The laundry

 

It is in winter that I really can't imagine what it would be like to be without a washing machine. At this time of the year I wash every second day and and imagine if I had to do it all by hand in a cooper!!

Washing every second day is to avoid that huge pile of washing growing bigger and bigger by the end of the week. In summer this isn’t a problem as I can put all the washing on the clothes line (we have the traditional Hills Hoist below) and the clothes dry very quickly.  In winter I dry my clothes in the house on a “clothes horse” (airier) and with the central heating it dries overnight.  We do have a clothes drier in the laundry but I only use it occasionally — I don’t like the idea of running it every second night for 90mins. I also like the smell of freshly washed clothes that have dried in the sun/wind.

 

Finding all the clothes that I need to wash can be difficult.  My husband is fine, he creates a pile on the bedroom floor every night and I move it to the laundry basket in the bathroom (it is too difficult to teach him the last step and it is quicker if I just do it myself!).  Young males are not familiar with laundry baskets and it can take some time before clothes reach it (if at all). Tristan likes to use his car as a laundry basket and then does a “big” clean-out and I find I have a huge pile to wash.  My 17 year old just keeps on wearing the same clothes until they “really need to be washed”.

I do the hanging out of the clothes as my husband isn’t quite as skilled (trying to be tactful here) as I am.  I use the same method taught to me by my mum — all the smalls (socks, undies etc...) go together, then the t-skirts, jeans and my clothes — but I am not fanatical about this method.  I do hand wash some of my own clothes — things that I want to drip dry to reduce ironing — I usually save my hand washing until the weekend when it is easier to do all at once.

I don't mind doing the washing partly as the machine does all the hard work and hanging it on the line, particularly in summer, can be quite enjoyable (standing in the sun) but its the ironing that I do not enjoy and avoid if possible. . . .

PS I have a tiny laundry that one person at a time can fit into — a bit of a pain, but it is manageable.  It always looks messy as it tends to be use as a dumping ground for "stuff" that I then trip over. I really mustn't complain, the lady below had it much tougher than me (this was taken during the Great Depression).

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