# How do you plan to do laundry?



## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I do a couple of loads of laundry daily, for a family of 6. Was thinking about alternative methods of doing it. Not loving any of them so far, especially in winter. What are your plans for keeping the family laundry clean?


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## CFarmerLady (Dec 1, 2011)

I recently lost my dryer because it was a piece of junk, so I did a lot of research and now have experience. Use the same laundry soap you're already using if you're comfortable with it. I use vinegar for fabric softener because I'm allergic to the ones in the blue bottles. Separate your clothes, not just by color, but by state of "fuzzyness". Things like sweats, towels, and socks shed lint much more than say tee shirts and jeans. Don't try to do all the jeans in the house in one load, because of how heavy they are when wet. You can use the bath tub, or buy a plastic or metal wash tub of some kind. Also buy a new plunger, a retractable wire dog leash, and some hardware. The leash you can mount to a wall, then place several hooks in a zigzag pattern across the room you've chosen for your indoor clothesline. As you extend the leash, run it through the hooks, then hook the clasp end onto the last one. You now have a retractable clothesline. I'd use covered wire of some kind for your outdoor clothes line, too. A lightly blowing fan can help the clothes dry indoors. Other things you might want to get are the old non-electric kind of iron, and a lint brush, the red fuzzy kind rather than the peel and stick rollers. The red ones are infinitely reusable unless the dog chews them up. Anyway, lots of clothes pins, and don't be embarrassed by your underwear


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## WhiteStar Acres (Oct 11, 2012)

My dryer burned up months ago, I just strung lines all over my house.

The wood stove on in the eve, dry clothes by morning, I'm thinking, who needs a dryer?
lol

The washer.... meh, I'm not ready to do washing by hand, I'll wait until I have no choice.


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## steff bugielski (Nov 10, 2003)

first of all why are you doing several loads a day? seems very wasteful.
I only wash clothes that are dirty, wearing one day does not make most clothes dirty. My work clothes get dirty in minutes so they get worn until really dirty.


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

We have hung dry in the basement for years, so no big deal there. For washing, I think a mop bucket with the mop squeezer on top would work well, although we don't have one. There are also wringer washers if you are lucky enough. 

We don't wash clothes that much here. Jeans are worn 3 days on average unless they are really filthy, and same with shirts. Only underclothing and socks get changed everyday.


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## Whisperwindkat (May 28, 2009)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> We have hung dry in the basement for years, so no big deal there. For washing, I think a mop bucket with the mop squeezer on top would work well, although we don't have one. There are also wringer washers if you are lucky enough.
> 
> We don't wash clothes that much here. Jeans are worn 3 days on average unless they are really filthy, and same with shirts. Only underclothing and socks get changed everyday.


This. Back in the day clothes were worn several days. We do the same here. Clothes have to get really nasty before we will only wear them once. Town clothes get taken off and hung up as soon as we get back home. PJs are worn for 3 or 4 nights. Work clothes get worn two or three days depending on the level of dirty. Underwear and socks changed daily. I do 5 loads a week for a family of 4.


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## wormlady (Oct 8, 2004)

Here is a blog post about an off grid way one couple does laundry.

It is a fascinating blog - they raise almost all of their own food and live off grid.


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## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

I am just really hoping that all my laundry is done- cause if it is- then I have enough for at least 3 months LOL_ if not- then well looks like I am keeping a pile of 'work' clothes~ that will get washed less often and we use to do just work in- and a pile of 'house' clothes- that only get worn when not busting our buts- 
I don't know if that makes any sense- I will make sure they keep and I keep my clothes seperate- so doing laundry will be easier


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## pgosnell (Oct 17, 2012)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> We have hung dry in the basement for years, so no big deal there. For washing, I think a mop bucket with the mop squeezer on top would work well, although we don't have one. There are also wringer washers if you are lucky enough.
> 
> We don't wash clothes that much here. Jeans are worn 3 days on average unless they are really filthy, and same with shirts. Only underclothing and socks get changed everyday.


