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I lived in the UK for 39 years before moving to the US and it never occurred to me that having a washing machine in the kitchen was a problem. My very very small dryer lived in the garage for occasional use but I never had a laundry room. Even now my laundry is in our one and only bathroom.
Another thing you see on those shows are folks being quite shocked at the small refrigerators, once again I had a 20 inch fridge freezer when I lived over there which served me just fine for a family of 7. Brits and Europeans shop more frequently so don't tend need the space they have over here with the huge monoliths that take up half a kitchen. Once again here in the US I have an european fridge in my kitchen with a fridge freezer back up in the breezeway.
For a while I lived next to American military neighbors in Scotland, they arrived with their oversized fridge and a separate freezer to find there was no room for it in the kitchen so it ended up in a bedroom instead, unused because somewhere along the way they also hadn't been informed of the difference in electricity between the two countries. They tried a transformer but the thing could be heard 3 houses away and it was huge so eventually they gave up. However this didn't stop the wife shopping in huge quantities at the PX (5 lb bag of marshmallows anyone? ) her kitchen always looked full to bursting with food stacked everywhere. It took a her a while to work out that with smaller homes (military housing tends to be functional ) she needed to shop more often for smaller amounts.
Fun days !! all was good until her husband got caught shooting rabbits on the local golf course, they moved on soon afterwards.
I lived in the UK for 39 years before moving to the US and it never occurred to me that having a washing machine in the kitchen was a problem. My very very small dryer lived in the garage for occasional use but I never had a laundry room. Even now my laundry is in our one and only bathroom.
Another thing you see on those shows are folks being quite shocked at the small refrigerators, once again I had a 20 inch fridge freezer when I lived over there which served me just fine for a family of 7. Brits and Europeans shop more frequently so don't tend need the space they have over here with the huge monoliths that take up half a kitchen. Once again here in the US I have an european fridge in my kitchen with a fridge freezer back up in the breezeway.
For a while I lived next to American military neighbors in Scotland, they arrived with their oversized fridge and a separate freezer to find there was no room for it in the kitchen so it ended up in a bedroom instead, unused because somewhere along the way they also hadn't been informed of the difference in electricity between the two countries. They tried a transformer but the thing could be heard 3 houses away and it was huge so eventually they gave up. However this didn't stop the wife shopping in huge quantities at the PX (5 lb bag of marshmallows anyone? ) her kitchen always looked full to bursting with food stacked everywhere. It took a her a while to work out that with smaller homes (military housing tends to be functional ) she needed to shop more often for smaller amounts.
Fun days !! all was good until her husband got caught shooting rabbits on the local golf course, they moved on soon afterwards.
What lunatics. My family is a military family and we've moved and lived overseas in Japan and in Germany. We were very well informed via the military regarding electrical appliances, housing, etc. I am glad to report that never in my life did I have to live near any military families who acted like the ones you described! Not saying it's impossible that there are any out there like that, but I am glad I never ran into them!
Even though we lived in military quarters in Germany and Japan, we had local-styled kitchens and bathrooms. It was an adjustment but the adventure living overseas was certainly worth the small inconveniences.
About the fridges and washers and dryers...... the Europeans must have much different living habits than we do? How would those of you who lived there describe it?
There are only two of us, yet I have tons of laundry every week. I cant imagine having a bunch of kids and a dinky washer in the kitchen. Do they all only own 2 pairs of underwear and two outfits?
I suppose I could get along with a small refrigerator if I shopped everyday, and got used to not much ice.
About the fridges and washers and dryers...... the Europeans must have much different living habits than we do? How would those of you who lived there describe it?
There are only two of us, yet I have tons of laundry every week. I cant imagine having a bunch of kids and a dinky washer in the kitchen. Do they all only own 2 pairs of underwear and two outfits?
I suppose I could get along with a small refrigerator if I shopped everyday, and got used to not much ice.
LOL.
yes, there are also two of us also, and we have tons of laundry also () as stated many times before, im a city dweller and I have the portable washer in the kitchen, while i agree with your statement though, it isnt as bad as you think, I do have a good spot for it in my kitchen as well, plus my mother made a cover for it, but yes, i have to roll it over to the sink....and do the necessary, then hang it on the clothesline out the window, but when my kids were young, this wouldnt work, i agree.....
also, from watching the hGTV programs regarding houses and apartments in Europe, most do not have dryers and hang the clothes outside.
There was an episode in portugal, and the man and woman wee looking at the house and saw the washer under the counter in the kitchen, and the man says to the real estate broker, how do you dry the clothes, scream!!, she looked at him all bewildered and said (duh) the sun...we have perefect weather here. I loved it
now a small fridge, dont think i could do that, but I guess if i had to.
What lunatics. My family is a military family and we've moved and lived overseas in Japan and in Germany. We were very well informed via the military regarding electrical appliances, housing, etc. I am glad to report that never in my life did I have to live near any military families who acted like the ones you described! Not saying it's impossible that there are any out there like that, but I am glad I never ran into them!
Even though we lived in military quarters in Germany and Japan, we had local-styled kitchens and bathrooms. It was an adjustment but the adventure living overseas was certainly worth the small inconveniences.
oh yes, it had to be a great experience for sure !!!
You know I really never thought of my washer as being dinky, the one I own now is huge by comparison and with only 2 of us in the house I only use it a couple of times a week. I still don't use a dryer, I line dry as much as possible and when the weather isn't good I use airing/drying racks.
When the kids were little we were on a plan called Economy 7, this meant electricity was cheaper in the overnight hours so I rarely went to bed without putting a load on especially hot washes. The kids never ran out of underwear and certainly had more than a couple pairs each, they had play clothes, good clothes and school uniform. They would come in from school and change out of uniform into play clothes, they would get 2 or 3 days use of of those depending on the weather.
As for the fridge situation, I don't recall having to store every bottle of sauce and dressing which is what takes up most space in my fridge now. In a couple of homes I had a cold pantry with a granite shelf so I stored cheeses and butter there. I guess its just what you get used to as KA said sometimes living in military quarters can be an adventure.
About the fridges and washers and dryers...... the Europeans must have much different living habits than we do? How would those of you who lived there describe it?
There are only two of us, yet I have tons of laundry every week. I cant imagine having a bunch of kids and a dinky washer in the kitchen. Do they all only own 2 pairs of underwear and two outfits?
I suppose I could get along with a small refrigerator if I shopped everyday, and got used to not much ice.
A lot of Europeans (particularly Northern Europeans) don't get the American love for ice and ice-cold drinks, so the ice-maker part of a fridge isn't a big issue.
While supermarkets are common in most of Europe, so are small neighborhood stores. Why store the things in the house when you can just walk down and get what you need for the day? The produce tends to be better quality than standard US supermarket stuff and closer to ripe - they tend not to pick so far in advance and then ship it thousands of miles (not true of everything, of course - citrus in Amsterdam is shipped in from Spain). It's more like shopping at a farmer's market, although, like a farmer's market, what is available is seasonal.
I do just a couple loads of laundry every 10 days or so, mostly by learning that all the detailed laundry sorting my mother taught me to do is a waste of time and effort. Light colors delicate, dark colors delicate, the spouse's whites and a jeans wash for him. Handwash a couple items at a time. The occasional "heavy soil" load after a lot of pretreating.
Never lived in Europe for long periods of time, but I did do a couple 2-3 month stints in apartments in Milan, Barcelona and London. Loved them all.
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, she looked at him all bewildered and said (duh) the sun...we have perefect weather here. I loved it
