Sarah and I have made it for 6 years of marriage without ever owning a dishwasher. Before that, we were college students that ate at the dining commons and didn’t have to worry about the dishes (except for the times that we each worked in the dishroom, but those tenures were short-lived).
So I walked into the Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Richmond, VA today – as I do at least twice a week looking for hot deals on household stuff from shutters to light fixtures. At the front of the store were about 20 dishwashers. They were all FREE for the taking. There was a limit of two per customer and no holding of items. The first person to haul it out gets the dishwasher.
I had a 2001 Toyota Corolla in the parking lot. That’s not designed to haul dishwashers. And if I would have left to borrow my Dad’s truck 45 minutes away, maybe all 20 would be gone. What would I do?
I picked up the best looking dishwaher (a Maytag) and carried it out to the parking lot (yes, I picked it up myself). Dishwashers are deceivingly lightweight. I opened the trunk of the compact car and shoved the bottom part of the machine into the trunk. Most of it was sticking out of the trunk, so I tied it on to the back of the car as best I could, with the help of a nice passerby who, when I asked his name, said, “they call me Jimmy”.
So thanks Jimmy (and Reggie, too, for helping me unload the thing when I got home). I have a free Maytag in the basement awaiting the day of our full kitchen remodel. Until then, I guess we’ll just keep washing those plates by hand.