I watched an episode of the Alaskan Frontier show and they had a couple on their that was washing their clothes outside and had a wringer they were using...he said they dont wash clothes AT ALL during the winter. And might i had, what they were washing was absolutely flithy! I was raised fairly poor in the slums of Paterson NJ. We NEVER had a phone, car or wash machine. When we wanted clean clothes we would put them on and hope in the shower. I was NEVER able to get all the soap out...

Now, God has blessed me and I make fairly good money. We are starting our homesteading journey in about a month. As soon as we move out on our 30 acre farm. This is by choice. We love the homesteading mentality and life style. We understand it's benefits. My wife was raised on a farm and ive been an outdoorsman for years. So, it wont be that big of a shock to us. We plan on being dept free (including housing) in five years. 

I say that to say this...until electricity is just NOT available...I will be washing my clothes on the regular We are still frugal. We usually were pants twice, tshirts once or twice, dress shirts dress, underwear 3 weeks:ha kidding...I see the need of having a alternative methods, but for now...i cant see going in to my place of business with a cloud around me...


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

I havent had a dryer in years! line dry or wood stove drying...we do wear our clothes for a few days...change socks and unders daily...for chores we use "over" sweatpants in Winter....and crappy cutoffs for summer work.....old soccer shorts are great in summer too they wash and dry in a snap...good workwear clothes like dickies have scotchguard which releases the oil my husband gets into...
bathtub bucket....old chest freezer for a washing vessel...hand wring and or drip dry

polar fleece is another easy wash and dry quick fabric...


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## lmrose (Sep 24, 2009)

I lived without a washing machine most of my life until ten years ago. I am 66yr now and have a apt size automatic and really appreciate it. Before that it was washer with spin dryer and before that wringer washer. The latter two were second hand and soon broke down. We bought the apt size washer five years ago and it works great!.

Most of the first 56 years of my life clothes were washed by hand. However Grandma had a laundry service truck pick up clothes for a three years when she was in her 70's and still raising kids. The clothes were returned wet and hung outside on a clothes line both summer and winter.There is no such service anymore.

Since I was ten years old I washed my own clothes by hand in a sink wirh a bar of soap. When I had four babies I washed clothes and diapers in the bath tub with a plunger and hung them out side. In the winter I had clothes lines strung in the house.

When I married 34 years ago and moved to Nova Scotia I washed clothes in the bath tub and had a hand wringer. It was only good for flat pieces. Everything else drip dried outdoors and when damp came in and hung on drying racks. In good weather clothes dried on the line. 

I have never had a clothes dryer and still hang clothes on drying racks. One rack pulls out over the bath tub accordian style. The other two are high on the wall on either side of the wood stove. They stick out like fingers. I have another one the sits on the floor and can fold up. In good weather clothes are hung on a clothes line outdoors.

Now there are only two of us home I wouldn't mind washing most things by hand again . My husband's outdoor clothes used on the farm though are harder to wash and wring out though. So I will keep my small washer as long as we have power. It is small but still has four levels so is easier on water. I wash once a week.


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## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I have a bucket and plunger for emergency laundry usage. I also have a back porch with laundry lines and racks for drying.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

steff bugielski said:


> first of all why are you doing several loads a day? seems very wasteful.
> I only wash clothes that are dirty, wearing one day does not make most clothes dirty. My work clothes get dirty in minutes so they get worn until really dirty.


This is true, why would 6 people change clothes that often to do multiple loads every day, unless some are babies/toddlers? If you were doing them by hand you wouldn't be changing clothes that often.


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## Allen W (Aug 2, 2008)

backwoods said:


> I do a couple of loads of laundry daily, for a family of 6. Was thinking about alternative methods of doing it. Not loving any of them so far, especially in winter. What are your plans for keeping the family laundry clean?


Your load count is right for a slow day around here with five people, sometimes it is more. Never have figured out if we are really dirty or awful clean.


