I have LONG been a collector of all-things-laundry. I love pictures of women (or children) hanging up clothes...
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| I paid $28 for this small picture at an auction. I'm glad I photographed it, because right now it is lost somewhere in my basement.... |
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| This little soft cover book is one of my most prized possessions. But, it is a very difficult thing to photograph...you can't read the title.... |
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| The title says, "Approved Methods for Home Laundering". It was published in 1920 by Proctor and Gamble. |
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| The illustrations in this little book are amazing... |
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| They are so small, it is hard to get a good picture...but I kept trying... |
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| I was gob-smacked (Marion's term -- is that a Canadian expression?) by the detailed description of how much work it was to do the family laundry in 1920... |
HOLY COW...doing laundry was an unbelievable amount of crushing, back-breaking hard work. One whole chapter in the book was about Planning the Week's Work, with an outline for your Daily schedule...YIKES...I am trying to imagine the world my women ancestors lived in...they had to make their own soap...soak the clothes for several hours (or overnight)....then build a fire...rub each garment on a wash-board...then wash in small loads (the book recommends sorting into five different groups).
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| this is one of the many pictures from my Pinterest board... |
Squeeze out the water. Then BOIL the various loads of laundry (a clean stick is recommended for this step). Rinse in two or three different waters. Then Blue the laundry. Starch the laundry.
Hang the laundry out (putting pieces of a kind together, and have the threads of the cloth straight). Take down, piece by piece, and fold. Dampen. Roll Up. (never dampen more than you can iron in one day). Then iron.
OH MY GOD....I love my life. And I am very grateful that I was born AFTER the invention of the automatic washing machine...
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| Make that VERY, VERY, EXTREMELY GRATEFUL... |
Next week the Monday post will be some tips about how to dry your laundry. Don't worry, I understand that most of you don't have access to a clothesline....hey -- I have a clothes dryer, too!!
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