tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post6604299291255252020..comments2023-10-29T05:43:20.076-07:00Comments on Ornery Bastard: An Eye Opener, Laundry The Hard WayPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15695733883033137146noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-33371020482615146992009-10-18T13:17:12.267-07:002009-10-18T13:17:12.267-07:00now you understand why personal hygiene could be s...now you understand why personal hygiene could be so lacking back when.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-71309762596449571632009-10-16T05:47:06.788-07:002009-10-16T05:47:06.788-07:00Anon 11:52 - my Dad washes his dirty work clothes ...Anon 11:52 - my Dad washes his dirty work clothes the same way. He takes a 5 gallon bucket out on the tractor and lets it agitate his really dirty clothes all day. Then he lets the water drain off and then Mom washes them conventionally.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-81019708028426486722009-10-16T05:40:33.295-07:002009-10-16T05:40:33.295-07:00Good grief.
BadTux, you must be from my neck of...Good grief. <br /><br />BadTux, you must be from my neck of the woods. I've not heard ANYONE refer to Seldom Seen Slim or Trona in YEARS. I grew up in Ridgecrest...he occasionally came there, too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-91602706419830509012009-10-16T04:59:52.139-07:002009-10-16T04:59:52.139-07:00Here's what I use out here at my place when I&...Here's what I use out here at my place when I'm not too lazy, it works pretty good and only takes a couple minutes. My only bitch is that it doesn't fit that much stuff at one time. <br /><br />http://www.cleanairgardening.com/portable-washing-machine.htmlshinerbocknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-21402036881266291662009-10-15T22:22:02.994-07:002009-10-15T22:22:02.994-07:00One lesson I've learned that applies to many t...One lesson I've learned that applies to many things - if you don't know how to do something, doing it is often much harder. The first anonymous seems to have the right idea. Even then, it will be a lot of work.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing this, Busted. It's been an eye-opener.<br /><br />Jill - take Busted's advice and finish the novel, please.Cujo359https://www.blogger.com/profile/10385213658828021737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-25851734381728006332009-10-15T15:42:37.421-07:002009-10-15T15:42:37.421-07:00i'm late to pick up my son so i don't know...i'm late to pick up my son so i don't know if anyone said this way or not. for the first two years of his life we had no car or washer or dryer. i would fill the tub up with hot water and laundry soap. put the whites in there and get on my knees and agitate them by hand, several times then i would let them soak over night. the next morning i would drain out all the water and get in there with my bare feet and step on them until i had all the soapy water out as much as i could. then i would commence to filling the tub up with cold water, agitating them, and draining them. i learned the hard way not to use to much laundry soap. then once that was finished i would commence to wringing them out. if you twist as you wring it gets way more water out. once i had wrung them out the best i could i would lug them out to the line (luckily i had one already strung up right outside the back door)and hang them up to dry which normally took at least 24 hours unless it was summer in hot lanta then it would take about 12. the winters were the hardest on my hands. i thought i would never get the blisters on my hands healed. it was an eye opening experience and to this day i am so protective of my washer and dryer i think everything else could go but them :) i did give thanks that mine were the only jeans that had to be washed and that the boy was still in baby clothes and for disposable diapers!prinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00389253484590059538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-54815094049545013762009-10-15T14:47:52.948-07:002009-10-15T14:47:52.948-07:00Busted, you have my true sympathy.
