Moving the Laundry to the Main Floor for Mom
Mom is not getting any younger. Her knee surgery was a success, but she still has pain going up and down the stairs. Dad wanted her to have the laundry on the main floor. She was adamant in doing the laundry even though dad tried. She said he could not do it right. They could not afford to have the washer and dryer moved into the pantry off from the kitchen. There was room, just not enough funds. My wife called a plumber in Morris County NJ to see how much it would cost to do it.
We got the plumber to come out when mom and dad were away at a friends house for the night. They asked us to check on the place for them and let their dog out. We had the plumber come then. We got a very reasonable cost to move the washer and dryer to the pantry including the cost to install a washtub. Mom likes her double sink washtub. All we had to do was find a place to relocate a shelf. Moving the freezer to the corner freed up a lot of square footage in the pantry for the shelf.
We told dad about it the next day. We told him that it was a gift from us to him and mom. He was very happy. We decided to not tell mom about it. We had the work done when she went to stay with her sister for a couple of days. When she got back, she did not even notice when she first walked into the pantry. She was talking and then stopped, turned around and walked back into the pantry. She was very happy to see the washer and dryer installed there. She finally admitted that it was very painful to go up and down the basement stairs with her one knee still hurting. We are very glad to have made her happy.