Now that I’m over the hill (65 years old this year!), this is what gets me excited. I’m not even kidding.

I’ve wanted to get rid of the old concrete laundry sink in the basement for years. For almost two decades, really. I’ve never liked that sink. It had always drained way too slowly, the faucet was leaky, and it smelled like old gym socks no matter how much I scrubbed it.

The water softener gave up the ghost at least five years ago but, if I’m honest, it was probably more like ten years ago. I’m so bad at procrastinating (or good at it, I guess) that I never got it fixed.

At first, I thought I was going to do all this work myself, which was a major source of the negative energy holding me back. I tried to work up the motivation a couple times to get started but only got as far as looking at prices on new water softeners, or watching videos on how to remove a concrete laundry sink that obviously weighs as much as a Honda Civic (most people recommend that you hit it with a big freaking hammer until it’s rubble).

Time passed until I was old enough to know I would never have the stamina, let alone the motivation, to do all that work. “My dear,” I said to My Darling B one day, “what would you think of calling a plumber to fix the water softener and replace the sink in the basement?” To sweeten the deal, I also suggested buying a new washer-dryer set, installing them in the corner of the basement next to the sink, and converting the space where the old washer and dryer have been for the past twenty years — a utility closet just off the dining room — into a pantry where we can store canned foods as well as pots and pans.

I didn’t have to sell this idea very hard. Our little red house has a tiny galley kitchen. It’s always been hard to find enough space in it to store food, utensils, and pots & pans, particularly because B loves to collect cooking implements. Her giant Kitchenaid mixer takes up half the counter space all by itself. A pantry where she could store the stuff he uses only infrequently would be the best thing ever.

So way back in December I called a plumber & told him what we wanted. They were supposed to get back to us in a week or two with an estimate, but that was just before the holidays and we sort of fell off their radar. I called them back in January to remind them. They finally came out early last week to do the job. Finished it in a day.

The washer-dryer set came yesterday, and we’ve been washing clothes ever since, partly because of the novelty, but also because the machines upstairs were disconnected after the plumber started work on Tuesday, so we couldn’t wash anything for almost a week.