About Appliances

If there's one thing in the world that is never worth it to buy new, it's appliances (in our humble opinion). They lose value instantly when you buy them, but they don't lose function for years and years and years. We never imagined we'd be able to afford stainless steel. God provided royally with our appliances, and as usual with craigslist, we met some great people in the process. 

The stove and microwave we got from the same gentleman, whose house was in a remodeling state even more severe that our own, if you can imagine such a thing. We went for the microwave, knowing that the stove had been spoken for, and praying that something would change because the stove was perfect and an incredible price. Praise God, the first folks did fall through and we were able to get them both. Less than a year old and pretty much exactly what we would have chosen. 

Gas 5-burner stove with warming tray -- $250

Over-the-range microwave (with "reheat" button - very important to my dear microwave-impaired husband) - $100

The fridge we bought from a dear lady in DC, a widow who had lost her house and was relocating to an apartment.  She was asking more than we could afford originally, and we thought she could get that much but gave her our number in case she couldn't, explaining that we could do $500. She ended up not having a buyer at her first price, and called us back. Very soon after we'd made that purchase, we got an unexpected windfall and were able to send her a gift card for something she's mentioned needing as well as some encouraging scriptures. God works in great ways. I wonder frequently how many people we'll see in heaven that we met on craigslist. :)

25-cubit-foot side-by-side fridge  -- $500 

The one thing about this fridge was it has mold colonies in it that rivaled Rome in its heyday. I spent an immensely satisfying 3 hours one sunny Saturday on my in-laws' driveway armed with strong soap, 4 types of scrubbies and brushes, a hose, and some motivating tunes. (I invented a little spoof that went along the lines of "I'm gonna wash this mold right outta my fridge...")  I disassembled every inch of that thing and actually ended up having some fairly deep spiritual applications about the beauty of shining clean items drying in the sun, and how opening up our lives to the light instead of hiding and concealing our sin is a beautiful thing. ... okay, well, it seemed deep at the time... but I was probably breathing in a lot of soap fumes.

The dishwasher was the best deal of all -- free! It has something wrong with it, so the folks were giving it away. Either Jack will fix it or we'll have to get it fixed, but any repair price will still be way better than what new would have been! A cute young couple in Virginia was giving this away, and when we got there we found they were remodeling themselves as well. They gave us a tour and some great tips, and we learned a lot, plus were inspired. They also gave us two perfectly good ceiling fans that they didn't need! One is slated for the living room (once it has an actual ceiling). We think about them often an pray God provides for them the way He used them to provide for us!

You may notice that there is no counter on top of this dishwasher... that's because that is a project still to come. In the meantime, free laminate given us by a friend who was moving comes in perfectly handy as is such a blessing. 

Except for the dishwasher, I love using these lovely shiny appliances, and we praise God for them often.