I've Got a New Way to Wash

Now that you know my ultra-frugal secret about washing laundry by hand, here's a tutorial on how to survive without a washing machine.

Old Laundry Method: Hand Washing

For the last year, this is how I've washed our clothes. I sort the clothes the same as I would for a washing machine. As I put individual clothing items into the laundry basket, I also find an appropriate hanger to dry it on later.

I fill the bathtub with water and add laundry soap, then clothes. With rubber gloves on, I kneel over the edge of the tub and scrub, knead, mix, stir, agitate, however you want to describe swishing the clothes around like a human washing machine. Depending on the water temperature, I can usually work up a pretty good sweat.

Then I drain the tub and repeat the steps--minus the laundry soap--for a rinse cycle.

After draining the tub again, I squeeze/wring the water out of the clothes and hang everything up. This load was a big one, so there was enough to go across the shower rod (which is screwed into the wall and supports the weight just fine) and the kids' closet (with a fan blowing to keep air moving through).

As the laundry drips dry I go in and check every hour or so, squeezing out extra water from the bottom of heavy items, hanging up anything the fan blew off, and generally fussing over things.

I wish I could say that when everything is almost dry I iron all the clothes to get rid of the wrinkles and finish up the drying process. But I usually don't. But I usually do have good intentions.

New Method: Bucket Plunging

My mother-in-law sent me another package last week. This one included tools to help me wash my clothes in a new, more efficient way.

She'd been telling me about these great lids with two parts. The outer ring hammers on to a five-gallon bucket. The inner part screws in to create an airtight watertight seal (except that she drilled a hole in this one). Much easier to use than traditional five-gallon lids.

She also drilled holes in a basic plunger. (I promise this one is brand-new and has never seen the inside of a toilet bowl!)

I fill the bucket with water, soap, clothes and plunger.

I screw on the lid.

Then I sit on the edge of the tub and plunge away! And I feel like Ma Wilder churning butter!

Look, no gloves!

The plunger gets great agitation, and it goes much faster than leaning the top half of my body into the tub and swishing the laundry around.

Plunging laundry is my new adventure linked to Try New Adventures Thursday at Alicia's Homemaking.