Since it's summertime and clothes are light I've been hand washing since then, and have put off taking the bigger things to the laundromat.

Anyhoo, I decided to try something a little different--an experiment. It's just me here so why do I need a full sized washing machine? I don't. So I searched the webs for small, portable washing machines and ended up deciding on the Black and Decker 0.9 cu ft portable. To me, 0.9 sounded un-workably small, but more searching and reviews convinced me it was worth a try.

It arrived yesterday. To my eyes, the tub seems twice as big as 0.9 cu ft and it's capacity of 3.5 lbs of clothes isn't bad at all, not for my needs. That's about half the load of what I'd put in to the crap LG, and big enough to do queen sized sheets. The LG wash cycle was long, the B&D "normal" cycle is only 30 minutes. It evens out.

I cannot believe how clean the clothes are coming out of this little gem, I'm astounded. It puts the full-sized LG to shame while using much less detergent, and only cold water.

I'm in love with it. It's small enough to roll under the counter where there's space for a dishwasher--which I don't have. Easy to roll out and hook up when I need it, in less than 5 minutes. I can do my regular laundry in an hour. On days like today I can hang the clothes outside to dry even though the drier down stairs still works (it's from the 1980s I should add!).

Perfect. Time will tell how well it holds up over time. This setup works for me because it's just me here. It would be useful in the larger household for quick washes etc. but it obviously can't replace a large capacity washer for multi-person households.

A video I found on YouTube about it: