Laundry Thoughts

I was putting the washing in the machine earlier and it suddenly struck me, not for the first time, how easy we have it today.  In goes the washing and off we go to do other things, maybe housework, use our computers or whatever else we decide.

So different to washing day when I was young. Washing day really was a whole day and always on a Monday. It always started before 8 a.m. All the beds would be stripped, all the dirty clothes collected then my Mother would put the heavy metal washing copper on the gas stove to heat it up.  Those were the days when you could boil clothes and it was expected that you would. When the water was warm enough in her opinion, in would go the blue bag that was supposed to add extra whiteness.  The sheets would go in first and  be pushed under the water with heavy wooden tongs and occasionally moved around.  When it was considered they were clean and germ-free enough they had to be lifted out amid great clouds of steam into another metal container she had standing by on the floor.  They were left to cool down somewhat whilst the shirts and blouses and underwear went into the copper.

When the sheets had cooled off enough, into the sink they went to be rinsed in masses and masses of cold water. Through the mangle to get all the water out of them. I remember turning the handle of that mangle on hundreds of occasions, it was a job I hated.  Then, of course, they had to be starched - another laborious process.  It would be early afternoon often before they were hanging outside to dry.  In the winter all the washing would be draped around the kitchen and scullery and even the bathroom. Much of it would be placed on a large wooden clothes horse that stood in front of the kitchen range and I would be fascinated by the steam rising from the damp clothes.  You could never see out of the windows in winter and it must have made the whole house damp.

Quite often Mother decided that the collars and cuffs would need extra attention before the shirts went into the copper, so out came the washboard.  The collars and cuffs would be liberally coated with Sunlight soap and then rubbed vigorously up anddown the washboard.  The same applied to my white socks.  Oh, how I recall the many times I had sore knuckles from doing that.

In the winter the house would be full of steam and the fresh laundry smell that you just cannot describe.  It is a smell I remember so well and a smell that I miss.  You just do not get it with modern washing machines. It is a smell that still reminds me of childhood.

No fabric conditioners in those days.  My mother always got a great sense of satisfaction from seeing a line full of bright white washing on the line.  She would often spend the evening of the same day ironing it all with a flat iron that had to be constantly reheated on the kitchen range.

We took it for granted of course, but how exhausting it must have been although it certainly kept people fit and they had no need for work-outs in those days.

There was nothing like the feeling of sliding between cool starched sheets that my mother always put away after laundering into drawers that had lavendar bags in them.  I still remember those cool, crisp sheets and the smell of lavendar.

It is so easy for us today.  I use a fitted bottom sheet that never needs ironing and sleep under a duvet.  So laundering is kept to a minimum as I do not have much bedding to wash and I certainly never starch anything.

That also got me thinking of other things like washing up.  No fancy liquids in those days, just washing soda crystals.  Yes, they got the china and pots and pans clean but oh, the sore red hands they caused.  No shampoo either, my hair was washed in the same soap that we used for everything else although my mother always rinsed it in a mixture of clear water and lemon juice. I have always had strong thick hair so it cannot have done me any harm.

Well, I could sit here and write memories all daybut my washing is just about to finish so I had better go and get it out, no tongs thank goodness . However, I often wonder whether I would be much fitter if life had not changed and we still used the old-fashioned methods.