My dryer has become increasingly problematic in the last few weeks.  It started by lengthening the drying cycles, until it would go for hours at a time even when set to the shortest setting.  At least the clothes were dry when we would finally realize the dryer hadn’t shut itself off, though.  It was annoying to have it running so long since it’s a huge electricity hog, and I try to keep my electric use in check by minimizing the use of things like this.  But my kids do the laundry, so I’m not usually aware of what setting they put things on, and they won’t mention something like the cycles taking longer than usual until it becomes very noticeable.  This is something that got worse and worse but didn’t seem like it was worth mentioning.

Then about a week and a half ago, even after hours in the dryer, the clothes weren’t coming out dry!   I suggested to my son on laundry duty for this month that he hang the clothes outside, a suggestion that met with a less than enthusiastic reception.  He didn’t feel there was much appeal standing outside in the cold, hanging laundry, not to mention that it’s a lot quicker to throw a load into the dryer.  So the laundry was backing up, and several family members were wondering why they had no shirts to wear, despite having sent them to the basement for washing long before (laundry is supposed to be done every 2 or 3 days, and as long as the clothes are brought down, they usually are washed in a timely way).  His frustration level mounted when he finally took me up on my suggestion to wash several loads at night before he went to sleep, and then hang them all at once in the morning. 

That sounds like a reasonable idea, doesn’t it?  The night he did all the laundry, he called the weather hotline to check if rain was expected.  It was, during the night, but it didn’t rain then.  So the next morning, before I was even up, thinking he was clear as far as rain went, he spent 45 minutes hanging up every piece of laundry, even the tiniest items.  And as he was finishing hanging everything, the skies opened up.  No, frustrated isn’t a strong enough term to express his feelings at that moment! 

Fortunately, my dear husband came to the rescue, and decided to learn some dryer repair. 🙂  He did some reading, and then opened up the dryer and took it apart.  (Doesn’t that sound impressive?  His friends thought so!)  He found a lot of lint accumulation, so he cleaned it out and put it all back together, hoping that would resolve the issue.  Unfortunately, it didn’t solve the problem, though it’s good to get the excess lint out of the way as it can become a fire hazard.  So he did some more reading, then took it apart again, and discovered that the heating element was burnt out. 

That necessitated buying another heating element, but when he did the initial pricing and discovered it would be $75 to buy it, he suggested it would be cheaper if I got a used dryer on Craig’s List.  I suggested that he first call a couple of appliance repairmen and find out if they had ideas for where to buy the piece.  He made a couple of calls, found a place to buy the element for $25 (and one of the repairmen offered him a job!), and went out to buy it.  Back at home, he was getting ready to put it in when he inadvertently stepped on the heating element that he had placed on the floor, smooshing the coil out of shape.  So he tried to reshape it, and installed it.  He turned on the dryer, only to watch it promptly short out!

Fortuntately, my husband isn’t a quitter, so back to the store he went, buying another $25 element (he said he considered the extra cost the fee for his education :)), and then again installed it.  Quick and easy this time around, and the dryer now works perfectly!  Not only is it heating properly, but the issue with the timer resolved, too.  And you can bet my son is relieved to have it working!

Avivah

Back in the summer, I shared with you that someone I know only very casually called me to ask if we’d be interested in a bunch of toys that her married daughter was getting rid of.  I said, ‘sure!’, and she brought over a few bags of toys.   Most of those toys weren’t suitable for our family, and it was one of the rare occasions that I thought to myself that I’d say ‘no’ if asked again.  But my kids enjoyed going through the bags, got some nice looseleafs from one bag, cleaned up and sold some of the Barbies from another bag, and we donated or threw away the rest. 

A couple of weeks after she offered us the toys, she called again, saying now she was cleaning and had some more toys. Those were a lot nicer!  When she brought them by we were chatting for a while, and she very hesitantly mentioned that she often froze leftover chicken and meat from Shabbos because she hates to throw it away. She doesn’t use it because it’s just her and her husband at home, and they don’t want to eat leftovers from Shabbos all week.  She didn’t want to offend me, but wondered if we might use it?  No, I wasn’t offended.  She said got the impression that we had similar values in terms of not being wasteful of resources and that’s why she thought to ask me.  So about once a month since then, she calls me and brings over her leftovers (just fleishigs, nothing else).  It’s a big enough amount for her in her freezer that it’s a burden, but small enough for us that it becomes one generous dinner. 🙂 Since it’s frozen, I can’t always tell exactly what each item is without defrosting it, so last time I decided they were all similar enough to throw everything into one pot – my kids kept saying how amazing it was!

