You Know You're An Adult When....

I was reading a post the other night called  20 Signs That You're An Adult. I stumbled upon it  via yet another blogger - Fox In Flats - proving yet again that it is a trap to keep surfing the net late at night when you should be sleeping!  Anyway, this post is so funny becasue it's so true and I was inspired to start my own list -  many of which you might recognise as I have posted about some of these things before.

So in addtion to the original, I add:

You Know You're An Adult When...

1. You drive a minivan with sliding doors
   
2. You can unstack a dishwasher and breast feed a baby - at the same time
   
3. You need to know what 'superannuation' actually means - and realise it's not that super
   
4. When $4,000 a year on private health insurance seems like a good use of your money
   
5. When you're as excited over a new dishwasher as you are over new shoes - possibly even more if you've been washing dishes by hand for a week
   
6. Sleep is a more attractive option than sex (especially when your kids are tiny)
   
7. You decide not to buy that divine new coat as you know the money would be better directed to your mortgage
   
8. You really care about turning off the lights and appliances to save electricity and not becasue of the environment
   
9. You can clean up poo and vomit without gagging - or even batting an eyelid for that matter
   
10. Activities like gardening are now enjoyable
    

So what do you think the criteria is? Feel free to add your own  and let's see if we can get 20.

The Appliance Plague

I do love an appliance as you know, the new dryer, the new fridge.... but I have also been known to utter the words 'I'm not really into appliances.'

Who am I kidding??

Years ago I worked on Black & Decker and managed to avoid an electric fry pan, a crepe maker and a hot dog centre. (I succumbed to a popcorn maker which the kids still use but I hold a grudge against it so insist it's stored in the laundry.) This was the era of the useless kitchen appliance - the pie maker (people raved), the bread maker (come on, own up if you still have one in the cupboard), the ice cream maker and the pièce de résistance, the Hamburger Cooker, advertised with that line that got every mother in the land nodding in agreement, "Do you love hamburgers but hate having to turn them over..." (Yes, it cooked both sides at the side time - AMAZING!! -  and so absolutely necessary in every kitchen.)


But just because I've resisted the fads and the utterly useless, does not mean I don't love something that plugs in.


I read an article that said in the 1930s, the average household had four appliances. That's right, four. I often wonder what they would typically be and quiz my older relatives. It may have been a heater, a fan, a lamp and a radio. According to my uncle, not many people even had a fridge.


How many do you think we all have today? I have no idea, I get dizzy even trying to count. I'm guessing 60 but it could be 100.


Let's take the fridge as an example. My fancy-pants one is actually two fridges side by side. Plus we have a drinks fridge in the shed, and a chest freezer and a wine fridge. Throw in our portable fridge for camping and I'm already 50% over the 1930's quota in fridges alone. It's insane. 


They didn't have computers back then, but our tally is three desk tops and three lap tops - and there's only 5 of us in the house. Add to that at least six iPods, an iTouch, an iPad, three iPhones of varying vintages and there's 11 of those. The list gets scary - just when you've counted all the lamps, the printers, the microwave, the washer and dryer, the dishwasher, you remember the four TVs, the DVD players (yes, plural when you count the one plugged into the telly and the portable ones), a tuner, an amplifier, a turntable, Apple TV, three hard drives to house movies and TV series (all requiring power), a Wii, a PS2 and god knows what else I've forgotten.


What about the filter and the light for the fish tank?? Or that stupid steam mop that came free with the vacuum? And I haven't even started thinking about what's in the kitchen drawers. 


We may not own a ThermoMix or a coffee machine but I'm pretty sure we're holding our own when it comes to appliance ownership. 


Hows' your household fairing? 

On The Blink

The dryer is on the blink and the washing machine is making a funny sound – and I’m excited!

I can’t pinpoint the moment I became so infatuated with new appliances, but each time one needs replacing, the thrill might even be greater than a new pair of crazy shoes. You may recall the fridge we bought – you know, the one that cost about the same as a small car – and a new small car at that. I still love that fridge. I literally puff up with pride when anyone glances in its direction (not hard given the rest of the kitchen really needs a renovation – it is the highlight – trust me.)

Anyway, what I can remember is a new vacuum about 10 years ago. We were excitedly unpacking it in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. My brother was staying and his blind date had arrived. I answered the door and welcomed her in, as my sibling was still busy preening himself for the occasion. She stepped into the kitchen and her eyes lit up, she stood taller and a dazzling grin spread over her face…and I don’t think it was our new vacuum. ‘This is my partner,’ I said, doing a quick intro, ‘my brother is just in the bathroom.’

Back to the dryer….I’ve been hankering for one with a condenser for years. In spite of being shacked up with a plumber, do you reckon that dryer is vented? NO, IT IS NOT! So every time we crank it up, the laundry turns into a steam room, sadly not like the lovely ones at Aurora Day Spa with tasteful tiles, relaxing whale-calling, plentiful white fluffy towels and chilled water served in gorgeous little Moroccan glasses, more like our laundry full of rapidly chilling fog.

In addition to a condenser, I want a sensor. I hate it when the clothes get over cooked and that smell only clothes-left-in the-dryer-too-long get. It reminds me of absolutely everything that came back from my boarding school laundry.

So the plumber has now added gas-powered to the list.

I want to renovate, the plumber wants to move – but at the rate we’re investing in appliances, I’m not sure either will be happening any time soon. But more disturbing, is my ever escalating excitement over appliances. That and linen.