Tuesday, November 3, 2009

contraptionization

i have made an ingenious a redneck contraption.

and this is it.



allow me to backtrack. i was washing clothes one night. mounds and mounds of laundry. the washer had worked fine the whole day, until that night. i went to put a load into the dryer and opened up the washer lid to find my washing machine filled with water and my clothes unspun. my washer had quit in the middle of the cycle and wouldn't spin. you know the switch (when you close the lid) that has to be down when it's in the spin cycle? come on, admit it. we've all stuck a pencil or something in the switch so that we could watch the clothes spin.

what? that was just me?? uhh...

anyway, well the switch broke and wouldn't spin a few months ago and then before ben got a chance to fix it, it started working again. when it first broke i could stick a pen or a toothbrush in the tiny little hole to trigger the switch and then take it out. and then that night it finally bit the dust. almost.

until my contraptionization instincts took over. i stuck the toothbrush in the hole and maneuvered it around until the washer started.

now how am i going to make the toothbrush stay at this angle?



ah hah!! the vinegar bottle! i'll just prop that up against the toothbrush...



but then how will i get the vinegar to stay? maybe if i lean it up against the lid. erg! the switch depressor on the lid is in the way and now there's a little gap so it won't stay...



hmmm... let's see if ben's paint bucket can prop the lid open. ugh! the bucket is sliding because it's too light. oh! i got it! i'll use the other paint bucket full of dirty brushes to keep the lid-propping-bucket in place.



voile! perfect!




hey, whatever it takes to be able to cook and clean read blogs or play online games instead of standing there for the entire cycle holding a toothbrush at just the right angle...

have you ever contraptionized?!

5 comments:

Jess(ica) said...

You are not alone in sticking a pen in that little slot to watch the clothes spin... I totally have done that!

On my car, my antenae (sp?) broke when I went through a car wash so I duct taped a metal wire to the thing so that it mostly stands up... your contraption is way better though! =)

Heather said...

your creativity amazes me at times. 'course it shouldn't.... you're related to me! nice word, but the way. contraptionization. too funny! pushing down the button on the washer... yep, been there, done that.

Jess said...

I also have pushed that button down to watch the clothes spin :) I have a rotted step on my deck that wiggles a lot when you step on it and can make you tip over. So I found random pieces of wood and propped them underneath the rotten wood to keep it from wiggling. I would just take the board out but it seems to hold up the railing :)

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

Oh, I am a queen of contrapulizations. Most of them make my husband sigh. Very loudly. Yours? Fabulous!

Ashley @ {Let Go, Laughing} said...

haha i love it that is awesome!

i have totally stuck something in the little slot just so i could watch the whole cycle!