Why do Some Of The Most Simple Projects...Turn Into The Biggest Headaches?

 I suppose it's an eternal question. Why do some of the most seemingly simple projects turn into the biggest headaches?

Case in point, setting up washers and dryers.

We recently moved, as did my mother-in-law. In fact, she just moved in today and we're glad to finally have her join us in Northern Utah. When you move, there's a ton of things to worry about. Some of the projects are huge--getting everything moved, and organized once you're in--then, there are things that seem simple.

I thought, incorrectly, that hooking up our washer/dryer combo after the move would be one of the simpler things. First, our washer. We noticed the hoses were aged so we decided to get new ones. I chose the ones with the "L" end thinking they'd be easy to install and they'd fit better. Well, it wasn't easy. I ended up installing the hoses backward with the L bend connected to the wall.

I don't know what it is about dryers, but I have the hardest time installing dryer hoses. We ended up going to the hardware store thinking there had to be larger hoses since the pipe in the wall was so wide. Nope--they didn't make larger hoses so I had to crimp and bend and adjust until finally, I was able to finish.

So, with all that experience, I thought hooking up my mother-in-law's washer/dryer would be a piece of cake. It was for the washer--much easier than ours, but the dryer...once again, nothing came easy. After an hour of trial and error and finally success, I went to plug in the dryer. 

Who knew there were different plugs for dryers?

I didn't. When we moved, ours fit. Turns out we need to get an adaptor for my mother-in-law's.

I suppose I should just change my perspective. Instead of budgeting five minutes for a five-minute job, I should budget an hour, no matter how easy it may seem.

A worthy goal, but I'll probably not do it, and realize a half hour into something that I should have remembered about those "simple projects."