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## Ranchermom (Oct 25, 2005)

I really like some of the bicycle washing machines you can see a lot of them on youtube, you just need an old exercise bike.....there was another one run off wind power but i can't seem to find it again.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

I don't doubt we'd change clothes less often IF I did laundry by hand. But right now, I have 2 toddlers, 2 teenagers, dh, & me. If you've ever had a toddler, then I don't need to say anymore. If you've ever had a teenaged daughter & son, then I don't need to say more. If you've ever had dh walk in the house after he's fed the buck goat vanilla wafers out of his hand, then I don't need to say more. Between the clothing, towels/rags used in the kitchen and for cleaning up the baby spills, sheets 1 x a week, towels for bathing, bath rug, etc, YES, I do 2 loads a day. Wasteful? Maybe...but I do have an HE washer, & can't stand for little one's to have big blobs of dried food or wet clothes on them. I'm planning on using the bucket w/ wringer & a plunger method. My bucket is actually a large mop bucket with attached "press" to force out water. I have done laundry by hand, but only for 3, not 6, & have retractable clothes lines on my covered porch, so am familiar with how to do these things. Neighbors have an older "James" washer with a lever that you push & pull to agitate clothes. They are expensive & don't think I could power it anyway. All the wringer washers I've seen are powered electrically. Just looking for better solutions, as cleanliness will be even more important for health, though harder to achieve, in an "On Our Own" scenario, IMO. Was looking for other solutions I hadn't thought of.


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## anahatalotus (Oct 25, 2012)

I have occasionally said ---- off to the laundromat and washed by hand. I have two kids and have done this when they were both in cloth diapers too.'
I find a five gallon bucket with a hole for a plunger handle to work, but I have used just utility sinks and just mop buckets too. Get an extra lid if you go with just a bucket too. I pre wash with the solid lid and roll it around. Then put a little soap in and plunge away. Rinse with a roll and plunge. If you get a mop bucket you will be stoked, hand wringing hurts your wrists after a few weeks and you will get a bucket if you can! 
To dry if it is not too humid hang outside, even if it is cold and snow is on the ground this works. When it is rainy or actually snowing I line dry inside above heat vents, it makes the house a bit humid which can get annoying since I hate humidity.


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## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

shower with your clothes on so you both get clean at one time


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## jessimeredith (Sep 12, 2004)

So...totally just did this today:

10 pairs of jeans/yoga pants/athletic pants and the equivalent of a full (large) sized load of colors. Tossed them in the tub (not all at once, silly) and did the whole hand and wood spoon agitating thing. Hand wrung then strung them up along the wood fence (and currently useless electric fence) out back. 

It cold as a well-diggers rear out there right now and they'll likely hang out over night (and freeze) then finish drying tomorrow.

It was a lot of work, not going to lie, but it gave me a VERY clear idea of just what we're in for SHTF.


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## meanwhile (Dec 13, 2007)

I got used to hand washing clothes when I lived in Spain for a while. We actually washed clothes in a real stone trough that was built by the Romans! It was awesome. Water runs through the village in the trough all the time. The women go out and wash and scrub the clothes on the stone. It was great.

Now....I would get a toilet plunger and a bucket and have at it. We use the clothes line anyway so we would not miss the dryer since we don't use it. In winter we still use the outside line some days but others we use the wood drying rack. I also have a clothes line inside the house strung across the whole back room.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

how about a few pair of 1791 jean--in reading about them it is "best to wear them for 3 MONTH before washing. That would help


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

Cleanliness, is a luxury. It's okay to culture a lifestyle where one puts on 'fresh' and 'clean' clothes daily.... sometimes several times a day... but only while the system is up and running. When or If the shtf, and morphs into TEOTWAWKI, I guarantee you that luxury will disappear quickly. A load of laundry now? Load a washer, throw in some soap, and press a button. A load of laundry later? Take one clothing item and rub on the washboard for five to ten minutes... a 'load', several hours of hard manual labor.

