It’s been a day of cleaning. Baseboards, walls, nooks and crannies that haven’t seen a rag in, okay, I’m just going to say an embarrassingly long time. Yuk! But, hey, I’m on a roll, so I get a hankerin’ to clean… the washing machine.

Everything says to clean the lint filter. Huh, “Do we have a lint filter?” I’ve asked before. “No, no filter in this machine,” I’ve been told. “Oh, certainly this has a filter. Don’t all machines have a filter?” “No, not this machine.” I even pulled out the manual. No, no mentioned of a filter. Okay, so no filter to worry about. Guess what – we have a filter – YouTube said so. And sure enough, after, oh, 40 minutes or so of finding the right socket and trying painstakingly to get the silly screws off the underside of the front kick plate, there’s a filter, right where the video said it would be. Huh! Would ya look at that!

Okay, now it takes a very strong hand to twist the filter cap off, but somehow I managed it. Wow! That was hard! Once open, I was assaulted by the repugnant odor that emanated, along with the water, from that little tube. But I’ve got to tell you, I was dumbfounded by how little debris there was inside. I was certain it would be completely caked with tissue remnants and dog hair – lots and lots of dog hair. Nope. Just some mold and yuck. Cool. I can take care of that. And I even managed to screw that cap back on, all the way. (At least I hope I did it right. We’ll see after my first cycle.) I may not be able to use my hands in the morning, but my washer will be clean.

Next came bleach soaked rags tucked inside the rubber seal, because, mold. No one told me I needed to clean a washing machine like this. Um, I’m 48 years old, I’ve had washers before this. Why did I not know this? Well, I’m learning it now. So, the rags are soaking now in the hope of cleaning away all the mold. In the future, I will leave the door open to allow air to circulate, and I will be more intentional about cleaning it – inside and out. And that filter? Yeah, I’ll have to remember to do that periodically, too, but I may never put the screws back in that kick plate. Oh my word!

Tomorrow, clean clothes, after a “cleaning cycle” of the machine. #LiveYourFaithBoldly can sometimes just mean being patient while you step outside your comfort zone and learn a new thing. And #LoveOnPurpose can be shown even to your washing machine; you know, being a good steward with what we’ve been blessed with. Now, go, #Discover something new – or go clean your appliance.