Monday, April 14, 2014

L ~ Laundry

As a child laundry day was a day to look forward to. We used to have a huge kettle outside under some trees, that had a built in firebox that we used to heat water to do the laundry. On Monday evenings my brother John and I used to use the garden hose to fill it up.

Mom would sort the weeks worth of dirty laundry and we'd put each pile into a five gallon pail and then fill the pails with water and let them soak overnight.

On Tuesday morning Daddy would get up early and start a fire in the kettle, and by the time we were done with breakfast the water would be boiling. He would fill the washing machine before he left for work.

We would hurry with the dishes and then head out to the washing machine, Mom would check the gas in the little Honda engine and start it up. She would put the Sunday clothes in first and let them wash for a few minutes and then got a long wooden stick that Daddy had made for her and lifted the clothes out and let them drop into the rinse water. She would add some more soap and turn the wringer to the side of the machine and lifted a 5 gallon pail that was filled with the soaking dirty clothes, up on a backless green chair and start feeding the clothes through the wringer into the washing machine. Once the pail was empty she would go to the rinse tub and take one piece of clothing at a time and plunge down into the water as deep as it could go and then lift it up and let the water run off a little and then plunge it in again. She would repeat this three times with each article of laundry. John and I helped with the smaller pieces. We didn't mind getting splashed as we all rinsed the clothes with energy, singing the whole time we were doing it.

 As each piece was rinsed it was put through the wringer and into a pail and then we'd head for the clothes line where we would hand the clothes to Mom, which saved her from having to bend down for every piece she hung up.

And so it continued until every batch of laundry was done, and all the clothes were flapping merrily in the breeze.

We would eat a quick lunch and then head out to check to see if the first few batches were dry already. Mom would take the clothes off and John and I would stand beside her with our arms stretched out and she would fill them with the dry clothes. We would run in and put them on the table and then run back outside to get another load.

There used to be a big mountain of clothes on the table by the time Mom got back inside. and we would all start folding. John and I got to pair the socks and fold the smaller things while Mom did the rest. She made up a little song that she sang whenever we were folding and putting everything away.

Thank you Lord for this nice day.
Bless us as we put away,
All the garments clean and bright
That were dried by wind and light.

16 comments:

  1. Hi Mary Ann
    I still love laundry day. It brings back happy memories of working with my mother and aunt and feeling very grown up. I was mixing starch and ironing square and rectangular things by the age of 5 though pleats etc took much longer to learn to deal with.

    I know you like to save questions up for a special post so don't expect a reply to this for a while but I wondered why it is OK to use an engine for tasks such as laundry, but not for transport? Does it vary from community to community?

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  2. I grew up doing laundry with a wringer washer too, although it ran on electricity. It was so much work, but I really missed it when we got a new machine when I was in high school.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  3. jenann, The Amish are very family and home oriented, they think owning a car would make it too easy to be constantly going somewhere. The chances of someone hopping on a washing machine and buzzing all over the neighborhood are a big zero, therefore the engine they use to operate the washing machine does not hurt their lifestyle.

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  4. I also grew up using a wringer machine, and my first husband and I had one. Right now, our septic won't handle a washing machine, so I have to go to the Laundromat, but I still bring my clothes home to hang them on the line. Hanging up wash is such a "zen" thing. Your mind can wander, and the bending and stretching is good for the waist line.

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  5. Thank you Mary Ann
    We have our government keep the lid on traveling by car too often....they tax fuel so highly that it is out of the price range of many families to make unnecessary journeys! LOL. Filling our car costs four times more than my b-i-l in Vermont pays for his with the same tank capacity.
    I do think the slower pace of travel and a more family orientated life-style would benefit all in the western world and wonder if we need to travel as much as we do. But then, I'm a home lover and don't understand the need for all the flying and driving elsewhere that goes on.

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  6. Thank you Mary Ann
    We have our government keep the lid on traveling by car too often....they tax fuel so highly that it is out of the price range of many families to make unnecessary journeys! LOL. Filling our car costs four times more than my b-i-l in Vermont pays for his with the same tank capacity.
    I do think the slower pace of travel and a more family orientated life-style would benefit all in the western world and wonder if we need to travel as much as we do. But then, I'm a home lover and don't understand the need for all the flying and driving elsewhere that goes on.

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  7. It seems we enjoyed a much simpler life and yes, I do remember the designated laundry day by our Granny. These days I seem to reach for the washer almost daily!
    Hanging the laundry outside is still my preferred way (albeit it rains so much here close to the rain forest, it hardly is practical!).
    Thanks for the memories Mary Ann!

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  8. WOW! What a workout! I got tired out just reading it!! I love how your mom took such a hard task and put it in a positive light! Reading Jenann's comment about high gas prices keeping people close to home made me think that if the government were aware that they are inadvertently keeping families close by restricting travel due to the cost, we may see gas prices come down!!

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  10. Wonderful that you were able to make this big chore fun! Sounds like your mom had lots of good help!

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  11. I hated the laundry when I was kid, and I got to use a machine! But, then, I was responsible for my own clothes, towels, etc from the about seven on up, so it's not like everyone did laundry. It was just me.

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  12. Such sweet memories you are sharing. Reminds me of some of my earlier wash days with my children. Blessings Mary Ann

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  13. Visiting from A/Z; great theme you have for the challenge as I am sure it brings back lots of memories of growing up. Wow, lots of work to get the weekly laundry done! I'm sure your mom appreciated your and your brother's help!

    have fun the rest of the challenge!

    betty

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  14. Wash-day was Monday at my home, growing up and I got to help my mom when I wasn't in school. The wringer only pinched me once and I'm thankful there was an emergeny bar that would disengage the rollers!!!

    I loved our wringer washer and told my husband before we got married that I wanted one. We didn't have enough money for any kind of washing machine and so I took my laundry next door to my mother-in-law's and used her automatic washer (and dryer in the winter) - it was easy, fast but did not get the clothing as clean :-( When we finally could afford a used washer, I had become accustomed to using the automatic one and that is what we bought. I still prefer to hang my wash and have been doing that for a couple of weeks, now! Yay, Spring!

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  15. I love the little song your mom made up...what a great memory!

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  16. Cute song in the end. I can imagine all of you singing this like a chorus. Laundry day seems so fun...I could picture all of you working together...such joy!

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