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Ironing wasn’t just to make the pretty or easy to fold. A good hot iron also kills lice and their eggs, bed bugs and eggs, fleas and eggs…it was a form of pest control. Everything got ironed.
All the clothing would be natural fibres, very wrinkly. My grandmother never owned a dryer preferring to line dry. She ironed everything to bring some softness back to the fabric. Line drying makes fabric stiff.
At 72 years young, I am SO happy to see you teaching the Colonial life! Super videos! I had taught Colonial crafts for decades, and a book that I highly recommend for you and your readers is "Singing Wheels" by Alice and Jerry (school books). Predates the Dick and Jane books. It's an authentic children's book on Colonial living. I still hang my laundry out outside in the summer and indoors during the winters. Grow cotton/spin/weave. Heat/cook on a wood burning stove and live off of the land/garden/dry fruits and veggies. It's so nice to just watch someone else do this while my old body sits in my old rocker. Thank you so much. Vicki
That stained white shirt from her husband never got white after scrubbing it with soap and brush and dipping it in whatever “laundry bluer” is. I feel like either she is missing a step/doing something wrong, or people wore stained white shirts all the time back then?
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 Her heart's in the right place but the technique is completely off, she needs to throw more muscle in, open up the garments rather than scrunch them along with a few other techniques like agitating properly. The laundry bluer is supposed to be just for garments that are aging to freshen up their whiteness. Yes I've had to do this myself before.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 Oh they had plenty of stain removing agents, some of which you saw here with the milk and urine all the way down to using your green lawn to sun bleach, of course there were other reagents depending upon what stain you had depends what reagent you used, and they even had some items for bleaching whites and others to brighten colours. The whole laundry routine of history was a fascinating process.
In my younger years, every Saturday morning was my laundry time. We had a wooden "arteza" (container) where I put the soaked clothes in soap (bar of soap) I had a piece of flat wood and a scrub to make sure all the clothes was scrubbed. In another container I had clean water to rinse the clothes. Then I had to hang the clothes, outside, in the bar to dry. Then I had to iron each piece of clothes and put it away. The iron she used it it is the same one we used in the country., and I have it as an antique. Lots of memories...
Back when I was a teen (mid-90's to early 2000s), I used to do my laundry almost like this. We're poor so we can't really afford a washing machine then. Although our water doesn't have to be fetched from a river and came straight from a faucet, I had to brush, scrub and beat the clothes (using a wooden flat bat, just smaller than the one that Justine used in the video) with my bare hands, rinse it and hang it on a clothes line to dry. So after washing baskets of dirty laundry, my hands and the back of my fingers are red and raw from all the scrubbing, and just touching the water makes it sting like hell. Then to save up on the electricity bill, my family used to use the same iron with hot coals inside, which are so heavy and can also burn your clothes if you put too much coals, so we have to be careful. Now in the 2020's, almost all common Filipinos (I'm from the Philippines, by the way) can now afford washing machines and modern flat irons, so doing laundry is a lot easier. Although there are still some very poor families who can't afford one and still do the old school way of washing clothes. I just thought I'd share, since I can mostly relate to how hard it is to do laundry this way. 😊 Kudos to Justine and Ron for all the hard work they are willing to do for this channel. I'm looking forward to more of your videos. Greetings from Manila, Philippines. 👋😊
More or less the same when I was a kid. And the iron left a memorable memory for me. Back when I was in junior high school, I still used that iron, which was memorable when the power line went out, my school friends' clothes were wrinkled, while my clothes were neat and slick. That's because I still use a charcoal iron that doesn't need electricity. :D
jeans were the worst so heavy denim material and cord pants; ugh a lot of us did that or still do it today especially with prices going sky high. lovely story and enjoyed the share. cheers happy washing hopefully in a machine nowadays.
Like everything else from back then, a lot of hard work. From sun up to sun down, just for survival. History fascinates me so much and I'm really grateful for your content.
