Home Economics, part 1

I'll be honest-- I think the primary reason we're in this mess, as a nation, is because we've been, as a nation, irresponsible and idiotic in our spending.

So it's more than slightly annoying that I'll have to do some major spending over the next few months. The only good thing is that we'll be doing it with actual cash money. If inflation does become a problem in the future, at least our dollars will have been spent while prices were somewhat reasonable, right?

Still, irritating to part with the hard-earned cash, and irritating that the government seems to STILL think that we can credit-spend our way out of this mess. Gahhh!

We do need, however, a new fridge. Our old one finally bit the dust when we moved, so we've been using the one our landlord provided while we've been in this rental house. Moving back home, though, leaves us without a fridge. We're looking at the freezer-on-the-bottom types with the double doors on top. I'm tall, it doesn't make sense for the milk to be down at my shin level and the ice cream at eye level. Especially the ice cream at eye level part. ;-) Most certainly the fridge needs to be with an icemaker, but without a water or ice dispenser, though (the kids play with dispensers, making them more a nuisance than a blessing.) There seem to be some pretty good deals out there on them, and they're much more energy efficient than our old fridge was, as well. I think it will be money well spent.

We also need a new washing machine. Granted, ours is not that old (<10 years). However, it's inefficient and loud and vibrates like mad no matter how we fiddle with the levelling. We're looking into front-loading large capacity machines. I'm not overly concerned with the steam cycle options (don't really see many things around here that need steam or DON'T need to be drenched to get out the odors/stains). Again, there are some good sales going on these days, and the savings in water and electricity will really help with the monthly bills.

We won't, however, be buying a new clothes dryer. We've decided to install a clothesline when we move back home. We don't currently have a homeowners assosciation in our community, so I'm hoping that it will pass without comment. The only people who will see it, after all, are the neighbors on either side of us, and one of those families has a back yard that looks like their three boys carried out WWIII over the summer. I somehow doubt they'll mind my towels hanging on a line. The clothesline should allow us to postpone buying a new dryer AND cut our enormous electricity bills down somewhat.

Cara needs a new mattress and box springs. Hers has lasted twelve years so far, but Mia's bedwetting has just ruined it over the past three months. Mia will be inheriting the old mattress until the odor gets too awful, at which point I'll probably be purchasing a hospital type mattress for her room, one of those with a thick vinyl covering that is rip-resistant and waterproof. You can't just put a rubber sheet or a vinyl mattress cover over her bed-- Mia rips them off, no matter how securely you attach them. Then she shoves the shredded vinyl in a closet. We've bought half a dozen mattress covers over the past year. I've pretty much just given up-- autism wins again, and the hospital mattress is next. But it can wait a couple months.

I'm also going to buy the pots and pans that strike the balance between practical and preposterous-- the stainless steel All-Clad pans. I'm just going to buy the sizes I need in open stock-- the 6 quart saute pan, for instance, is perfect for one-dish meals. The pasta pot with the steamer insert and pasta insert is also a must-have, along with a few mid-sized saucepans for cooking potatoes and veggies and sauces. I don't use frying pans for anything, so I'm skipping those. Saute pans, with the high sides, work much better for someone as messy as me.

My Calphalon non-stick has just disintegrated under the cooking demands of feeding all these people, with multiple cooks abusing them in various ways. Plus, they're too small. Sure, I'd love to buy the hand-hammered copper pans imported from Italy . . . but that's preposterous. Stainless mega-sized pots are the way to go, and the company has a very good guarantee of their materials.

My savings account is going to take a massive hit from all these purchases, but it's stuff we need, at prices that are reasonable, for things which will last a very long time. I'm expecting a good decade of service from the applicances and the bed, after all. Expensive stuff, but at least it won't be charged. Credit card companies, pblbtttt!!!