As I went shopping at Lowes, this song by Prince kept popping in my head.
Why?
Maybe because my kitchen appliances were from 1989. Yes, my dishwasher, microwave and stove were all 30 years old.
Let's party like it's 1989??
After over a year of saving, I was finally ready to shop.
Had I researched the appliances? Yes, a zillion times. I printed out comparisons of various brands. I carried the sheets with all the facts about each product with me for weeks.
I kept putting off going into Lowe's. I knew I would be overwhelmed.
This is the first time I was going to shop for appliances and not say "what is the cheapest model".
Not that I was a looking forward the trip to Lowes. I knew the options would be mind-boggling. And they were.
In one of my very rare impulsive moments, I asked Jenn if she wanted to go to and pick out the appliances I had been praying over. She said "Yes", without hesitation."
Once there, Jenn found an incredible Lowes employee, Aaron. He was kind, patient and put up with my zillion questions.
About 90 minutes later, we were done.
I had purchased a dishwasher, microwave and a stove.
The dishwasher is pretty basic by today's standards. There are buttons that replace the dials on my last dishwasher. I never used to one I just replaced. It was pretty gross and we just kept it locked except to open it and spray Clorox in it once a month.
I also bought a microwave. The new one has a turntable and also melts a stick of butter in less than 5 minutes. The old one was very slow at heating, melting or cooking anything. It also had no turntable so we had to keep opening it and turning the item in it ourselves.
Lastly, a new stove. This was my biggest decision. I opted to get something that I would never have considered previously. I did not ask for the basic, cheapest, solid white model. Instead I ordered the stove with two ovens. Yes, two ovens! I can now cook two things at the same time at different temperatures. It has the smooth top vs the burners. There are some bells and whistles that I still have to read up on. One setting says "Sabbath". I had to read up on what that was about. One oven is a convection oven too. I am not sure that that means either.
Having to decide about colors was another struggle. Stainless steel, slate or did I want something that didn't show fingerprints.
This is where my practicality kicked in and my thriftiness. I did not go for the most expensive brand names on any of the three. I did not opt for the most expensive color. I decided not to pay extra to not see fingerprints. Instead, I bought cleaning cloths which will do the job. I just couldn't get myself part with the money I had been saving for all those months. I also felt like I had really gone over the top on the stove purchase.
I did annoy my daughter when I said "this would probably be the last stove I would ever purchase". I said that because I hold on to things forever.
Fear not Jenn, I am sure there is at least one more round of appliance purchases in my lifetime.
And I still have not replaced the washer and dryer (they are in my garage and work just fine). When I do replace them, they will be basic and white. No bells and whistles for their replacements. My next refrigerator will also be pretty simple. Side by side with water in the door and that's it. There is no need to shop now since the fridge I have currently works great and is black which fits in well with my stainless steel. I could not allow myself to purchase a big ticket item like a refrigerator just to have it match my other kitchen appliances.
I also have a new respect for installers. None of these installations were quick or easy. The fastest was the stove which took about 90 minutes (this included having to move the outlet into the wall behind the stove). The microwave also took over an hour. Since we didn't have a free hanging microwave previously, it was a process that started with having to install a bracket on the wall. The dish washer also took a while between the hoses, water hook-ups and balancing it so it would not wiggle.
A week later, the stove has been used and the microwave too. The dishwasher, not yet. It tends to be easier to hand wash dishes for two people.
You know how when you paint one room in your house, the rest then looks dingy. The same theory applies with the appliances. During the next few years, I will be looking into cabinet fronts (I can't afford all new cabinets), new counter tops, flooring and new lighting for the kitchen. It will take time to save up again. I don't mind since I know what I am working toward.
So here is 1989:
old microwave- please note the oven dials were on the microwave-
It was worth every penny I saved to be able to get these new appliances.
Now I just have to learn how to use them.
See you next week !
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