Washing Machine RAGE

Get out your pen and paper and write Norwex a thank you letter RIGHT NOW!  You can tell them that I sent you.  That company single-handedly managed to save you from the RANT of the century about my HE washing machine and how much I hate it.  You see, prior to today, and said Norwex intervention, my laundry machine was a fetid, useless, pile of scrap metal that was about to get ANNIHILATED WITH A SLEDGE HAMMER!!!!!  I have mentioned this washing machine before, by the way, in my 'diaper tale of woe'... needless to say, my washer hasn't made it up to me yet.

(someone has more guts than me apparently)



So, this is what happened... (all of you HE'ers out there, take note)...

I don't do that much laundry... that is, as long as I can help it.  This means that my machine sits for maybe weeks on end until I finally get up the motivation to do something about the overflowing clothes hampers.  All was fine and dandy (or so I thought), until I started going to hot yoga classes on a regular basis.  Now, if you have been to a hot yoga class before, you would know that you come out of there a disheveled, sweaty mess, hence I tend to use a clean towel for each class that I attend.  Again, all was well... and then... it happened.  There I am down-dogging it up and I get a wiff of something nasty... like... mold or something.  And, down I go into my chatarunga and GASP!  It is MY TOWEL THAT SMELLS LIKE MOLD!!!  (In case you may have missed it, I REALLY hate mold and everything that comes with it... blame a really serious allergy to it and a near-death-causing lung infection to the stuff and you would likely feel as strongly about the stuff too).  Surprisingly, I managed to finish the class, despite the fact that I flat-out refused to use the stinky towel and my mat turned into a slip-n-slide... (those were fun back in the day though weren't they?).

Drama aside, I came home, stuck my head into my washing machine and I almost vomited... the culprit was revealed.  Being the diligent consumer that I am, I checked my washing machine manual for clues and guess what, they ADMIT that this might be a problem and that you should do X, Y and Z to fix the problem.  So, I did do X, Y, Z and even E, F, G... but to no avail.  After seriously considering putting the thing up on freecycle and trying to buy a top-loading one, I decided to try one last thing... let's call it 'N' (ha!).  You guessed it, Norwex makes a laundry detergent.  I used 1/2 tsp per load for a few washes and the machine is back to 'new' again.  You heard me, the moldy smell vanished!

All hail Norwex!!!  The washing machine is saved! (For now!)

Marebare xoxo

P.S.  No, I don't sell Norwex, but I might start!!!

Tightening the Purse Strings

So, yesterday I unplugged my clothesdryer.  I mentioned on Sunday that Trent finally hung my outside line and I am fortunate enough to have a very large laundry room for hanging stuff inside, so I decided that enough was enough.  I hung my sheets out to dry for the first time yesterday and I must say, they sure smell delicious!  Bettter than fresh bread even.  At first I wasn't sure about drying clothes outside in a Canadian Winter, but we have the perfect setup with our south-facing aspect.  And it is all about timing (and more planning), so I have started looking at the forecast to see which days will be 'laundry days'.  Good news for me, the rest of the week promises to be sunny and quite warm for February.  YAHOO!  On another note, Trent is very concerned... "What will I do if I ever need to dry clothes?" he asked me.  What a dumb question, wouldn't you agree?  Oh, and just in case you wanted to know just exactly how much these extra efforts were going to save us?  An estimated $104 annually.  Worth it?  I guess we'll see....

Onto another topic, I had more adventures in the kitchen yesterday.  I have really been getting into the Hodding Carter entries, he really is a fabulous writer and he has great tips that are really helping me out in this endeavor.  Carter advises to NOT plan when you go shopping, and just buy what is ridiculously cheap and on sale.  This is quite the opposite of what I have been doing so far, and not a great strategy for me to fully employ just yet because I really don't know a fabulous deal when I see one (I am getting better, but it sure is a lot of math!  And on that note, why doesn't the grocery store make it easier to compare?  They quote prices per pound and kilogram on different things, it is so annoying!!!)  ANYWAY, shopping with Carter in mind, I have been buying produce off the 50% off rack and found a bag of three artichokes sitting there the last time around.  Now, if you are like me, and have only eaten those things canned before, I knew that this was going to be quite the culinary experiment.  Last night, after looking online to see how to cook the buggers, I served up two of them to my family.  The results?  They are sure a lot of effort for not a lot of reward and I would much rather buy them for 50% off in the can next time!

Well, I must go, the sun is getting higher in the sky and I have laundry to do! 

“Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by colour.” - Author Unknown

(A fitting quote for today's entry, no?)

Marebare :)