It has been several months since I used my dryer for much of anything. I have been hanging my laundry outside or in the house during inclement weather.
I haven't really missed it.
There was an occasion last month when I used it: I decided to go to my sister's house on a whim, forgetting the fact that I had a load of whites in the washer. I tossed them in the dryer and turned it on before leaving.
When I came back it was to discover that the large load of thick towels had not been completely dried by the cycle I had hurriedly set and had soured. They had to be rewashed.
If I had simply taken a few minutes to hang them up in the house, I would not have had to rewash that load of towels. They would have slowly dried in their own time without a single issue. I haven't used the dryer since then!
I am going to try to get through this winter without using the dryer. If I can succeed, then I will sell the appliance this spring.
Part of me is tempted to just sell it now and get it out of the way. I could use the empty spot for storage, perhaps making more room for myself in my bedroom. I'm nervous at the thought of giving it up, however.
My whole childhood we had a dryer. My mother would never consider hanging clothes outside for any reason! With the exception of my sister, everyone I know has one.
Dumb reason, I know. Perhaps I just doubt my ability to live without one?
I wish I knew the reason of my hesitation. You would think that I would WANT to get rid of yet another thing, but this gives me qualms. Should I just close my eyes and sell it, or keep it for a while longer?
I say sell it. If I could move my dryer I'd take it to be recycled, hasn't been used in months thanks to some water that got in it and when it was it took two hours to dry a load of clothes. So now I keep a bar of laundry soap to hand wash a single item in an emergency and hang it over a fan to dry; by the time I finish getting ready to go that piece of clothing is just dry enough to wear and dry by the time I get where I'm going. The rest is hung outside (if it's not too hot or raining) and the rest goes on the line in the back room; I have a bent futon frame to hang the clothes I don't have room on the line on so they can dry. You won't miss it, if it comes down to it in an emergency you can hold what you want to wear in front of a fan or over a heating vent in the winter until it's dry enough to wear.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about it Laurie. Seriously thinking about it!
ReplyDeleteHave you thought about listing your dryer on Freecycle? Someone may pick it up and repair it themselves.. saving you the trouble of hauling it away...
I wonder what a good asking price would be for a used 1-owner dryer?
Well... I seldom use my drier, but I wouldn't want to get rid of it. You know if an emergency happens (like say... a kitten pees on your bed in the middle of a blizzard) having a drier can really save you a tremendous headache. I use mine a handful of times per year, and generally only for emergencies...
ReplyDeleteThat would save me a lot of trouble especially since it's not worth it to me to fix it myself. While I'm there I can see if anyone has anything that I could use as a therapy tool for the kid. I don't know about dryers but about five years ago I paid $75 for a used fridge, over 10 years ago I managed to find a year old fridge for $100 just because it was the way.
ReplyDeleteIf this is an electric dryer, it can do double-duty in the winter - dry your clothes and heat the house. Dryers are also a quick and easy way to get wrinkles out of clothes.
ReplyDeleteAlso, consider that the dryer doesn't cost anything to have, except for the space. It's not like a refrigerator that runs even if it's empty.