Monday, October 25, 2010

Wanted: A New Iron

We are not to judge thrift solely by the test of saving or spending. If one spends what he should prudently save, that certainly is to be deplored. But if one saves what he should prudently spend, that is not necessarily to be commended. A wise balance between the two is the desired end. –Owen Young

Late Saturday night {so late in fact that it was actually very early Sunday morning} my iron quit working in the middle of a project. My new iron. The iron I bought on August 17, 2010. The iron that had a lovely green inset that matched my adorable double-sided ironing board cover. The iron I'd spent an inordinate amount of time picking out while the Little Bugs milled around me teasing each other waiting ever-so-patiently to go pick out new shirts for school. The iron that wasn't really in the budget. The iron that was a step down from my old, broken iron because I was economizing. The iron I picked out, in large part, because it was marked down to $17.97. The iron that rang up at regular price {$19.97}, but I didn't notice until I was looking over my receipt at home. The iron for which I never went back to get a refund for the difference in price {I so want my two dollars!}. The iron whose box, warranty card and receipt I unceremoniously threw out while cleaning the mess from under my sewing table. The iron that is now trash.

This iron was a compromise between what I really wanted and what I could afford; it was what I could live with. And now I'm back to square one and just a little bit peeved with Black & Decker. If a new iron wasn't in the budget two months ago, it is even less in the budget now {backstory: Mr. Bug's job was eliminated at the beginning of April. Since then he's started his own company, but it is slow going and the budget is really tight which is why I'm completely obsessing over my iron breaking. Again.}. I'm back to using a travel iron that after four days with it when my last iron broke I was ready to commit harry carry because it scorches everything, including the light side of my adorable reversible ironing board cover. I'm going to have to look into cooking with two-minute noodles so I can afford a new new iron. I hear you can really cut back on your food bill and they're not too bad if you prepare them correctly.

I have to wonder if my creative appliances are conspiring against me? First Grace and now two irons. Admittedly, the first iron had served a long and useful life. But this second iron? I think it was out to get me the minute it didn't ring up on sale. And I'm almost scared to get another iron :crazy: because what if I choose the wrong one again and I'm back in the same boat in two months? Who knew that choosing an iron would have the weight of choosing the True Grail from among the many False Grails.


You saw what happened to the guy who chose poorly :bug eyes:. I feel a little bit like that right now. So before I commit to cash {again}, I'm going to do a little research. I want to make an informed decision so that I can choose wisely. What iron do you have, how long have you had it, where did you get it, how much was it and and why do you love it?

Oh, and this time, I'm going to mail in the warranty card and save the box and receipt. Those crafty appliances are not going to get the best of me :paranoid:.

8 comments:

Shay said...

I hear you ...I had the beszt iron until maybe a year or so ago and then it died (in the middle of a project with 20 minutes to go until the shops shut for 15 hours -yes I live in a shopping backwater where we dont have 24 hour shopping- but thats not the point)

I hate the iron we got on sale cheap then. I went and bought a new one and I'm not completely in love with that either (and that one wasnt cheap)

There is no point me telling you what brand my super duper iron was because you probably dont get them there either. And they dont make them anymore. And I;m really annoyed about it.

Good luck with your iron shopping. Can you op shop for an iron until you can get the iron of your dreams?

PaTcHwOrK jEnN said...

I am glad I am not the only one to purchase on iron for the color. Mine is a light purple and I got it at walmart for I think around $40.

I have had it 2 years or so...I like that it has auto shut off, as I leave it on all the time, I know I am bad...that was feature I had to have as my oldest at 18 months pulled my iron down and turned it on and scorched my carpet overnight! I don't know what was in my carpet to keep it from burning down my house but I am grateful for it. Back to my iron. The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't like to be flat too long, and will shut off while ironing and then I have to set it up and shake it to make it turn back on...I love that it is stainless steel and I can take steel wool to clean it off when I get nasty build up from ironing dh's clothes.

Angie said...

I have a Rowenta power glide 2...it has about a MILLION miles on it, the bast is cracked from the many times I have dropped it, and it is stained but is still (trying) very hard to work. It is starting to spit water though so I think it is on it's way out. I like it because it doesn't have the auto shut off. It is the only brand I can find that even offers the option to do that. I hate it that I get the iron all nice and hot, go to sew a seam, come back and it's cold! Anyway, they are NOT the ecconmy option. In fact, they have a new model that has 300+ steam holes in it {drool} and that is the one I have been eyeballing since this one started to act up. I am waiting for Bed Bath to have a good sale on AND keeping a 20% coupon lying around for when it does. A quilters iron is an extention of her hand, I am sorry yours is more like a hook.

Michelle said...

I wish I had a spare iron I could send you. As for the perfect iron, I haven't found it yet. :-( My newish iron (a couple of years old) is a black and decker (I think). It's heavy, modeled after the old fashioned irons. It's great for ironing clothes; not so great for ironing small bits of cotton. It likes to wrinkle up the edges of my cotton pieces. I don't know why.

pinksuedeshoe said...

That is a whole bunch of lameness. So sorry. My iron is a Sunbeam 3020. And other than the occasional random scorch, it's been great. We've had it for about 7 years, but it has got more mileage in the past 2 than all others combined. I hate that it's blue and doesn't match my ironing board cover or my washer and dryer while it's hanging up in the laundry room. But, I won't hold that against it. Of course, when it dies you can bet I'll be looking for red.

Paulette said...

Mine is a Black & Decker, a pretty no-frills model, but I haven't had any problems with it. Wish it had auto shutoff but other than that, no complaints. I'm sure it was under $20, but it's at least 10 years old.

Kara said...

My Black N Decker Quick N Easy 365 is really old, but still going strong. I'm sure I picked it up at Target about 10 years ago. I really like it's non-stick plate, but decided I needed to upgrade for more steam and so I bought a Shark from Costco for 30 or so and don't love it. I like the steam, but feel like it doesn't get hot enough, and it always seems to have that yucky brown build-up that always gets all over my fabric. Have you tried ksl.com?

whimsyfox said...

I have a Black and Decker Pro Finish 757. Have had it for 10 years. I have no beefs with it, though I couldn't really say I totally love it. I hardly use it. What I use extensively is my little Clover travel iron and Omnigrid Foldaway (iron side up) that are to the right of my sewing machine. I don't iron my clothes (even purchased expensive washer/dryer combo with Steam with the excuse that it could get those wrinkles out - and hardly use that function) and I always have my iron board and iron put away because I don't have any place to keep them permanently out. And I'm too lazy except for the occasional "really, REALLY needs steam" iron project to pull out the big board and iron, set it all up just to iron for a minute and have to put it all away again. ;) I will say that the 757 is big. Not heavy, but not delicate and balanced. I would much prefer to have something in between it and the travel iron. If only we lived close by I would use your need as an excuse to give you mine and buy something new! =D Hmmm...wonder what sized flat rate box it would fit in.....