Quote from Forum Archives on October 6, 2001, 6:53 pm

Posted by: stampinbookworm <stampinbookworm@...>

Good idea Lisa. We are using a laundromat right now...but in the past when I was homeless, I had to wash clothes by hand. We washed what we could...and used anything we could get our hands on...bathtub, sinks, buckets. We used whatever soap we could...sometimes shaved soap bars in hot boiling water and what I would do is use my knuckles to scrub as much as I could. Apparently in the old days for those without washboards...they would boil the clothes in hot soapy water and let them boil for a bit (I'd guess anywhere from 10-25 minutes) then throw that water out, refill with fresh water and boil the soap out of the clothes, to rinse and do a rinsing I guess twice then hang on the line...either outside or inside by the woodstove. We hung ours outside natch. Even now, I do wash by hand sometimes in the tub...of course our clothes do not get totally clean (what underwear does?? ) unless I soak it in very strong bleach for a couple days and use a stain remover before that. I was able to do 1/4 of our laundry last week. We have so much to wash and catch up on because of a camping trip in August. There are no clotheslines outside here at the apartment and I don't know if I want to put one up on the inside yet. I may have to...in the kitchen somehow. I've pared my clothes down...but Naomi has far more clothes than I do!! and its still more laundry than we have money for.

Vaughnde Edwards
Missoula, Montana
Praise the Lord, He is Risen Indeed!!

-----Original Message-----
From: The Martin Family <marli@trailnet.com>
To: homesteadheaven@weloveGod.org <homesteadheaven@weloveGod.org>
Date: Saturday, October 06, 2001 4:15 PM
Subject: [HomeSteadHeaven] what about laundry options if there's no electricity

Hi everyone,
During the months before Y2K, I started thinking about how I would wash
clothes if there was no electricity. Our water comes to our house via two
electric pumps and we have an electric washing machine. What is the best way
to wash laundry (for a family of 8) if you have no power? I don't want to
invest in anything expensive at this point, just something I could have on
hand. I read one article that said you shouldn't use a washboard at it tears
up the clothes and wears them out over time. Would just a couple of
stainless steel tubs work? What is the best soap for handwashing? Any help
is appreciated, Lisa

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