Clean clothes

Oh, such excitement today at Apple Jack Creek! Sears had a sale, and we got a new washing machine!

Our first load of clothes is in the wash as I write, spinning free of mud and dirt. The drying rack is set up in the living room awaiting jeans and shirts and socks. For the past year, laundry has been done at Union Guy's house (or on occasion, at the laundromat near the office!) and so it is very exciting to have a washing machine of our very own.

We got a front load washer, as it uses much less power and water than most regular washers: this model is a Maytag, rated at 170kWh/year. It is very small, so we can't do too many clothes at once, but if we do a load of wash every few days, we should have no problems. I see this as an inducement to frugality in clothes shopping: if you have to do the wash every few days, you don't need seven pairs of jeans in order to make it from wash day to wash day.

My current objective is to get the storage unit unpacked and dig through the remaining boxes to see what I really need to keep and what can be sold/donated/freecycled. This house is very small and has minimal storage space, so if something isn't likely to be used frequently, it isn't likely to be kept. Living with less stuff is a real release, anyway, so I'm looking forward to this process. Of course, I'm also looking forward to having my baking pans back, and putting some books on the shelves, and locating my parka before winter hits again!

That, and the outside work (cleaning up the yard and making a run to the dump, fixing the fences so the sheep stop escaping to the neighbour's land, getting the firewood split and stacked for winter, figuring out a heated watering trough system ...) should keep us well out of trouble for the next little while.