Back when we were deciding on apartments, one hesitation I had with this place was its lack of dishwasher and washing machine. I didn't want to be a prima donna, but at the time, I was very, very nauseated and tired, and doing the dishes felt a lot like actual torture. Even knowing/hoping that the physical aversion would fade, I was still not sure that the great neighborhood was tradeoff enough for no help in the domestic department, appliance-wise. Bret, campaigning hard for this place, sent me a link to a portable dishwasher. The type that rolls up and connects to your sink. The type that my grandfather, on the cutting edge of technology, had circa 1989.
I was not impressed. What would I do with that thing when I wasn't rolling it up to my sink? It's not like we have acres of free space, or a utility room, like Grandpa had. No, I'd/we'd wash the darn dishes, but thanks. But, it turns out that, just as everything else has gotten smaller and better since 1989, so have things like portable dishwashers. And washing machines. And vacuum cleaners that clean the darn floors for you. I stumbled upon a teeny dishwasher on Pinterest last week, which is no longer in production, but which made me start to wonder what technological marvels were out there, how much they cost, and if any were possible in reality. And it's a brave new world out there. I've got a new wishlist, and it's slightly more expensive - but also more useful - than a pair of Warhol-inspired Chucks.
Let's start with the dishwasher, since that's where we started. See this little guy? It's a bit smaller than the roll-y version Bret suggested, only boasting a 6-place cleaning capacity (which some reviewers note is an overestimation). But it's small enough to fit on the counter top, eliminating the need for a dishwasher garage in our small galley kitchen. And though I wouldn't normally think that ceding 22 inches of counter space to an appliance was doable in an apartment, we happen to have that amount of counter space pretty available - it's being eaten up by our monstrous, two-story drying rack and compost bin anyway.
Shoving the dishwasher there might not be pretty, but I'd much rather see that space go to something that's doing actual work. And the reviews of this thing are glowing. It might be that anything that's going to do dishes for you rates highly for people - I can relate - but for less than $300, people are really, really happy with this little machine. I find myself very, very tempted.
But dishes aren't the only bane of my existence. Nope. There's another one. Laundry. And guess what. They make little laundry machines, too.
The deal with our laundry is pretty straightforward. We don't have our own washer and dryer. In our last apartment, we took our laundry to the laundromat and did it ourselves. Ever since we got to this place, we've been sending it out and having it done. That started unintentionally; we were just slammed when we first moved in, but needed clean skivvies, so we took it across the street to a wash n' fold. But here's the thing: once you go wash n' fold, you never go back. While schlepping to the laundromat was a perfectly acceptable use of time before, it's now almost unfathomable. Funny how that happens. Both the laundromat and the wash n' fold are also expensive. We spend $30-$40 per week on laundry, not including dry cleaning. I know. It's a lot. And I've already been looking ahead to when Numero Dos comes and I have to wash cloth diapers. I don't have the kind that are typically serviced (though buying some is an option) and I've been thinking about the fun of dragging dirty diapers to the laundromat (because, in case it needs saying, wash n' fold is not going to take them). But is there a way to do it myself at home? Could be. Check these babies out.
1. This little guy isn't electric. It's a hand-powered machine, and it's quite wee. But people really like it, and at least one reviewer uses it for diapers. It's small and cheap, so I find myself intrigued.
2. This wee fella has a bit more capacity than the first, and a similar footprint, but it's electric (da na na na na). Pretty good reviews, again. Probably worth it to not have to hand-crank if we're talking washing diapers every day, right? Which I'd need to do, washing probably half my supply every day, to ensure they hang dry in time.
3. This guy seems legit, right? We do have a small space for him, in our strange pre-bathroom cubby room, which already holds laundry-related stuff. This guy has a spin cycle, so clothes come out damp. That's a pretty big plus. Of course, it's also a pretty big jump in price tag from the 5.5 Panda. Worth it to not have to wring out clothes/diapers and wait so long for them to dry? Probably...
4. And finally, if you're gonna go, go big or go home, right? This one would also fit, though barely, in our little back hallway. It holds a whopping 10 pounds (2 pairs of jeans!) of clothes, and it has a spin dryer that gets clothes so dry users report only having to hang dry for half an hour or so. The downside is that you have to move clothes, a piece or two at a time, to the dryer portion, individually spin those, and then move more from the washer. So a bit of a hassle. If comparing between that step and the Haier, is $30 worth it to not have to do that? Again, probably.
So I'm leaning toward getting one of these. I'm not done with all my research yet. These models are all pretty highly rated, but - surprise! - you can get even more satisfaction from users of higher-priced options. Bret and I will discuss and see what we think. Even some of the more expensive versions would pay for themselves in 3-6 months, depending on how much we used them and the extent to which we said goodbye to the wash n' fold. And there's a lot to be said for being able to control when and how you wash your clothes. I just haven't been that thrilled with the laundromat or wash n' fold results, so even though it's more work, I find the thought of my own machine appealing. And anyway, I'll have lots of time on my hands because my floors will be cleaned for me.
You may recognize the top guy - it's an Irobot Roomba, of vacuum fame. This is the latest model, because while I'm dreaming, I'ma dream big, and it costs $699. So I won't be getting it. But it is awesome. It's programmable to do one room at a time, and it gets up to fifty percent more dust and dirt than previous Roomba models - which is pretty great, considering that Roomba users, though they have their complaints, are generally happy with the cleaning factor. So, if we were to get a Roomba, we'd probably get an older, more "affordable" 600 series model. They're going for about $400, which is no joke. Though, when you consider the fact that decent vacuum cleaners that you have to push around aren't exactly cheap, the price seems a teeny bit more reasonable. We've talked about it for years, most intensely when we had two cats, and it's without question something that would make me feel better and/or less stressed about having a couple kids roll around on the floor. Which Louisa does. Seriously. If she's not jumping off a piece of furniture, she's rolling around on the whatever the dirtiest floor in the house happens to be. It's very calming.
But we only have a few area rugs. What about all the floors? Enter the Braava. This is a wet and dry mop robot! Have you heard of this? I hadn't, and I am seeeriously considering it. Between the Roomba and the Braava, our floors could be cleaned, automatically, every night while we were sleeping. How cool would that be? I mean, seriously. I sort of can't even imagine what I'd do with all the time I currently spend thinking about how I really need to clean my floors.
Oh right. Laundry.
There's not chance we're getting both Roombas, let alone both Roombas, the washer and the dishwaher. Sooo, a girl can dream. And sometimes, if Amazon one-click is enabled, a girl can do more than that. Whoopsie. No but really: which one of these would most revolutionize our life? Or is there some other life-saving appliance out there that I don't even know about? Share away. And have a great weekend!