How I do my Laundry, No Electricity, Old ways!

#offgrid
#offgridlaundry
#usingawashboard
#zotesoap
#felsnaptha
#sustainability
#whippoorwillholler

Lori Brown
Po box 1183
Imboden, Arkansas 72434

[karans]

When I was a kid (born in 1961), I grew up on a farm and we were very poor. My mother used to wash clothes for a family of 9 just like this. I remember when she finally got a second-hand electric wringer washer. I think she was the happiest woman on the planet that day! Thanks for reminding me to appreciate her a little more.

[nmdispatchlady]

When we lived at the ranch many years ago. We had 2 55 gal drums that stayed in the back of the truck. We filled both of them with water and let the sun heat them. When it was time to go to town we loaded one of the barrels with dirty clothes and washing detergent. The road to town was around 20 miles of rough dirt road. We would go to town and do all we had to do, before we headed home we would climb up in the back of the truck and wring the clothes out and put them in the Rinse barrel and head back home. By the time we got back it was time to wring the clean clothes out and hang them on the line. Many is the time I wish things were still as easy. Yes it was hard work but sometimes all the steps I have to go thru with my fancy washer and dryer makes me wish I could still do laundry on the way to town.

[LonelyStranger]

I can understand how this is therapeutic. People think I'm weird for handwashing my stuff sometimes and I really enjoy it. Being able to do something by hand and look over what I've completed, gives me such an awesome sense of accomplishment.

[boogidyx]

When I was a single Mom living on a tight budget, I would put my 3 kids clothes in the tub and tell them we were going to pretend we were making wine and the clothes were the grapes. They had so much fun stepping on the clothes with their feet (they were clean, of course), but it did the job. We have a washing machine now, and my kids are grown but I still enjoy hanging up my clothes to dry. 😊

[pamelapinto]

Last year I believed my washing machine was on its last legs. I decided to do laundry by hand to stretch the life of the washer just a bit linger. Weel, let me tell you, all of a sudden I had laundry helpers in the form of my husband and my two grandchildren! Never before have I had laundry help but there was something about the process of plunging and scrubbing and wringing that they all enjoyed. So glad to see someone else doing this when not in an emergency. Love your channel.

[yardleyj]

I put a load in a bucket and use a plunger as an agitator. I pump for 10 minutes and get the cleanest clothes ever. Easy on my hands and on the fabrics. I found this solution on YouTube a couple of years ago and I remain forever grateful! 💕

[bookie]

Doing the laundry in this way gives time to think about loved ones, and their problems and to pray for them.

[amandadeinhardt]

The ones that laugh or think they are too good will think twice if they ever find themselves in a survival situation. My family experienced 2 back to back hurricanes. Our family home was destroyed and we were without power for weeks. It was eye opening for me to experience the hardships of life without power and getting things done one way or the other! I understand what you mean by feeling grateful as you wash your laundry by hand. Each piece of clothing represents blessings. Each little sock or shirt represents someone you love that despite devastation and loss, you still have them, so you are ok! I appreciate you taking the time to show this and I learned a lot! Thanks.

[catrina]

I'm a bit older than you, and I remember Fels Naptha being the only soap for EVERYTHING! We'd bathe with it, wash our hair with it, then use it to mop the floors, wash vegetables, laundry, the car, horses, boots, walls, you name it. And it was easy on your hands.

[cherylstreeter]

Prell - what a memory! My husband came across a wringer washer @ an auction recently ($20.00 yes, 20 bucks) !Love than dang thing for grease rags, rugs, etc.. Plus, that thing washes so good! The wringer is a precious childhood memory from helping my Gma! She was always keeping us a close eye on us so as not to get our hand, arm or hair caught up. She used 2 galvanized tubs for rinsing. Also, as a side note, do you remember jeans stretchers? Mom put Dad's jeans on these stretchers - she'd hang them in the basement to dry - us kids thought they looked like ghosts down there with that single lightbulb My memories show my age (71 years young!) Annandale, Minnesota

[moonviolet]

My 90 year old mom still washes her “delicates” by hand in the sink. They last much longer!😊🌻

[aiw]

When I was a kid in Chicago my job was to wash the family laundry. We had a newly built home with a cement double utility sink in the basement. We didn't have a washing machine so I did all the laundry with the use of the rub board. My mom stated that I could take my time on Saturday but it had to be done right or I would have to do it over. I spent Saturday mornings washing and listening to The Beatles and other groups on WLS radio which made the work move along quickly. When I got my first job I bought a washing machine. Thank God for Sears!