I guarantee you, no one is going to die if they have to put on dirty clothes. Same thing with TP... 'life' will go on, like it has for 99% of human time, without soft and fluffy use it once and flush toilet paper!

What will we do? I'm not going to spend hours each day scrubbing my dirties... would probably have a barrel full of soapy water I could throw my worstest dirtiest in, let em soak overnight, then put em in some running water, and dry em on a line.

I have at times worn the same clothes for weeks... of course, I wasn't around other humans... but, in a world where everyone is stinky dirty, it wouldn't bother me.

I've been grossing out my better half by wearing my only surviving pair of cotton socks (that the sock monsters haven't devoured) for 13 consecutive days... I tell here, it's all in the mind...

So, is planning on not doing it, considered a plan?


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

We have 8 in our house & I do about 10 loads a week. I have several teenagers & they do not change their clothes enough to warrant that much laundry. They learned from an early age that they don't need to change everyday. They wear clean clothes to school, change into old clothes when they get home. School clothes can be worn again a different day without being washed. They aren't getting dirty at school. Home clothes are worn 3 or 4 days unless very filthy. We spent years of having water hauled & learned to conserve water any way we could. We have county water now, but still don't waste it.

I have one of the yellow mop buckets with the wringer on it. I never thought of using it on clothes. What a good idea!


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

Wringer washers can be converted to gas motor powered. I'm still hunting for the needed conversion items for mine. I wash almost all my clothes in a wringer washer now, but if it's just nasty weather outside, I can get my clothes nice and clean in a 5 gallon bucket using a plunger to beat the tar out of them. I fill the bucket and add liquid soap, then the clothes and agitate them for a few minutes. Then I just let them sit and soak overnight or for a few hours during the day. I keep it in the bathroom and every time I'm in there for anything, I plunge them for a few more minutes. After soaking, agitate again for about 5 minutes and they are clean and ready to be wrung out. I found one of those big yellow mop buckets with the industrial strength mop wringer on it at a garage sale this summer and it works pretty well to get the water out. Not as good as an automatic washer spin cycle, but adequate. A quick rinse in another bucket of clean water, wring 'em again and hang to dry. Yes it takes more effort, and I do wear all but socks, underwear and my scrubs for more than one day before washing, but when I finish the laundry, my clothes are clean!


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## springvalley (Jun 23, 2009)

In the old days cloths were worn longer than now days, unless your sweating alot or get stinky poop all over them, most can be worn more than a day. > Thanks Marc


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

TheMartianChick said:


> I have a bucket and plunger for emergency laundry usage. I also have a back porch with laundry lines and racks for drying.


I bought a hand wringer and a plunger for Lehman's several years ago. But I've washed clothes by hand in the bath tub many times. Jeans are a bear to get clean and wrung out!

This plunger is a lifesaver, no matter whether you use a bucket or a tub:


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

Did some looking on youtube last night and found where someone had made a washer out of a tumbling composter (loved it), & another made out of a drum made to mix small amounts of concrete in, that had side "agitators" originally designed to mix the concrete by rolling it across the ground. Found a K.I.S.S. method of pressing water out of clothes by using 3 buckets nested inside one another: 1st bucket with hole in bottom was a shorter black bucket, 2nd bucket with holes drilled all around & on bottom for drainage, that wet clothes go into, 3rd bucket is your "seat", you put it inside of wet clothes bucket with lid on, and sit on it and it presses the water out of clothes. Beats the heck out of hand wringing! I have a mop bucket with the press to remove excess water already, but thought the bucket press may even be easier! Thanks for your ideas!
Texican, I guess it's a plan if it works for you, but wouldn't count on getting invites out to dinner much!


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## Halfway (Nov 22, 2010)

wormlady said:


> Here is a blog post about an off grid way one couple does laundry.
> 
> It is a fascinating blog - they raise almost all of their own food and live off grid.


Thanks for sharing. Nice blog!


