Renovation

The weather is so much cooler.  A little chilly in the morning now and I find myself huddling under the bed covers instead of  leaping out of bed for my hourly walk.  Today Merv is at the day centre and an early morning walk is definitely out of the question.  Instead I set off at 1pm and find I notice gardens I normally just trot by.  I make mental notes of the plants and whether they are growing well in my neighbourhood.  It wont be long before I'm digging and planting new specimens in my garden beds.  Some are doomed while hopefully others will flourish.  My once green thumb is a shade on the dark side!
This morning I went searching for the dreaded laundry sink/cabinet to replace the grubby rusty one in my 70's laundry.  My laundry is screaming out for a re-fit! 
My kitchen and bathroom has both gone under the hammer, gutted and renovated. The bathroom being our worst experience.  We had to move out for two weeks as we didn't have the use of a toilet or shower area.  Was it worth it?  Yes.
The laundry renovation - who will it affect?  Just the washing machine and the need for clean clothes.
This brings back memories of our early married years.  We had an old twin tub washer donated to us.  Vicki's neighbour had put it out on the verge and we were the 'lucky' recipients!   The washing part was fine.  It had a large swinging paddle which washed the clothes.  Then I had to take the clothes and put them in the spin dryer while adding rinse water.  Nothing was automatic then.  Before the twin tub I laboriously washed everything by hand including Dustin's nappies!  There were soaking nappies in buckets of Napi-San everywhere and my hands were as hard and rough as sandpaper!  I would smother them in Barrier Cream before squeezing my fingers into cotton gloves.  Eventually Dustin was potty trained and my hands recovered.
We bought our first automatic washing machine in 1978 from Boans for $300.  A lot of money back then.  It lasted almost 20 years and some days it spat out more than five loads of well washed clothing, towels and sheets. 
Unexpectedly it retired and we used Merv's mother's gigantic top loader which was left in our shed after she sold her house goods in one of our famous garage sales.  She moved into residential care at the time.  Her old machine was fabulous for doona's, blankets and large washes but it took a swimming pool of water for every wash!  Not long after it also had enough of our ongoing washing needs and spat the dummy!
Ten years ago we went to the Harvey Norman seconds store and bought our Electrolux front loader.  It still goes well even though it creaks and whines when it begins a cycle.  It's difficult to push a blanket into but we do anyway.  The kids have long ago flown the nest but I still wash often to keep Merv in clean clothes. 
I'm sure the laundry renovation won't take long, possibly a day, maybe less.  I want to spend a minimum amount with a trendy result.  It's all about getting a good price for the house next year when we put it up for sale.  Wish me luck!

The old Twin Tub Washer!