The Day Free Laundry Died

{found via}

So it's bad to have mold inside your kitchen faucet, right?  One of our knobs was moldy green inside, and water was streaming from it whenever we ran the tap.  I ignored it for a while, but when fish start swimming through, you have to call maintenance.

"Yep, that looks bad.  We'll have to replace the whole faucet."

Crickets.

You would think--given how much I complain about our apartment--I would be delighted.  Oh joy!  Oh rapture!  Something sparkly and new in my kitchen!  But all I could think about was laundry.

Our handy-dandy rollaway washing machine, hidden in the closet so that maintenance didn't squeal on us,¹ and whether or not it would be compatible with the new faucet, was my only concern.

{via Amazon listing; this isn't our actual washer...
I'm such a bad owner: I don't even have pictures of her!}

And Gentle Reader, I am a fit of despondency, because my sneaking suspicion was correct: We won't be able to hook our little washer up to the sink anymore (because the faucet is different).  It's shiny and new and beautiful...and ruining my Free Laundry Dreams.

You see, it's $1.75/load in the washer outside my door--but at least it's right outside my door.  It pains me to basically throw away quarters, but throw them away we must.²

I take solace in the fact that we're only here through July.

And the fact that laundry is way faster now.  As Professor said while pulling out a load, "Whoa...this is like five loads' worth from our little guy."

Indeed.  We may now lack economy, but we have gained much speed.

And drying?  Well, we're still letting the air take care of it.  'Cause I'm cheap like that.

R.I.P. Little washer.  We hardly knew thee; I never even appreciated you enough to give you a name.  Godspeed, my friend.  Godspeed.

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1 It doesn't say anywhere in our lease that we *can't* have a portable washing machine...but I don't really want them to see it and put it into our lease. So, sshhhhhhh--it's our little secret.^↩
2 P.S. This is doubly painful for me, as I have a certain yen for quarters. They're of a great weight, they jingle nicely in my pocket, and they're perfect for vending machines and gas station runs--both of which I am an obvious fan.^↩