Thursday, February 08, 2007

"Why did this take 6 years?"




It is a darn good question. Why did it take 6 1/2 years to get a dishwasher in this house? Poverty can't even be claimed as the answer, since it sure didn't stop anything else from happening. My wife, I, and my step daughters were sick and tired of washing dishes, and with 6 people in the house, we were washing plenty of them.


The truth is, for a long time, other things were just more important to us. Getting the house presentable, and functional. Then of course you have things like a new roof, air conditioning so you can survive Utah's summers, and a sprinkler system and landscaping so the yard looks decent. There were the times when disaster struck and we discovered problems which couldn't wait for solutions too.

But kitchens just aren't simple. Do you give up on the 50's cabinets, which we had painted once, and go for something you really want, including the countertops, etc? Debate swirled through our minds and gently between us. Spending $25,000 or so is a little hard for a financial planner--trust me. There are just always other things to spend it on, or save it for. Debt isn't my or my wife's favorite word.


But finally, I had no more excuses, and realized that those cabinets weren't so bad. I saw "small fixes that could make thet kitchen work for years to come. So, I first had to remove a set of drawers, and the dividers that had been built for them and turn the space into a "hole" for the dishwasher. Then, I took out the cabinet next to that area and rebuilt those same drawers, which were more valuable than the cabinet was to us. One call to the electrician, one call to the plumber, and a trip to Sears and the deed was happily done.

Since then, I just can't believe how clean our countertops stay, and how much less time we each spend in the kitchen. I think my wife even smiles more.