Aunty Acid by Ged Backland for September 05, 2022

This is when you have centralized power in the house. When everyone does their own laundry, things can be a bit faster (because if anyone forgets about their own laundry for a day or two, they are out into the outer space for other people need to use the stuff). So, decentralize.

As young women with many children (several in the house at any one time), my grandmothers washed their family clothes by hand. Imagine how that was. They also hung laundry out to dry in warm weather. (What they did in cold weather, I can’t say for sure.)

I remember going to visit them and seeing criss-crossing clotheslines with clothes drying in the wind and sun. For many years my mother did that, too; and I often helped.

No wonder, what with the constant laundry and other chores my grandmothers did, that their hands were often chapped and swollen. But that was a given in those days. Still, their hands seemed soothing and lovely in whatever condition they appeared, as the patted and caressed us grandchildren.

If ever.

I have one of those energy-efficient washer-dryer sets. Washing is an hour, drying is half-hour at most.

Like the dishwasher, I am not allowed to operate the washer or dryer. I’m not sure I can anymore. We recently got a new washer and dryer and they have more buttons and knobs than a cold war era launch panel for nuclear weapons.

At least I don’t have to enter my WIFI password to get them to operate.

You can purchase this caption on a sign at Hobby Lobby today

I hate ironing! And I am fanatical about folding and putting away laundry as soon as the dryer finishes. It drives me nuts to visit someone that has baskets of clean laundry waiting to be put away. No, I will not do it for them. I just bite my tongue until it bleeds or leave as soon as I can. ;-p

I get my orders from Amazon a lot faster than Auntie folds her clothes.

More like ‘dressing from the dryer’ , laundry basket, or drying line.

Aunty never got passed her teenage years when it came to laundry.

My putting/hanging clothes runs in the months…

As a kids we had to help on wash day (Sat) back in the 1940’s and 50’s. Clothes washed in black pots heated by wood (scalding water with lye soap) and rinsed in big tin tubs and hung up on clothes lines with wooden pegs. Always had big seed fork to push clothes down and turn over and over and pick up to other tub for rinsing. All day hot killing job. We had no electric so no modern equipment aval and hand pump for house and all our livestock. (farmers) I remember when we first got running water and electric. Like heaven sent down from above. Worked to live and not much else. Always had 11 or 12 people in a 3 bedroom clap style farm house. Life was hard but good. But no – I don’t miss killing Work. Farming was only real hard work I ever did. Welded, brick mason, retired Air Force and retired State worker and from Church but farming tobacco, cotton and corn in the old days with mules was back breaking.

Putting away? If ever.

Putting… away? confused look

If only!