I Have a Dishwasher

Yes, after a decade of hand-washing, I have a dishwasher.

Last Friday my husband and I decided it was finally time (actually we got tired of not seeing the countertop for the dirty dishes) so we sat down out the computer and started researching makes and models. Our initial guess at a budget was $500 (Canadian remember!) but after checking out features we wanted we pushed it up to $700. Noise reduction, with an open kitchen and vaulted ceilings, was really important to us and it turns out that comes at a bit of a price. It happened that the Sears Kenmore models kept turning up at the top of lists so we scribbled down some model numbers and motored into our first stop, the Sears Outlet Store.

The Sears Outlet Store is a wonderful thing. This is where all the returns, the clearance items, overstocked stuff, damaged stock and such get sent to be marked down and sold. All sales are final but warranties are still honoured and the savings, always good, can occasionally be jaw dropping. We decided it would make a good first stop if nothing else.

My initial reaction when we got to the dishwasher section was disappointment. The selection that day was a little small and seemed to be either high end stuff out of our price range or budget models without the features we wanted. But with a little bit of looking we discovered one gleaming white Kenmore Elite that was marked down from $1000 to $750. A bit above budget, especially after tax. But as luck would have it there was not just a tax-free sale on but the store was also knocking $50 off every purchase over $500 which made our dishwasher exactly on budget!

I have to admit, we did spend more money. We planned to buy a chest freezer within a few months so when we saw a nice one that was marked down $150 bucks because of a golf ball size dent in the top we got that as well. And there was a long, low and very solid wood TV stand marked down to $100 from $800. The stand needed some new hardware and lots of touch ups but we figured we could get it and fix it up or go spend twice that amount for a cheap press board stand. So yes...Purchase!

Anyway, all bragging aside, the husband picked up the dishwasher the next day. I called (who else?) my father for help installing it and he said he'd be up in the next week or two. I think my mother must then have had a chat with him because he called back 20 minutes later and said they'd be up the next day.

I have now had a working dishwasher for four days and it is wonderful. I really had no idea before what a lot of work the dishes were and how much times they took out of the run of a day. Marvelous.