When my husband married me 25 years ago, I bet he never imagined a day when the gift of new appliances would bring me pure joy. This could also be said for my request to purchase a new ironing board, mine is probably from college. With three in college, part of being a frugal family means that Jodi in the Bubble does a lot of ironing, instead of paying for dry cleaning services.
Ten years ago when we purchased our home we bought a house for location, not for love of the home. It had potential, however having been rented out for several years, we made an investment in a D.I.Y (do it yourself) re-model. While fresh paint and landscaping were things we could do ourselves, long term we knew the kitchen was going to be a project.
Life gets busy, circumstances change and the costs in raising four children adds up. The kitchen simply became one those conversations for “someday” or “wish we could update.”
We have known for a while though that the appliances were going to need to be updated sooner than later and began planning for the day we would have to purchase new ones.
The day finally came and while I can pretend my sadness, in actuality I was doing an inner happy dance because when the dishwasher broke, this girl knew we were going appliance shopping.
We have purchased from the Sears Outlet off Thompson Lane in Nashville and knew they often had scratch and dent items that really were not “that bad.” Making our trek to the outlet after church, we were surprised to find they were having a special 50% off sale and many dishwashers were brand new in the box.
Finding the dishwasher I wanted made me so happy. With a household the size of mine and loving to cook, this is an important appliance. The salesmen then said, “By the way we have a refrigerator to match…”
We “had to” look at the refrigerator (it was second on the list for in bad shape). Purchased 19 years ago, it has served us well.
My Ken Doll, who normally has to sleep on things, research and ponder purchases took one look at the price and said, “Honey I’m getting you this. Could it be part of an anniversary present?” It was a Christmas morning for this girl in the middle of August.
To some of you this probably seems boring, however to our family it was a day of celebration. My children were as excited as their mother. You see when you are not the family who goes out and buys new cars, TV’s or appliances on a whim, an appreciation for spending money wisely is learned.
That’s all for this week, I’m off to enjoy using my new appliances. Finding simple joys in life is a great feeling.
Oh, and next on the list is a new stove and microwave. Yippee! Thank you Sears Outlet! More Jodi in the Bubble