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## wormlady (Oct 8, 2004)

Thanks Halfway, I stumbled across it a few months ago and I'm hooked.

I think most of us (including me) assume that we will not have electricity post-crisis, but based on our laundry plans, we (including me) think that we will have water.

But what if we don't....we have several ideas for doing laundry without power, but what is your backup plan for water?

Rain barrels, ponds, lakes, rivers, cisterns, what else?


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## Nancy (May 14, 2002)

We have a well with a working hand pump and windmill and I also have two metal washtubs on a stand, plus a hand wringer and a hand washer that looks like a plunger. I got all this, not the well, back in Y2K days from Lehmans. I also have a wringer washer but it needs electric. DH could put on a gas motor if need be.


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## zant (Dec 1, 2005)

I don't-it's womens work


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

zant said:


> I don't-it's womens work


:catfight:


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## CentralPaFarm (Oct 23, 2012)

I have washed my clothes by hand since i moved to my farm. Yes they don't get totally clean but i get the major dirt out and the sweat. I use a 5 gallon bucket and let it soak a bit. I also have a line strung up in my livingroom above wood stove for drying in winter.


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

We have 2-2500 gal water tanks that collect rainwater from roof, a pond, a well, & several more out-buildings we could collect rainwater from if needed. Also have a creek & lake nearby. Considering where your water is going to come from is definitely a good idea.


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

I just can't believe the price of wringers! I found this on eBay...what do you folks think?








Home Laundry Clothes Wringer Washer with Rinse Tub Hand Wash Great Product | eBay


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## NickyBlade (May 27, 2008)

When my husband is in the field for training he does his laundry in a plastic bag. He puts in the clothes and some soap and water, lets is soak for a while the rolls it around on the floor and mashes it up. Then he dumps out the soap water and adds fresh once or twice. Rings by hand and hangs up to dry. 

It doesn't get them clean like the washer does, but he never stinks.


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

I saw somewhere (Edwardian Farm maybe?) where the Village had a "wringing pole" to squeeze water out of their laundry. They'd wrap the clothing around a pole (like a rope) and twist to wring the water out. Much easier on the hands/wrists.


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## Trisha in WA (Sep 28, 2005)

backwoods said:


> Found a K.I.S.S. method of pressing water out of clothes by using 3 buckets nested inside one another: 1st bucket with hole in bottom was a shorter black bucket, 2nd bucket with holes drilled all around & on bottom for drainage, that wet clothes go into, 3rd bucket is your "seat", you put it inside of wet clothes bucket with lid on, and sit on it and it presses the water out of clothes. Beats the heck out of hand wringing! I have a mop bucket with the press to remove excess water already, but thought the bucket press may even be easier!


I have tried the 3 bucket method and it didn't work that well for me. I still had to wring the clothes by hand and got a lot of water out.

The mop bucket with the press worked better, but still not fantastic. 

I think investing in a genuine laundry wringer is a good idea. Yes I know they are pricey, but any good tools are.

I also have a "rapid washer" (the plunger MADE for laundry). It works very well at getting clothes clean. We also made a home built job like the James washer. It works very well also, but we used a 55 gallon barrel cut on it's side and it is just too big and takes way too much water. We're planning to modify it to make it smaller or buy a 30 gallon barrel and redo the metal from the bigger one to fit.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I have antique square wash tubs with a wooden stand and a wringer that mounts in the middle. I also have one of the plungers shown previously, as well as a scrub board. Right now, they're just for decoration, but I could have them useable for laundry very quickly. 

I also have a clothesline outside and a couple of fold-out drying racks and a retractable clothesline inside. I'd love to have one of the drying racks that is on pulleys and lowers down from the ceiling, but I'm in an old mobile, and the ceilings are too low. If I ever get my cabin built, I'll definitely have one of those. 

One of the reasons people only did laundry one day a week in the old days is that it saves water. They would use the same water for many loads, only changing it if it got too dirty before the last, dirtiest load went in. They started with delicates, then whites, then white sheets and towels, then colored clothing and linens, then darks and jeans, and lastly work clothes. 

