There are times when I long to get away from it all, to live the simple life far, far away from day-to-day routine. A desert island would be my first choice to escape to, or perhaps, a hut in the middle of a forest.

Having watched Ray Mears, I'm pretty sure that I'd be able to survive. I've no great desire to find out if grubs and worms really do taste good, but if it came down to it I'd give it a go. This urge doesn't come from any great dissatisfaction with life, just a niggling sense, from time to time, that 'there must be more'. Each time bills land through the letterbox or, after wondering why I sat through a whole night of rubbish on TV, it returns to me as an idea.

Listening to Desert Island Disks doesn't help to ease the allure of this fantasy either. I'll own up to having spent many hours secretly compiling my desert island Top Ten. The book choice takes far longer - in fact I don't know if I'd ever be able to settle on one.

However, the luxury item is easy. I'd want a washing machine. This might stand in complete contradiction to the very notion of being marooned somewhere distant. Possibly it is, but I've no doubt in my mind that the only part of modern life I'd really miss would be a washing machine.

There is good reason for this. The times when I've had no washing machine have always led to chaos. As a student, most of my clothes that had the ubiquitous and familiar 'Laundromat grey' tinge. It doesn't seem to matter quite what you do, eventually, if you need to use a laundrette all clothes will turn the same hue. I'm sure that eventually, this has some effect on your moods.

Not so long ago my washing machine broke down. The flood that preceded its demise was bad enough. Worse was the backlog of washing that built up whilst I was waiting for the new one to arrive, it's still not quite gone. To be fair, once I'd ordered the machine online, delivery was pretty swift. It was my fault that I spent two weeks reading every guide available about which would be the best machine to purchase. Energy efficiency ratings, water usage and spin cycle speeds became a minor obsession. In the time that it took to make a decision countless laundry baskets started to overflow.

What started as a trickle of clothes soon became a surge until my bedroom floor resembled a jumble sale. Favourite jeans were replaced with bizarre items from 'sell it on eBay' bags. Once my supply of underwear dwindled I went and bought more. Anything to avoid the terror of a launderette. I did try a few hand washes, but soon realised how labour intensive the process is and found untold admiration for my Grandmother's generation.

There's no doubt that I could easily cook over a fire and would never really miss having a TV or mobile phone. But, choosing between desert island tranquillity or a washing machine would be tricky.

Sarah Maple uses Shopping.com to find washing machines prices and find new and exciting products