Yes a lot of hard work which my mother says is why her mother (born in late 1800s) said they had certain days for certain chores like Monday was wash day and Tuesday was bread baking and so on.
I ❤️ this channel. I’m guessing rain and winter would’ve complicated the work. Frankly, every time I see the fire being used, I wonder about hot days in there. Not sure what was the “bluing” substance. The iron was SO cool, if you will. And I’m not sure what the go to option would be without the big stump to clean on. I study the history of Western Civilization with emphasis on America. It’s my hope that younger generations will look to the past, if only for maintaining healthy humility and gratitude. Thanks 🙏🏻
I can't imagine how harsh all the chores were on the body and hands. When I start to complain about all the laundry, I hope to be more grateful at the way I get to do it. Great channel!
I wondered how people weren’t bored years ago , so I can imagine their days went by quick to them from being busy . They had so much more work to do in their chores. We have it easy and faster now a days. This is lovely to watch
Machines saved our time & so we had nothing to do & got bored & radio, TV & video games were invented. Now the time is oppositely being eaten up by these leisure products through fb & insta
Compared to the amount of physical labor involved we have it extremely easy and things get done much faster!! Also for the men in the family as well. No need to work killer hours upon hours in their crop fields to provide the food for their family. Or to hunt down deer or other large game to provide meat. Also they had to work hard to clean the game and preserve some for later use!!#WHEW!😥
Many years ago I got a degree in history and its focus was on politics, wars and the ruling classes of the day. However I was always more interested in the lifestyle, struggles and concerns of the average person. I cant thank you enough for your content, its really wonderful.
Exactly you have history books with chapter dedicated to men who ruled throughout history. Women children and the working class would be under a generalized chapter. Shame
I also love learning about history, all aspects of it. Especially how they lived, how different daily tasks were, socializing and so on. I really enjoy learning about other cultures as well.
My great-grandmother (Maw Maw, as we called her) and her family used to wash people's laundry to make a living in 1910s-1930s southern Arkansas. Everything you've done is this video is exactly how she described the process--the only difference is that her family had a washboard. She told us how she and her sisters used to stand on stacked rags when ironing because their feet would hurt from standing so long. Thank you for sharing this bit of history with us! I love y'all's channel.
I need to hear more from the chickens. I love that little burbling sound they usually make when you’re outside with them. I had no idea chickens sounded so cute.
When my mom was growing up in rural mexico in the 60s she used to wash laundry like this, fetching water from a creek and doing it all by hand. She is a big fan of her washing machine now
@@hannvazquez9992 I am Mexican; as well, but I have never washed clothes like that! I use a washing machine and dryer. Thank God for modern technology!
In my grandma’s diary, it speaks of doing laundry, in the 1930s and 1940s. Even with a washing machine and wringer it was hard. The washer was outside and she carried water to it, washed the clothes then used the wringer to squeeze out the water. She had to reach into the cold water, even in the dead of winter, put the clothes in the wringer and her hands almost froze. Then hanging the clothes up, sometimes outdoors and sometimes indoors. The clothes would freeze. She would bring them in and then, the next day was ironing day. She did all of that while cooking meals on a wood cook stove and cleaning the home. They were certainly workers back then. I love her diaries.
There was a really old man that lived in my town that did his laundry very similar to this. He would hang his clothes on a line outside and spary them with a hose. That man, also had only one vehicle he bought in his entire life. It was a 1939 Ford. I guess in thise days a person could get away with having only one vehicle in a life time because they were built much better in those days!
I remember in the early 50's my mom having a round electric washer with a wringer over the top. It was in the basement, next to the two large concrete tubs that were used before she got the washer. In the winter, she would hang laundry up in the full basement. In the summer, she would hang it out back behind the house. I was only 5-6 at the time and remember cranking the wringer for my mom. A lot of hard work. It wasn't until the mid 60's that she got a modern washer and dryer.
