Do you know that feeling when you wish for something to happen, but you don’t really want it to come true? Like when you wish your car would break down so you can buy a new one or you wish that your bathroom springs a leak so you can re-do it or maybe you wish for your old, mis-matched washer and dryer to stop working so you can replace them.
Ok ok, so I’m not saying I wished for all of these to happen, but they did all come true.
My car broke down a few weeks ago, but instead of trading the car in and moving on up, I resigned to the fact that I needed to pay to have it repaired (Bummer). The upstairs hall bathroom shower also sprung a leak last winter while my husband was out of town and our entire master bathroom was gutted (more details to come on this project), which was a disaster. Needless to say, I may have called a friend at 11pm on a Saturday night to come help me because the bathtub was overflowing and I didn’t know how to shut off the water (I do now, so don’t worry!)
We also inherited an old, mis-matched washer and dryer from the previous owners. They were working fine when we first moved in, so we decided to live with them. Unfortunately, the dryer started making horrible noises and we knew that it was only a matter of time before it broke for good. Eric tried to re-balance the drum a few times, but eventually, the dryer ate its last sock and we were stuck with a basket of wet clothes and some decisions to make.
We decided to replace both the washer and the dryer at the same time so that they would match. Instead of tossing the old washer (which was still working), we decided to donate it to the Salvation Army. For those of you who may be looking to save some money, Salvation Army will pick-up most items for free. We moved the washer into the garage so that the pick-up was easy. You will also get a receipt for any items donated, which you can put toward your charitable contribution tax deduction on your tax return. Everyone wins!
We bought our brand new, Whirlpool front-loader washer and dryer from Lowes. They also offer free delivery and installation, so be sure to take full advantage.
We opted for the pedestal underneath the washer and dryer for extra storage (and to make sure my 6’5″ husband can’t use his “bad back” as an excuse not to do laundry). I also decided that I wanted to add chrome handles on the cabinet doors above the washer and dryer to update the overall look of the laundry room.
These handles were a little trickier to install than a standard knob because it required us to drill two parallell holes in the cabinets. Eric and I had to re-level the cabinet doors, measure the length between where the two screws needed to go and use a level to ensure that the holes were drilled properly. It was a tedious process, but I think that the cabinets came out looking great! This was a great and inexpensive way to update our laundry room. I got these handles at Home Depot for $3 each.
Overall, the Laundry Room Revamp came out great!! On to the next room!
2 Comments
Gale
September 19, 2014 at 2:08 pmLucky you didn't have to raise the cabinets.
Kristen
September 22, 2014 at 8:49 pmWe certainly got lucky that we were able to utilize the existing cabinets! Eric really wanted those pedastals so we were happy that everything fit!