I got another call yesterday from this same woman – would I be interested in a frozen 12 pound turkey?  (This is on sale now for $2.99 lb, so it’s a value of over $35.)  She bought two for Thanksgiving, but it was more than they needed, so they only cooked one.  It’s been in her freezer since then, because they don’t like turkey.  No problem, I assured her, I could find something to do with it. 🙂  At first I thought I’d put it in my freezer for Pesach, but when I sent one of the kids downstairs with it, they came back up telling me there was no room.  (I really have to go downstairs to see for myself why the freezer is so full, because it seems to me it shouldn’t be after I dehydrated lots of frozen veggies to empty it out.)  Since the only place I had space to put it was the fridge, it’s now defrosting there and we’ll enjoy it for Shabbos. 

I have a policy of saying ‘yes’ to just about everything that is offered to us unless I’m sure it’s something we won’t use.  (Don’t think I have offers right and left being made to me – I don’t, but when it happens this is my policy.)  I may not be able to use it, but I always ask the person offering it to me if it would be okay with them if I pass it on if it doesn’t meet our needs.  The reason I say ‘yes’ even if I’m not sure it will be useful to us is that once you say ‘no’ to someone, do you think they’ll feel comfortable asking you again the next time?  Probably not.  We live in a time of so much material abundance that people are afraid to offend someone by offering them something.  But people don’t usually make these offers because they see someone else as being in need or lacking – it’s because they have something they value that they would rather to give to someone they know who will appreciate it than an impersonal thrift store.  When they see that you’re a person who accepts their offer in the spirit it was intended, they can feel good about sending your way whatever they give you, and might even think of you again in the future when they have something to pass on.   I think H-shem has many ways to send brocha (blessing) into our lives, and sometimes it’s through other people.  You have to make it easy for them, though!

We’ll certainly be enjoying our turkey dinner with our guests this Friday night!

Avivah

>>I’ve found that since I have such a good stockpile of non-perishable food, my grocery bill is less every month.<<

I got online with the intent to post about exactly this point, Michelle.  I realized this morning that I’ve been misrepresenting how much I spend monthly on food here with all of you.  I’ve been saying that I spend $600 monthly for our family of ten.  But in fact, since I buy about six weeks worth of food for that amount, my true monthly costs are much closer to $400.  And every single month, though I’m spending the same $600, the pantry is getting a little more full.   

The reason this suddenly hit me is that today is the day that I re-start my monthly budget, and I’m not planning to do my main shopping for another couple of weeks.  I did do some quick supplementary shopping, though, and got about $110 of chicken and veggies today (in addition to chicken for the next couple of weeks for Shabbos, it included a case of chicken wings, almost 35 lb, that I’m putting aside for meals during chol hamoed Pesach – bbq wings make a tasty and inexpensive meal), and am well set for another couple of weeks. 

Actually, I realized, I’m set for more than that.  When I buy chicken, fruits, or vegetables that end up being canned or dehydrated, since that money has been spent in that given month, I consider them as consumed.  But in actuality, they usually aren’t used for weeks or even months.  A case in point is the beef that I’m using for this week’s beef stew – I canned a lot of it after Sukkos.  That money was spent long ago but I’ll enjoy the benefits now.  The same thing with all of the ingredients that I’m using for almost everything else in my weekly menu plan – I don’t have to go out and buy anything.  We have cottage cheese, cheese, and butter in the freezer; bulk oatmeal, wheat, cornmeal and sweeteners for baking; potatoes, yams, and eggs bought by the case last month; dried beans bought on sale.     

This is something that everyone can (and should) do – make it your personal challenge to make your budget for four weeks last for five.  It will probably mean choosing cheaper alternatives to some of what you currently are buying, until you get stocked up.  But you’ll find it paying off as you find you can go longer periods of time between shopping trips, and are able to spend less on groceries while the quality of your diet stays the same or even improves.

You know, with the wiggle room this creates in my food budget, I could start buying more expensive cuts of meat or stop paying attention to the unit pricing of items I buy.  I could buy more processed food so I spend less time in the kitchen. But why would I do that?  My careful spending isn’t motivated by a lack of money (most people seem to assume that frugality is a strategy taken on out of financial desperation), but in the desire to be as responsible as I can with the means that I have. 

It’s sad to me that some people assume that someone who spends the amount I do must be giving up quality or quantity – you know, “Well, I buy healthy foods and they cost so much more, and she would have to spend a lot more, too, if she cared about nutrition,” or “We like to enjoy our food, and her kids must be deprived to eat such a cheap diet.”  It makes no difference to me how much people spend, as long as they can afford it and they have peace of mind, but I sometimes wonder if people want to think that those who spend much less than they do are deprived or off balanced, so that they can continue to justify their spending habits as essential.  I haven’t had to give up anything to shop for food the way that I do (except unnecessary time and energy!).  In fact, I buy a lot of things that many people would consider luxuries (for example, coconut/palm oils, honey/agave/sucanat – no cheap oils or sugar), and we’re able to eat a very healthy and abundant diet that we all enjoy. It’s shopping carefully that makes room in the budget for items that could otherwise be considered luxuries.

It’s so much more fun to see how we’re the ones who have the power to learn new strategies.  It’s a fun challenge to make meals we love and simultaneously keep my food bills low!

Avivah