Last night I went with my husband to pick out a new dryer. I knew walking in to the store that we weren't getting the lovely green Duet steam washer and dryer I have ogled in catalogs and on random trips to Lowe's. I love the way the Duets look up on their stands, and the soft green against our terra cotta tile would be such a nice contrast of color in the laundry room.
And yet, standing there last night, calculating just how much it would cost for the Duet pair, plus stands, I kept thinking in my head:
Wow, that amount of money would buy a year's supply of hay.
Or two years of Adequan.
A shopping spree at Horsetech.
Saliva tests and accompanying herbs for every living creature in my family.
It would cover a County dressage saddle for Cody.
Make a good dent in the expense of getting the sink in my tack room hooked up, and putting in the wide plank wood floor I want in there.
It would buy new arena footing, pea gravel for my "hoof stimulation areas," or the gate for the front of our property.
Ever since owning horses, I have this little habit of calculating everything in terms of farm improvements, horse care, and riding tack/attire.
The funny thing is that most anything I see and "want" for its aesthetic pleasure isn't, in the end, worth anywhere near the pleasure I get from living with the horses. It was kind of nice to be reminded of that last night. And when we got home, and my husband installed the modest dryer, I tossed the latest load of clean clothes into it and turned it on. When the buzzer sounded, they were dry. And that's the important thing.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
10 comments:
What a beautiful dose of perspective as I'm on my way out the door to go shopping. Thanks!
I do the same thing. But I believe that everything that I spend on my horses and other animals is really money that I am spending on me, since I choose to own them and they contribute so much to my happiness and sanity. I've been thinking about a clothesline too --there's something so wonderful about sheets and clothes dried in the sun and the wind.
Glad the timing was good, Linda. It was a good dose of perspective for me as well.
And I laughed out loud when I saw that today's word on the sidebar is WHIMSY.
A favorite word of mine, and something I enjoy on a regular basis.
And just now as I thought of whimsy in relation to laundry and Duets, it occurred to me that the real whimsy would be to find and buy one of those whirling laundry line poles and use it when the sun is shining.
Maybe I'll do that. :)
Victoria, I was looking online for rotary clotheslines just now and the one I selected, based on its design, color, and overall quality, was over two hundred dollars MORE than the dryer we bought! :0
LOL.
I went on and found some less expensive models, along with a you tube video of a kookaburra riding on a rotary line as it turns in the wind.
Now THAT would be true laundry line whimsy.
I just wanted to say that I love your blog. It's like a
meditation to me. It stills the mind and nourishes the soul.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank YOU, Maddy. That really made my day.
I've got to say I think most all horse people have the same perspective when buying things for themselves or their homes. It all comes down to getting the best deal on an item so you can save money to spend on your horses,or barn or property or whatever it is that you need to make your horses lives better. We're probably all a little crazy but if it makes us happy in the long run it's well worth it.
I'm happy to hear that you are going to be wearing dry clothes from now on. I also can't believe the price of an outside rotary clothesline. Sometimes the powers that be make it really costly to go green.
Arlene, I finally did find one that was under $100. It was smaller and not as sturdy, but was made of steel vs aluminum.
The very expensive one also had a 10-year warranty.
Interesting that going green costs so much. We could write entire blogs posts on why.
I also discovered some quite interesting racks that hang from your ceiling - you lower them, hang the clothes, and then raise them up again so they're out of the way until the clothing is dry. Apparently they were used in the Victorian era.
that's so funny! i am currently trading my dream of hardwood floors and built-in bookshelves in my future 'library' in order to buy some new fencing for the horses. i remember buying new clothes for work and thinking: i could have bought a new saddle for x for the same amount and just wore my old stuff! and, of course, when i shop for new clothes for work (where they sort of prefer i come not covered in horse hair and slobber) i always keep in the back of my mind: how comfortable will this be to ride in or wear around the barn once it wears out or gets slobbered on? and of course when i got my washer/dryer the main consideration was: how much dirt and horse hair can these handle? :-)
ps- i like the sound of the ceiling rack - that would be great for drying blankets and saddle pads!
jme, I hadn't thought of the drying rack in terms of use at the barn - it would be perfect for drying AND storing blankets and pads, and would keep them out of the way in a smaller tack room. (like ours)
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