After three and a half years of personally hand washing my clothes in Kenya, I’ve finally broken down and bought a washing machine. I had always figured that washing my jeans, sheets, etc by hand was good for my character, but I’m freakin’ sick of it. When everything else in the world is going wrong, the last thing you want to do is come home and do laundry by hand!

I still have to sweep, mop, cook, etc, but this should take a load off. A lot of people just get a maid, but I could never wrap my mind around that concept—I can’t explain it, but I think I like the idea of cleaning up my own mess. Not to mention, it always shocks people when I tell them that I don’t have a “house help” (maid).

Anyways, the washing machine wasn’t cheap but I think it’s going to be worth it. I bought a nice enough one that, just in case I end up in Kenya for thirty more years, it’ll still be going strong. As an added bonus, it even plays cute little sounds when it finishes a load!

In the last week I’ve run five loads, which puts the price per load at 6,600 shillings (about $80)—you do the math on how much the machine cost!