This makes me so thankful for modern day conveniences! My great grandmother probably did laundry like this...and she had 13 children! Can't imagine the work load!
@@EdnaTwara1 praying isn’t going to get you a job. Work on writing a great, eye-catching resume that really sells your strong qualities. Get out there and follow up on interviews and applications. Take a temporary part time job if you need to. All of these things will get you farther than praying.
This is fascinating! Also calming to watch. After years of fighting with a modern washing machine that constantly had circuit glitches and other problems, we reached the point in becoming more and more electricity-free on our homestead where we just took the leap and let go of the blasted "devil washer" (as we had dubbed it) and embraced manual laundry. We have galvanized tubs on a rolling table that my husband built with a wringer mounted to be shared between the tubs. I use a combination of a "dolly washer" (looks almost like a metal toilet plunger) and a wash board, then everything is hung on an outdoor clothesline. If the weather isn't right for using the line, then we have both indoor floor racks and pulley-mount racks that lower from the ceiling and hang over the nice warm cast iron stove. It took some getting used to, but once you get into a routine and really learn how to use your equipment, it becomes second nature. Unexpected side bonus...our clothes are actually cleaner!! If you set your mind to things like this, it really can be done.
My mom remembers the days when my grandma had to wash laundry by hand. She told me that smaller pieces would be washed immediately as they went dirty. For larger pieces like linen and towels there was a laundry day like once a month. On that day the only thing that was done was doing the laundry. There was neither time nor physical energy to do anything else. Richer families would hire women to do their laundry or all the women of the family (in my country it was not unusual for the extended family to live together in a big family house) would do the laundry together. I'm from Turkey BTW.
And yet they were likely happier then we are now. So many people here (in the US); scrambling about with little time, except for work. And many jobs have no form of physical exercise.
Many lucky people here🥰. Thanks to technology advancement. In my country Uganda 🇺🇬-Africa, almost 95% of the population still hand wash. Am 21yrs but I have been hand washing all my life and it feels normal though tiresome. Being used to it, l even do it faster.
I'm 39 now and remember my grandma in Russia, Siberia doing a similar chore and I was helping her. Her washing machine broke down often and she would basically boil linens, use this type of soap, rub the clothes against a reliefed metal board in a wooden frame, then rince and squeeze the water out with her hands. I told my mom and she was upset that grandma didn't complain and just went back in time 😅 to what she knew best and what would not let her down. "As long as my hands work and I got a piece of soap, there is no problem." The fabric of clothes got ruined quick with time though . A new machine was purchased for her.. But she still would wash small items by hand! ✋️ And I did too along with her!😅👍
Вы не поверите,но в конце 80-х я в России застала и деревянный дом и топила печь и носила воду коромыслом и полоскала белье в проруби и мыла детей в тазике, стирала подгузники,т к памперсов не было.
@@grape196 Да, да, верю ! Моё детство прошло в 90ых. Каждое лето у бабушки в деревни носили воду ключевую с колодца, но правда в бедонах без коромысла. Тоже печь топили. Тоже мыли ноги в тазике, стирали на руках, но благо вода из ручья подавалась насосом.
Because hand washed fabrics tend to last longer than machine washed one, in terms of strength and colors. We have washing machine in our house but we still do it by hand, we just use the machine for the drying process, because my mom want our clothes to be as good as new always. I think your granny same as my mom, once you get used to the hand washing, it's irreplaceable with machine
I'm from Fiji islands 🇫🇯 And even though my country is slowly developing. In almost every household here, we do have washing machines but we still prefer to handwash and dry our clothes outside. Hot sunny days are the best for sunning our beddings, traditional mats and carpets and many things outside....we sun them on roofs too😂. We literally love to make use of both sunny and rainy days. Blessing upon blessings 🙏🏽✨️
Pe bune? Să ai mașina de spălat rufe și sa nu o folosești...e absurd...tehnologia e făcută să ne ajute dar nouă ne place să ne chinuim...fiecare cu plăcerea lui😄
I just came across this channel and I love it! Back then it was a very hard way of life...but looking at the surroundings it was peaceful..no TV no cell phones or computers all in touch with nature and your surroundings and of course your hard work..I truly appreciate this channel thank you! I will continue following you.
