Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Laundry Day......

The smell of linen dried on the line, outside in the sunshine. Mmmmmmm so nice, so fresh. I can not do it anymore. We don't have clothes lines in town. Besides that we have way too much laundry. When I think back, everything was washed by hand and hung out to dry. Or it was dried in front of the fire. Clothes were not washed as often though. So even though it seemed to take all day, there really could not have been that much actual washing. Not like now. People wore aprons ovover their good clothes to protect them. They maybe changed twice a week


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Mum never had a washing machine, even when they became reasonable to buy one. She did get a spin dryer though. That took out most of the moisture before hanging outside. My grandmother had a huge table in her conservatory with a mangle on one end. Everything went through the mangle and came out semi dry so that they too could hang outside on the line. Her conservatory was glass, so in winter or wet days the clothes hung in there......unlike my house where mum had to put them on the clothes horse in front of the fire.

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The only trouble with mum hanging out the clothes on the line, was when the cement works chimney smoke blew our way. The clothes would get cement dust on them.

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Well then when the birds sat on the line and pooped on the clothes, then they had to be redone. Often in the Fall it would freeze. Getting the stuff off the line, stiff as a board and hung in front of the fire to thaw......then dry. That was fun.
Monday was laundry day. At least for the stay at home ladies. Then Tuesday was the ironing. My grandmother used a flat iron that was heated on the stove. Later on we were lucky to get an electric iron. We would use a tea towel (linen) and a bottle of water with a hole in the cap to sprinkle on the clothes.

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When I think of it, my childhood coincided with the end of the Victorian way of life and the beginning of the newer things, the conveniences that have come to us over the years. What a difference it all is now.I dont know about you but we have stacks upon stacks of washing each week. I hardly iron much at all anymore. I only just gave up ironing sheets as a matter of routine. I like to startch and iron them. However, no one really notices and so why bother. Most clothes do not need to be ironed. When I was working I ironed everything because I wore dresses and skirts ETC. At one time I even ironed undies. Now I prefer to spend my time doing other things.
Linking up with Rose Chintz cottage
Also linking with Brambleberry Cottage

7 comments:

Merlesworld said...

I remember washing day as you describe it, but that was a long time ago, we lived on a small farm then and there was no modern washing machine there. I still dry all my washing on the clothes line but no longer iron, I told everyone living here a long while back it they wanted ironed stuff they could do it themselves nobody bothered so that solved that problem.
Merle........
.

Anonymous said...

we have come a long way, beautiful painting of the sheep and laundry on the line, I could just smell those sheets off the line! I miss my clothes line, ALOT!!!!
I never ironed undies, lol, wow, thats dedication!!!

Magic Love Crow said...

Great memories! My mom has always loved putting the clothes out on the line! I think it's funny in the winter, when the clothes are frozen! LOL! She doesn't do that anymore ;o)

Christine said...

I think life has changed for the better, for the most part!

Thanks for stopping by and following!

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

I have always hung my clothes out on the line in Summer and in the Winter, I would hang them on the lines in the basement. When I was injured last Winter and couldn't do a wash, my hubby took over for me. He always put the clothes in the dryer. What a time saver! He is still giving me a hand as I'm still not back to my normal self and now I'm putting them in the dryer. Now hanging them out on the line in the summertime, that's a different story! I LOVE the smell of clothes after hanging out in the fresh air all day. You cannot beat it.
I do recall all the work my grandmother went to to do a wash. I like to remember those 'good old days' but I like my new appliances. Thank you for sharing at my HOME and enjoy your week.

Blessings,
Sandi

Cindy said...

I"m a hanger, for sure. I often hang the sheets from the B&B on the line and yes, often I'm cleaning bird poop also, lol.

Thank you for the memory, grandmum always hung, no matter the weather and as kids we would laugh at the long underwear stood up against the wall and the memories of them melting and falling to the floor.

Nicole@nicole-southerncharm.com/ said...

Wow this should make me appreciate my washer and dryer more! Your area is gorgeous! I am new from southern charm! I would love for you to check out my blog and hopefully follow me back! Nicole