Also, people did change clothes a lot less than we do also, so there were less per person, but their families tended to be bigger so there was still a lot. Plus, the water had to be pumped up from the well and then heated on the stove or over a fire. So washing was pretty much an all-day thing. I think the traditional wash day was Monday, followed by ironing on Tuesday. They had to use sad irons heated in the fire, so this was pretty much an all-day process too. 

Aren't we glad we live now?? lol I dread ever having to do it the old-fashioned way, but have the know-how and the supplies if necessary. They managed, so I guess we will too.


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## justincase (Jul 16, 2011)

cleanliness will be important during shtf BUT you also do not want to be the smell gooder during it all THink OPSEC!I plan on either using a plunger and a tub or like in thee good ole days boi up a pot and stir with a stick. I hat the idea of ringin em out because I hace carparel tunnel can I say OUCH! but drip drying for a while is fine. in the summer hang outside and the winter a clothes line indoors. My mom dried many of loads that way and still does!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> We have hung dry in the basement for years, so no big deal there. For washing, I think a mop bucket with the mop squeezer on top would work well, although we don't have one. There are also wringer washers if you are lucky enough.
> 
> We don't wash clothes that much here. Jeans are worn 3 days on average unless they are really filthy, and same with shirts. Only underclothing and socks get changed everyday.


I have a laundry plunger but the mop bucket wringer is genius! Thanks for the idea!


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Mom_of_Four said:


> I bought a hand wringer and a plunger for Lehman's several years ago. But I've washed clothes by hand in the bath tub many times. Jeans are a bear to get clean and wrung out!
> 
> This plunger is a lifesaver, no matter whether you use a bucket or a tub:


We have one of these(an antique) at the cabin. As kids we all like to use it!


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

An iron pot and a fire. Boil them, then dip them in the cold rinse water and hang on the line. I hope that works, cause it would be the easiest way I can think of to do laundry by hand.

All that ironing without the electric iron is what I worry about!


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Actually, as many times as I hang laundry and then it gets rained on,wipped arround , then dryed again...why bother with all the soap,scrubbing,wringing.


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## wanda1950 (Jan 18, 2009)

We would catch rain water for washing purposes. Let it warm in the sun if possible & let clothing soak as long as possible--overnight hopefully. Rinse & drip dry or my very handy husband could come up with a wringer. Overalls & jeans are the worst--I have washed them by hand in a mop sink & no way were they completely clean.

Mama & her sisters would take the wash pot & the dirty clothes down by the spring or creek & fill the pot up there. They built a fire under it & washed right there. They boiled the clothing & stirred with a stick. Spread them to dry on bushes, etc. She said they came very clean. Of course they had lye soap to use & bluing was in use also. I can remember Mama using it in the rinse water with the old wringer washer. Also the starch mixed with water in a pan for Sunday shirts, curtains, etc.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

My plan is to not be without electricity......which is why I built a system big enough to handle things like lights, basic amount of refrigeration, and some things like the washing machine......all the things that made the 20th century better than the most of the previous ones.

Drying clothes will be on a clothes line, just like now.

Water will be gravity fed spring ( no pump ) just like now.


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

Loving this thread! I'm going tomorrow to look at a wringer washer. If it checks out, DH is going to rig it up to run on gas or hook it up to the tractor's pto. It's actually going to be cheaper than buying a new wringer attachment and a lot easier on my old bones.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

Teenagers can wash their own clothes -- especially if by hand. They will soon learn to be careful about what goes into the wash.

When I was washing by hand, I would put undies into a bucket to soak overnight and then wash the next day. I did not let them accumulate. I was young then and used a wash tub on the kitchen floor. Now I'm old so for shtf laundry I purchased a double rinse tub on a stand so I don't have to lean over or lift wet stuff from floor level. I could not possibly wring out jeans or sheets and probably not towels with my arthritic hands so will need dh's assistance or have to hang and let drip dry. 