In the late 19...Busted, you have my true sympathy.<br /><br />In the late 1950's, Grandma Toye Mae would put a cast iron pot over a wood fire in the back yard, hand me a boat paddle, and we would do laundry. It was a smoky, hot, unpleasant job. When I was old enough to drive, we shifted to the laundromat, a real upgrade! In those days and that place, we could start laundry, then do grocery shopping across the road while the clothes finished in the dryers. The clothes were still in the dryers when we got back for them, too. There are some things that are true progress. <br /><br />Does it seem to you that by about 1960 we had most of what we need? Much of what has come since is nice but not necessary. I really think many of the people who say we "need" another Depression have no idea of the implications of their expressions. I had Depression parents, and I don't think most people today appreciate exactly what it would be like to lack for electricity, running water or landlines, much less tv/dvd/internet/satellite/etc. <br /><br />My Mom and her sisters took turns picking out the flour sacks Grandpa bought, because their next dresses would come from the cloth flour sacks. They learned to make patterns from newspaper and how to size up the patterns. They said Sunday was rough when they had new flour sacks, because no sewing or other "work" was allowed. <br /><br />Glad you had the experience, and hope it doesn't become a regular one!bill bushnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-33830959645024607852009-10-15T11:47:35.937-07:002009-10-15T11:47:35.937-07:00Grandma used a large copper kettle big enough to t...Grandma used a large copper kettle big enough to take a bath in with hot water from the wood stove. Talk about labor intensive I'm sure it would take all day and then some to do laundry. I still have the iron she used. I use it as a door stop, solid cast iron.<br /><br />Anon ever think about using some PVC pipe glue on those fittings?<br /><br />Try some Shout or Spray and wash on the grease before washing.Demeurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01935263659097273535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-7647711186288907342009-10-15T10:29:55.816-07:002009-10-15T10:29:55.816-07:00Pouring all that hot water down the drain aint so ...Pouring all that hot water down the drain aint so good either.... the PVC pipes you have are probly a bit looser now , I've had mine slip the compression fittings off just from pouring out the hot water from spaghetti noodles. Keep the cold tap running to temper it while you pour it out slowly.... Keep the fire alive!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-59922328125110610902009-10-15T00:31:23.015-07:002009-10-15T00:31:23.015-07:00Reminds me of a guy called Seldom Seen Slim. Also ...Reminds me of a guy called <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=sh&GRid=12763141" rel="nofollow">Seldom Seen Slim</a>. Also called "Often Smelled Slim", because he dealt with the whole question of baths and washing clothes just by not doing it. Story told to me by an old desert hand is that when Seldom Seen went to the nearest town (the small town of Trona, which he considered the big city because he mostly spent his time alone in the desert), he'd go into the grocery store to get his groceries and the side of the store he was on would slowly empty out as people escaped to the other side of the store or outside to get away from the horrific smell. And as he made his way to the other side of the store filling up his cart, the migration would go the other way. <br /><br />Our modern emphasis on cleanliness and regular bathing is new, and only dates back to the late 1800's. Before then, well... perfume. That's all I'm sayin'. <br /><br />- Badtux the Clean PenguinBadTuxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01345749557330760251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-47716237770164122652009-10-14T20:48:13.168-07:002009-10-14T20:48:13.168-07:00I don't know what happened to my reply,
Finish...I don't know what happened to my reply,<br />Finish The Novel. I am serious, the last two generations have no fucking clue.<br /><br />Babies were made in the cold months because there was no central heating with a fan. Snuggling under the quilts shortly led to procreation.<br /><br />Then again, babies were made when it was hot and muggy too, I kinda like this sweaty sex thing,"Hold still baby".<br /><br />I see a pattern here.<br /><br /><br />Smooches to ya, you are so damn good to me.Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15695733883033137146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-86517952455160707562009-10-14T18:29:18.064-07:002009-10-14T18:29:18.064-07:00You know, Busted,one of my Deep Dark Secrets is th...You know, Busted,one of my Deep Dark Secrets is that I have an unfinished novel. It's not political, it's the kind of novel women read on the beach. No, not a fuck 'n' shop novel or "chick lit" -- it's one of these sweeping family stories that spans many decades. I haven't worked on it in over 2 years, but I did a ton of research about farm life in the 19-teens and I was gobsmacked at the amount of work that was involved in doing ANYTHING -- laundry, washing dishes, even taking a bath involved hauling in water from a well pump and heating it on the stove. Banking the stove with wood or coal in the morning just to make those big farm breakfasts. Canning. Curing meat. Doing laundry with a washboard.<br /><br />And no indoor plumbing, either. <br /><br />Unbefrickinlievable.<br /><br />You wonder how anyone had any energy to have children.Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03865082576641051315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-6530462335250276452009-10-14T16:19:18.030-07:002009-10-14T16:19:18.030-07:00My old aunt in Germany had a washboard and a wring...My old aunt in Germany had a washboard and a wringer when I was a little kid. She managed to get 3 meals a day on the table for a family of 6 (7 when I was there in the summer) and do all the other household chores while the men were out at work, plus watch after 3 miserable little kids (me and my 2 cousins), and do the laundry. <br /><br />I couldn't do it. god bless her she's still alive and kicking. Another old artillery horse like all the women in my family.Fixerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09672137568947891733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-11853862395214848652009-10-14T12:52:31.873-07:002009-10-14T12:52:31.873-07:00If you are still ill, go to the hospital now for a...If you are still ill, go to the hospital now for antibiotics. You do have pneumonia and you are now a sitting duck for H1N1. Better still, go to a private physician. Better class of sick people.<br /><br />Another way to wash a few clothes. Take dirty clothes into the shower with you. Tromp on them as you bathe. Rinse them out while in shower. Hang on shower bar. Works great for things not greasy dirty.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-24139953661916860242009-10-14T11:52:55.182-07:002009-10-14T11:52:55.182-07:00Put some dirty clothes in a 5-gallon pail. Put i ...Put some dirty clothes in a 5-gallon pail. Put i water and soap. Snap on the lid. Tie it in the back of your truck before you go to work in the AM, let it jounce around back there all day.<br /> Then dump the soapy water out. Rinse and squeeze several times. Hang up to dry.<br /> Works for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-33630889583853665392009-10-14T11:29:18.636-07:002009-10-14T11:29:18.636-07:00Time and the sun are what you need. Grandma would ...Time and the sun are what you need. Grandma would fill up a tub with water, soap and dirty clothes in the early morning, and let it sit in the sun until after lunch. Then she'd work the load with a scrub board, and dump the soapy water into the kitchen garden. Fill with rinse water, swish the clothes around, do something else for an hour, then come back and dump the rinse water, repeat. She didn't wring the clothes out much, just hung them up on the clothesline. Took them down after supper.<br />Clothes that have been hung off a line are stiff like you starched them, but they last a lot longer than if you used a dryer. Dryers are hard on clothes.tweellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164718561825615886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-70528824287055280652009-10-14T10:23:49.013-07:002009-10-14T10:23:49.013-07:00I don't know how they did it either. I rememb...I don't know how they did it either. I remember my maternal Grandmother had a galvanized wash tub, a scrubbing corrigated wash board and a couple of cakes of Don Maximo soap, that was lye based - man, that stuff was gritty as all get out, you would likely scrub off meat chunks if you bathed regularly with that stuff.<br /><br />Much later, during the 50s, she got an electric agitator open topped machine with wringer on top (think it was for a wedding anniversary too - my Grandpa had a sense of humor!) and it saved quite a bit of her day. Mom was one of 12 children, and white was the uniform of the day. She was born of pretty humble means, my Grandpa / Grandma being farm field pickers, migrating North and South, following the crops. But every kid was combed and whites so bright, they hurt the eye. Grandma said every family was pretty much the same thing - no one knew they were poor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-62295071056094479722009-10-14T09:46:36.229-07:002009-10-14T09:46:36.229-07:00Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a commercial mop...Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy a commercial mop bucket with the mop wringer attachment. <br /><br />You will also have to go to www.Lehmans.com and get a clothes plunger (looks like a toilet plunger only its metal). <br /><br />You can wash the clothes in the mop bucket, but it will only hold small loads. Add soap and water, plunge with plunger, then rinse. <br /><br />Squeeze clothes through the wringer, then hang to dry. <br /><br />It might be necessary to repeat, heat more water, etc. <br /><br />Old times, they had large cast iron tubs over a fire outside, so they'd not have to empty it immediately.<br /><br />You CAN wash in cold water, but its not as good for degreasing, even with modern detergents. <br /><br />My mom has an antique metal two-square-sinks thing on legs and a metal plunger.<br /><br />I am planning a similar get-up, with the mop bucket wringer. <br /><br />Lehman's also has an electric wringer washer. Look under laundry. <br /><br />Also - lye soap cleans stains pretty good, and you can use it in the shower, too. Makes my hair soft and shiny, no need for fancy conditioners.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-72491661358400358842009-10-14T09:35:35.013-07:002009-10-14T09:35:35.013-07:00Ya should have saved the water for soup! Hell it w...Ya should have saved the water for soup! Hell it was already hot!Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13183815338714438681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24855322.post-19183427110983486062009-10-14T09:18:37.074-07:002009-10-14T09:18:37.074-07:00From what my dad told me the Maytag washer changed...From what my dad told me the Maytag washer changed woman's lives dramatically but they still had to wring them out. <br /><br />You didn't say how clean they got.One Flyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03772881642197609507noreply@blogger.com