I am an American woman in my early 40's and I have been washing clothes by hand for 2 years. I started to do this at first because our washing machine broke. We couldn't afford a new one. Now I choose to do it because I don't want to waste my money on another new washing machine that just breaks after 2 1/2 to 3 years later. I have peace of mind that I don't have to worry about another luxury appliance breaking again! Plus my family and I like to be self-sufficient. It does not feel like work anymore I actually enjoy it. Washing clothes by hand at first was hard, and time consuming it took me about 45 minutes to do the laundry. My back, neck and arms would ache. Over time I got in better physical shape by doing push ups. Now doing laundry does not hurt anymore. Plus I am faster at it too. It normally takes 15-20 minutes to do the laundry. I wash my family's clothes in our bathtub everyday. I use very hot water and about 1 cup of white distilled vinegar for the cleaning. I fill the bathtub up until all the clothes are covered with water and let the clothes soak for at least 30 minutes. After that I take all the clothes and put them to one side. I take one piece of clothing and rub the fabric together evenly in the water. I turn the fabric around and repeat the same action. Once I have done this to all the clothes I drain out the water. I put all the clothes to the side and take one piece of clothing at a time and wring out each one. I wring out the clothes by taking the clothing and folding it in half I place my hands at the end of the fabric I turn my hands the opposite direction I repeat this action as I move my hands up the fabric a little at a time until I have reached the end of the fabric. I then unfold the fabric and wring out the clothes again the same way I described earlier. I repeat this with all the other clothes. (If I have clothes that are brand new or are very dirty I will wash them separately.) I place the clothes in a laundry basket, I clean out the tub with vinegar wipe the tub dry and dry the floor. I place a drying rack in the bathtub and hang the clothes on it. I usually need two drying racks to hang up all my clothes. After an hour sometimes two hours I can move the drying rack out of the bathtub because the clothes would be done dripping at the point and we can use the bathtub to bathe in when needed. Once we are done bathing we place the drying racks back in the tub until the next day. I usually have the clothes hanging up to dry around 12:00-1:00 pm and take them off the drying racks the next day around 7:00 am. Eventually we will be able to line dry outside and the clothes will dry much faster.
Good Night! That sounds like way way too dang much work! I say spend the money on a washing machine!! The time it will save you and of course the labor is so Worth it!!! Never would I voluntarily wash laundry by damn hand! Especially NOT an entire households laundry! ONLY if I had No other way of washing, with NO way of getting a washing machine!!!
Watched while I sat down folding the millionth load of laundry today. I am thankful I have a washer and dryer and just need to push buttons and fold/put away. We live in a very good time!
I have an old washer with the power wringer on top that I bought for tanning buckskins. While it has an electric motor underneath, the fittings are still the for a small gasoline engine. My wife has never asked me to swap out our modern washer for this one.
There is deep beauty to the simple sounds of wet clothes being pressed or falling water or a scrub brush being applied while birds sing. A quiet, honest life.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465True unless one lives in a remote area of the city around woods city life is stressful and noisy and we often miss seeing the beauty of life living in the city
@@teaonrainyday888 Yeah - I could only hack living in West LA for a year, and then I moved right back to the burbs and preferred to do the long commute to the city for work. I still remember when I got back to the suburbs how much I loved hearing the crickets at night again and just HOW quiet it was. It was so much more peaceful and I could relax and hear myself think again. The only city that I think I could have possibly enjoyed living in for longer than a year would have been London - but only _BEFORE_ mass immigration began. I visited there on a couple different vacations and stayed with friends… The area they lived in was on the Thames river and not noisy, and it was close enough in walking distance to the Tube (their subway system) that made getting around the city super easy and convenient, unlike the traffic that I would face simply going to the grocery store in West LA.. There also wasn’t traffic going from their place to the grocery store if one needed to drive a car there to buy a ton of stuff. They had a great location in the city, but I’m fully aware that there would be tons of places in the same city that I wouldn’t have been able to hack the noise, traffic, etc (probably the majority of the city, tbh). Nowadays though - eff London. It’s changed waaayyy too much in the last decade +, because of what I mentioned earlier. I wouldn’t even feel safe there now, nor even feel like I’m in England!
