i had scheduled a moving crew to come to the homestead on my day off in january of 2020. I had lived almost a full year with a dryer unit in the middle of my living room in a 384 square foot house. The freestanding closet that was supposed to sit in front of the laundry units sat in between the television/vcr combo and my rocking chair. I had been unable to use both the television and the dryer unit. Furthermore, it made it difficult to walk. I of course ignored it, as that was the only thing one could do at the time. In january of 2020 i gave up on the idea that myself and all my friends/coworkers were going to be not ill and not working on the same day at the same time to get this project done and just shelled out to hire two movers to come do it. I called the landfill and got the fee for dumping an appliance of 250 lbs and then arranged to pay the movers to take the unit in my yard to the landfill when they were done installing my indoor one.
The first hurdle was the instructions. There were instructions for the stacking kit printed on the thinnest gray paper in the history of mankind. There was no “tools you will need for assembly” list and the pictures seemed to show more of what needed to be done than the 4 word instruction blips next to each image. As we searched for more in depth instructions they ended up trying to make sense of the same sheet in german, spanish, and french. I got a lantern for light and gave them my toolbox to comb through for screw drivers and appropriately sized screws. Some from the kit fit and others didn’t but between the kit and my toolbox they made it work. When they had deciphered all of the instructions and the stronger of the two men had muscled the screws into where they seemingly wouldn’t fit, both men grabbed hold of the 250 lb dryer unit and lifted it onto the washer, sliding and locking it into place where they then attached more screws connecting the backs of the units so the dryer could not fall off the washer. I was delighted beyond belief. The dryer was on top of the washer. I had waited a whole year to see this sight and now i was looking at it. From behind the units i heard “uh oh…”. I asked, “what?” One of the men said, “now you got a different problem.” The outlet in the wall was 4 pronged. My plug was 3 pronged. Running damage control in my head i said, “will i need home depot or an electrician?” They both chimed in, “home depot. Yeah you just need a part to plug in between the plug and the wall that will take you from a three prong to a 4 prong. A pigtail adapter.” I made a mental note that i would go to home depot when they were done. The men then went into the yard to load the old stacked unit into their pickup truck to transport to the landfill. One of the men turned to me and said, “hey you want us to take the plug out of this one and put it on that one in there? It’s a 3 prong. I mean i dunno but its worth a shot.” I said, “yeah!” The man’s partner said, “yeah no, good idea man. Good looking out.” They decided i should take a picture of the wire configuration with my phone before they disconnected it and then they’d hold that picture up to the wires inside the house and see if they could recreate the setup.
Once they had collected the plug and all the plates and screws they handed them to me and set to attempting to lift the stacked unit that had been in the yard nearly a year into the bed of their pickup. I wondered if i should say anything before…a torrent of water rained down on the bed of their truck, their pants, and their shoes. It just kept coming. You would have thought there was some kind of ocean in existence inside that washing machine that was feeding into this waterfall that wouldn’t stop. I kind of shrugged, “it has been in the yard nearly a year.” I was praying they’d still take it. I wanted it gone so badly! After all the water had emptied, creating a small pond on my property, directly beneath their truck, they finished sliding and strapping the unit in. When they moved the truck this was what i saw.
I could almost hear angels sing. The giant white eye sore was gone. It was just nature again. I was beyond thrilled! i could have shook their hands and danced a jig but i was trying to keep my composure lest they start to worry about my sanity. We went back inside and they recreated the wiring configuration pattern of the unit from the yard on the back of the unit in the house. One man stood at the back of the stacked units with the wires and a screw driver. I stood holding the lantern over it for light while holding the cord in place. The other man held my phone with the example photo, giving instructions to his partner. They did it and when they pushed the units into place and pushed “on”, everyone holding their breath and crossing their fingers, the dryer began to play the familiar little jingle it was programmed to broadcast upon being summoned to life. They set it and pushed “start” and the drum began turning around. I was so thrilled i wanted to squeeze both of them in a bear hug, but again, i contained my enthusiasm lest they think i was some mental lady living in the middle of nowhere that did not see people all that often. I paid them the fee, tipped them well for all their extra efforts and a truck bed full of slimy water and various species of spiders, and gave them the amount of cash they would need to pay the landfill to take the stacked laundry unit off their hands. After they had gone i returned to the house and put everything where it was originally supposed to be a year ago, before there was a laundry unit in the middle of the living room. I could not believe how much space there was in my little tiny house. I wandered around in shock, not knowing what to do with myself, or even where i was. When i finally let the dogs in they did the same thing. Then i put on a record, listened to that, then slid it back in the case and watched a national geographic vhs tape on insects. I had been unable to access this part of the living room for so long. I just kept sitting in the rocking chair and staring at all the space in my house. Even now, i’m still in shock. How wonderful. How very very wonderful. I could see everything in the house from one end to the other. Just sublime.
