God bless my husband.
Seriously.
We live in a condo, as do most of the people our age that we know, its kind of just the way of the world these days. Of course, with a condo, space and storage is always going to be an issue. Especially when you have a toy/book/clothes/everything obsessed two year old rooming next door. But me? Im an impatient obsessive organization-neat freak.
Im tidy to the max, yo.
So this condo-space-storage mix is a conundrum to my ocd brain. That wouldn’t normally be a problem, except when I get a ‘solution to fix this problem’ idea in my head…
I decided that our perfectly good, clean, well-working side-by-side washer and dryer were taking up too much space, and since we had recently purchased bikes, and fought the strata (and lost) for a bike lock up, we needed to find a way to store them IN our condo.
Remember that part I said about being an impatient obsessive organization-neat freak??
The bikes couldn’t go anywhere. BUT, I explained to my skeptical husband, what if we got a stackable washer-dryer combo? Then we had a whole half the utility closet at our disposal! Why, we could put a double hanging bike rack AND a recycling-cleaning-storing CENTER! I was thrilled with my idea, and with a little coaxing, so was my husband.
SO we planned to save up the money and buy a new unit.
Enter: my sister.
My older sister is moving her family to Ecuador this summer, and has recently renovated their house to sell. So, we’re walking through her house and she’s showing me all the changes and how nice everything looks. Then we get to the second laundry room (yeah, they have two… obviously not in a condo… bitch) and laments the stackable unit they have down there, because they didn’t want to invest in another side by side laundry set up like they have upstairs.
DING, DING, DING.
Whats that, you say? Why yes, I DID think this might be a perfect swap option for both of us! So, I asked my sister if she wanted a side by side, and I wanted a stackable… why didn’t we trade?
What an awesome idea!
Then, to be sure, I measured the unit, and our laundry closet at home. HUZZAH! A match.
So, Sunday (his one full day off) my dear, sweet husband and I borrowed my mom’s truck, and hauled that stackable (via a dolly, obviously) to our house, and our washer and dryer back to my sisters.
Then we set our new laundry area up, and I swooned.
Then my husband closed the closet doors. Or, rather, he tried to. But those doors? They would NOT close. Seriously.
It seems that, while the stackable was technically narrow enough to fit into the laundry closet, it wasn’t narrow enough for the bifold doors to slide past.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.
I tried to move the door track. Nope. I tried to turn the stackable the other way. Nope. I tried to put a curtain up. Nope.
So Monday morning, bright and early my dear, sweet husband and I borrowed my mom’s truck and hauled that stackable BACK to my sisters house, and our washer and dryer back to our house.
And set everything up the way it had been 24 hours and eight truck trips and two sore backs ago.
And my husband? Said nothing.
No, ‘why didn’t you measure accounting for the doors?’
No, ‘why aren’t you a little more patient when you decide to do things?’
No, ‘why am I the one hauling this massive stackable unit while you carry the cords??’
No, ‘this wouldn’t be happening if….’
My husband didn’t bitch or snap or glare at me once. Instead, he hugged me and told me he loved me and that our washer and dryer were nicer than theirs were anyways.
Thank you, husband-o-mine, for being patient when Im not. And for biting your tongue when I do things that might mean a little more work for us later. And for not making me feel worse when I make mistakes. And, always, for putting up with my hectic and now-now-now ideas and plans.
Now, I just have to figure out what to do with those bikes…