[alanaw]

When I was a child, in Scotland, my mother washed her clothes this way. We had a double sink in our kitchen. Between the sinks was a metal bar which let a writer be screw on. Lots is steeping and. Then rubbing and rinsing. In old houses a huge. Copper boiler was in the wash house and on a Monday morning, a fire was lit to heat the water. My family used an open fire or stove with a back boiler. This was had work and all the family helped a bit. Hanging out the lovely whites was a matter of pride for a wife. Damp washing was dries indoors on a pulley rack hung from the ceiling of the kitchen, dried by the heat from the big cast iron stove.
Thanks for this video. I was able to bring back lots of memories for my 99year old mother.

[elizabethannegrey]

I’m old enough to remember laundry day immediate post WWII in UK. Who would have thought we need a video instructing us how to wash clothes.
One good tip is an old fashioned sink plunger (rubber suction cup on a handle). Soak clothes, then paddle with plunger. Works like a charm.

[iriskoomi]

As a 30 yr old wife and mom who's trying to make more healthy and hands on changes in my families life, i absolutely loved this video, and feel so inspired! Thank you!

[cathylongstreth]

It warms my heart to see how even the most mundane tasks you take delight in, like appreciating the really clean scents of your laundry, the coolness of the water on a hot day. A beautiful picture of a servant's heart, doing all to the glory of God. Thanks for the off grid lesson, Miss Lori!

[islabonita]

It was so relaxing to watch this. When I was a kid, I was on the "laundry team" and we washed against stone/rocks. We knew all the tricks to getting rid of stains and I remember feeling so proud when we'd work on a challenging stain and get it out. Not only did we wash for our immediate family, but for the elderly that couldn't wash their own. Even after our area got electricity, my grandmother never used it, she was afraid of it. So we continued doing things the old way. And I myself, don't use many of our conveniences... I'm pretty old and have never ran a dish washer in my life. I just prefer to hand wash. It's a bit therapeutic for me.

[farisasmith]

When I was a little girl my parents would send us to the Caribbean to spend the summer with family. In the 70's they didn't have a washing machine so they washed clothes by hand . And it took all morning. My three aunties would wash, sing and talk together. And I loved that squishing sound made when they rubbed the clothes in that water, but I couldn't get the sound because I wasn't strong enough yet. They used that old blue or beige washing soap. They would switch between washing, rinsing and hanging the clothes on the line. They also had a smooth wash stone that they used like a wash board. I remember one summer when I was bigger I finally got that sound while I was helping them wash I got a big round of applause. I was a big girl now. But shortly after that they got a washing machine. They were really happy for that. But sometimes I really miss those days.

[cellison]

I'm 63, I'm remember seeing my Grandma and her sister-in-law do wash by hand, them using the wringer while telling me horrific stories of wringer dangers, playing in the white sheets on the line, then sleeping in clean, crisp, cool sheets at Grandma's. Oh, the memories. Thanks.

[shirleytruett]

I grew up in a family of 14 children and my mom had a wringer washer and 2 big wash tubs us kid's had to carry water from the creek and fill them all the evening before Mom did the wash, I grew up with the most respect for her I know how hard she had to work and I can never remember seeing a big pile of dirty clothes laying around, her and dad raised everything we ate we never went hungry, we had nothing fancy and we wore hand- me - downs but we had lots of love and the best food you could ever hope for. ❤❤❤