!!!

madhen · 10-31-2009, 02:59 PM

Congratulations!! I agree, I love to hang laundry out on the line to dry, but it is VERY nice having that dryer when I need to dry something quickly or when I don't get to the laundry until I get home from work.

pinetree · 10-31-2009, 02:59 PM

Enjoy your new dryer, its hard to do that much laundry on the line all the time. I use mine when its cold out too.

mauimagic · 10-31-2009, 03:08 PM

Nuisance - I absolutely loved reading your post - love too how your mind works!! Congrats on your dryer and your year of gathering experiences to write us the post!!