For those with young children and babies, use bibs. I notice mother's seldom use bibs these days, but they do save on laundry. If you use bibs, you should be able to get thru one day with one shirt for a baby or toddler. 

Also, for kitchen duty and housework, use aprons. I just finished watching the BBC production about WWII farming in Great Britain and one thing that struck me was how much wearing an apron saved clothing. 

As a child I changed clothes immediately when I got home from school or church ALWAYS. We wore each school outfit at least twice before it was washed. You understand we only had two or three school dresses and one church dress and mom only did laundry once a week so you had to be careful. On the other hand play chothes, were seldom clean. You pretty much wore the same play clothes day after day for a week. We had clean under clothes and socks daily but a lot of kids didn't.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

When the kids were little (7 and 10) I would toss the clothes in the tub and add soap,let them soak for an hour or even over night. Then the kids would roll up their pant legs or do shorts, get in and stomp the clothes for a few minutes. Then it was rinse and repeat the stomping. They got a work out, they helped clean clothing which taught them to stop changing so often. And things got clean. I used a mop wringer for getting the water out. I have a laundry sink, 2 wash boards and a big rubbermaid type tub for emergencies now, need to get another wringer.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Right now with electricity and indoor plumbing, and automatic washers and dryers, we still don't do more than 3 or 4 loads a week.
Pants: Wear them 3-4 days in a row- they don't get that dirty.
I could go that long on shirts but I work in an office where I need to project a professional appearance (starched) so I do change those daily, if TSHTF I wouldn't be changing them that often.
Bath Towels: use them 3-5 days straight, hanging them up when done.
While I change underwear and socks daily, if TSHTF I believe I could go a few days on those also.
Sheets and pillowcases, my wife likes them washed every week, two at the most - me I could go a couple months.

There's a reason the old timers wore aprons all the time.


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

Looky what I scored today - and for under $100 original manual & purchase receipt to boot! Looks just like the one my mom had in our basement when I was growing up...right down to the red handle. Hubby's going to work on alternative power for it (#132 on his list) but he's good at that stuff.


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## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

IF we buy regular plungers to use, which color is it we are supposed to buy that doesn't bleed on clothes? I remember seeing a thread about this several months ago.
Thanks!


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I have this washer that I do all of my laundry in except for towels and big blankets. (Towels act like a loofah inside of it, and no matter HOW many times you do a rinse cycle, they STAY foamy and soapy...) It works GREAT once you get the process down (knowing how much soap, and how long to rinse for). 

I also have this spin dryer that IS electric, but it spins things WAY more dry than hand-wringing does, with the added benefit of NOT stretching out your clothes like hand-wringing does. Once they come out of the spin dryer, I hang them to finish drying. I am in a basement with radiant heat, so everything just gets hung over the pipes, or on hangers from the pipes.

I go to the laundromat probably once every couple months, and it's saving me a ton of money compared to when I was washing *everything* at the laundromat.

I think the only change I'd made without power is hand-wringing the clothing. Although hand-wringing doesn't get things as "dry" as the spinner does, I've done it before and it works... (But my carpal tunnel is NOT happy about it).


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## silverseeds (Apr 28, 2012)

Mom_of_Four said:


> I bought a hand wringer and a plunger for Lehman's several years ago. But I've washed clothes by hand in the bath tub many times. Jeans are a bear to get clean and wrung out!
> 
> This plunger is a lifesaver, no matter whether you use a bucket or a tub:


Ive got one of these. I dont have a wringer yet. Wringing out clothes by hand is a chore! cleaning them with one of these plungers is pretty easy though. 

you DO however use a LOT of water. i live in the high desert. So my guess is clothes are only going to be washed when mandatory or perhaps when water is abundant in limited parts of the year.


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## stormaq (Oct 26, 2008)

I'm ready for laundry. I have the wash tubs, wringer, the plunger thingy, a scrub board, lye soap, clothes line & pins.


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