Today’s main image is a picture of the empty concrete slab of my back porch. It lies wonderfully unencumbered for the first time since last fall, giving me temporary relief from the irritation of the local entropy.
When I bought the house, it had an apartment in the basement with a 1970s-era avocado colored refrigerator and an upright freezer. They both worked, but the motors made disconcerting noises and their electrical power consumption was significantly greater than that of modern appliances. Consequently, these relics were used only when it was necessary to store something too large for the refrigerator or freezer in the main, upstairs kitchen.
We longed to be rid of them but they were too awkward and heavy to move up the stairs, out the back door, and down the porch stairs without hiring a moving crew or renting some equipment. So, the task patiently waited on my to-do list for 24 years, until the washing machine malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. Replacing the washer elevated the removal of the refrigerator and freezer to the status of a “while we are at it” project, which was all the justification I needed to proceed.
I rented a stair-climbing dolly and my younger son and I made a day of removing the refrigerator, freezer, and old washing machine, and moving in the new washing machine. It was quite a day. One surprise was the discovery that the doors to the downstairs apartment had been installed after the refrigerator and freezer were in place. I had to unhinge two interior doors and remove the door stop moulding from the frames before we could proceed with the removals.
As soon as they were outside, other items on my to-do list successfully conspired to rise above the priority of removing the three appliances. The three great blocks sat there all winter, all spring, and all summer, looming like the foundation pieces of some rustic Stonehenge.
Once we returned from our vacation travel, I reprioritized the to-do list and removed one item each time I had time to drive to the borough’s waste site. It was important to me to do a proper disposal to avoid releasing the refrigerant fluid to the atmosphere.
Yesterday, I scrapped the old washer to reclaim a few useful parts. For some time, Melissa has been asking for a fire pit. The stainless steel drum of the washer has potential for that purpose. The open end of the drum is a bit narrow, but that shortcoming could be remedied with a gentle caress from my angle grinder. I saved the motor, pulley, and belt that turned the drum because it is a high torque system that would be good for rotating a trommel I want to build. The bottom panel of the washer is sturdy and has four leveling feet, which would make it useful for supporting the incubator cabinet I want to build.
I also kept the glass bowl from the door, the large springs that supported the drum, the water pump, the water flow solenoid valve set, and many stainless steel screws and bolts. All these items have the potential for future use, without leaning too far into the hypothetical realm.
There is a remarkable difference in the size of a washing machine once the drum has been removed. The remaining large pieces make for a tidy stack, with the small pieces in the bag next to it.
Because I so dislike the presence of useless clutter, I am going to leave the back porch empty for awhile, just to enjoy the look of the clean space.
Being without such large obstacles and offensive clutter, where will you now place the smaller pieces you reclaimed from them? Do you have sufficient space elsewhere, or will you be forced to place these remainders back on the porch or in the cellar?
The drum is living behind the garage.
Being stainless steel, it doesn’t need much protection from the elements.
The electric motor is only about 10″ long and fits on a shelf in the garage.
The glass bowl is stored with the feed and water dishes.
The screws and bolts were added to the coffee can holding other such items.
While looking for places to store the rest, I decided their purpose was too hypothetical.
So, those items will depart with the rest of the washer remains.