Less is Better

I am doing a lot less laundry.  Today was the 1st time in 3 days that I have had to do a load of whites. I used to do at least one load a day.  Eric has been very concerned that he is not making enough laundry.  We told him tonight that he did not have to make any more laundry.  That it only means that I will have more time to spend with him.  That we would listen to more books and watch more television together. Also that I would have more time to spin and knit, which will make me happy. 

I wonder if doing less laundry will show up on our power and water bills.  I currently hope so.  Now to reboot my cleaning and tossing now that I can move better again.. I only have 2 major areas to finish.   

Tummy Bug and take backs

Last night was a very long night with Eric. The eyrpy tummy bug that is going around town has hit Eric with vengeance. At he peak of the mayhem Eric made a full basket of laundry in just 30 minutes. This lead to a couple of learning experiences with the new washer.

The first thing I want to say is never ever wash eyrpy laundry on the turbo cycle unless you want to wash the load twice. On low water machines use extra water and a longer wash cycle.

The second thing I learned was that there is a child lock on our washer. It was not on my list of needs, but I have it anyway by default. Reading the washing machine manual at 4:30 am looking for a code is not my idea of fun. The good news is that by 5 am I had figured it out by myself and did not have to wake John to solve the problem.

I guess that this is part of my learning curve on the new washer. Washing machines have changed a lot in the 25 years since I last got a new machine. When I looked at the manual, when it said heavily soiled, I assumed kids playing in mud and dirt. I think that it should have a different section dealing with sick, but that maybe just me because we deal with it a lot.

Oh by the way, Sears sent people out to level the washing machine, without a level. I have yet to do a load but we will see how they did. They still gave the self adjusting spiel. No that does not work. This crew added the self adjusting springs as well. Don't they know people do read the manuals that come with the machines? So I got out the level and pointed out that even I knew it was not level. It also made me uncomfortable when the delivery guys said how nice our TV was.  I made sure to point out that it was 5 years old (therefore not worth stealing).

I am sure that with Eric home tomorrow he will help me knit a few more hats. I have a pile of 6 hats that need tags, with 2 more in progress. We just have to get rid of the fever that came with the eyrpyness before we can send Eric back to his day program.

I am positive that tomorrow will be a better day.

Rethinking Laundry

With the new larger wash tub, I think I will have to rethink the way I do laundry. This is for the better. Today I did the weekly towels, in the old washer it would have been 2 full loads. Today the towels filled a little less than 1/2 the tub.  With the whites I saved 2 days of laundry ( this should read 2 loads in the old washer ) and used a little less than 2/3's of the tub. So I am going to try waiting for 3 days before I do the whites again. That is unless we have a laundry explosion.  So I am thinking I will cut my current  of 25 loads of laundry week down to 10 to 12 loads a week.  Yes I will have the same amount of folding. I am thinking that unless the laundry is eyrpy that I will no longer be doing laundry in the middle of the night. 

I am so grateful for the simply wonderful engineering from the LG Washer Group.  Thank you so much.. I would also like to thank my wonderful husband for getting me such a wonderful washer.  By the way Sears called back today and will check to make sure we are in perfect level.  They said it should have been done on Saturday as part of the delivery.  

On a different note when I am not wearing my usual 2 inch heals, I need Teri's step stool to reach in to the bottom of the tub. Teri don't expect to get your step stool back anytime soon. 

I will have to figure out how all this will effect how much extra time I have for other things.  I can see more knitting, weaving, spinning and sewing in my future.  Maybe even a few more new patterns published.  

Up date 11:40 pm, Eric must have heard that I was doing less laundry. Since I first posted this earlier tonight he has made a load of eyrpy laundry...and life goes on.  

Eric's New Washer

Our new washing machine arrived today. We got the LG model WT7700H*A. John did all the research and found the largest, most energy efficient top loader that LG makes.  I would like to say that the washer held what use to be 2 loads in the old washer and did not even top out the new washer.  The washer runs about 30 decibels quieter too, around 50 decibel's instead of 80 decibel's. Did I mention it uses less water too.  

The second load I ran today would have been 1 full load and then some in the old washer.  In the new washer it did not even make a dent in capacity. The new washer weighed the clothes and added just the right amount of water. Kudos go to the engineering team at the LG Washer Group.

The only downside of the whole day was the delivery made by Sears, where we bought the machine.  John had asked the driver  twice, if the machine needed to be leveled. The driver told John that is was self leveling,twice. The delivery man than ran the first wash. We noticed that the machine was noisier and shaking more than the reviews said it would. So John check the position of the tub. The tub was not level.  So John used his level to verify the results.  We called the delivery number and asked that they be sent back to level the new washer. Multiple call were ignored. 

Meanwhile I did some research on the web and found that we could do serious harm to the washer if we used it unbalanced. This upset me to no end that Sears could not install a washing machine properly.  I think that they sell a lot of them too.This made me long for the days of Circuit City, where we bought our last washer when the kids were little.  They got the install done right at the time of delivery. 

By the time I lost it, John figured out how to get the machine level. So how I would some up the day, good job marks go to LG for making a great machine and to John for getting the machine as level as he could. On the other hand Sears needs to make a cheat sheet for its delivery drivers that tells them what each install requires.  They also need to be more responsive to its customers.  Just in case you are wondering Sears did not respond to various tweets on Twitter either.  I guess it is take the money and run. 

The old and new washing machines side by side.  The geek picture of the day is of the 1st load of clothes running.  I could not get the whole tub in the picture.

A New Project

Last night I started a new project. I am actually knitting something for me.  I am using Dream in Color. The blend is wool, cashmere and nylon.  It is a lace weight yarn that I am knitting on US sized 11 needles.  In a a nice verigated blue.  I am hoping that 2 skeins will be enough.  

Busy, Busy, Sore

There have been a lot of late nights with Eric.  Post viral asthma has struck with a vengence.  That has lead to a lot of naps and not much getting done around here.  This has also lead to a flare up for me, right now my elbows and ankles are not on friendly terms with me.   I know things will get better when Eric feels better.  

Amish Shadows

The quilt is fiannly back on the wall after the remodel. I made this quilt in December of 1987. Even after a professional cleaning, I have been told by a reliable source that the quilt has lost that new quilt look. Not bad for an almost 30 year old quilt. Yes that is a Tucson made Bens Bell hanging from the side.