I have lived and worked at many off-grid Alaska mineral exploration camps where we did laundry in a similar fashion. However we had the simple wooden wash boards. Our warm/hot water came from old 16 inch steel flume pipes we found, filled with cold water and let the sun heat it up. Occasionally, I still do my laundry at my off-grid cabin in Alaska in this simple manner - I just use the orange Home Depot buckets. Its not that hard.....and i enjoy not depending on society that much.
When I was little I use to visit my granny in Mississippi, she lived in a small house in the woods, no inside plumbing. we did laundry on her back porch, thank God the river was close to the house we washed with a wringer washer(not the electric kind). I am 56yrs old, I still remember the things she taught me so when we have no electric or things are tough I can still make do. I have taught my kids the same things she had taught me. I have (as a single mom) had to was clothes in the bath tub because we had no money to go to the laundry mat but my kids had clean clothes. I am so grateful for your content even though it is from the past some people may need those skills for now days. Resilience is what is needed in any day and time, and we have our fore- Mothers and Fathers to thank for that set of skills.
I'm only 30 years old and I'd like to say the old generations, They had an integrity and experience from those old days That made the world better. I look at the brats that are coming out of schools and thank "God, This world is going to pot." I have more friends among the elderly 😂
❤ We grandkids, all girls, did laundry like this at our grandmother’s until she got a manual wringer washer. There were lots of tools for the job: various beaters, pounders, stirrers, brushes, buckets, pails, etc. I loved laundry day - everything about it, even ironing. We often made little dolls out of the wooden laundry pegs and fashioned clothes for them out of the worn out textiles and odd buttons. After the day-long chore working in cold water, our hands were red and chapped and we had what we called “chilblains.” For laundry “delicates” she used grated soap and to this day I love the scents wafting while I grated the bars of soap - I still have the graters. It was such a labor-intense job that Monday was strictly leftover day for meals - using the remains of Sunday’s dinner. At lunchtime we had picnics of boiled eggs and pickles while sitting under the flapping drying laundry, with the clotheslines propped up high over us using long notched poles. Fun times despite the hard work and the occasional wasp found caught in the freshly dried clothes when folding to stow away. ❤
Laundry would be a once a month chore if it was that difficult! Every time period has their problems, but there’s just something so calming about just worrying about laundry for a day. Problems were one day at a time back then. Not so fast paced as now.
Love your channel! My interest in history is on how everyday people lived. Thank you for all your hard work, dedication, and all the thought and planning that goes into your channel.❤
I've done laundry by hand packing the water from the stream.i had a half 55 gallon barrel with a steel rack i would build a fire outside , than place big restaurant size kettles to heat water. Hand scrub ,roll the clothes, rinse clothes, than hanging them on the solar clothes line,and using a flat cast iron, that was heated on the woodstove. Fyi..wash white clothes 1st,than use that water to wash dark clothes.
Even though this was 200yrs ago, in some parts of the country and the world ppl were still doing this into mid 20th century. Seeing her carry those pails of water made me think of my great grandmother. My grandfather (her eldest son) told me she went into labour as she was trying to carry a pail of water. This was 1928. Unfortunately she died giving birth. In some parts of the island and some homes, indoor plumbing wasn’t available yet. My parents were born on farming towns in the 1950s, and I think clothes washing was just like this. They may have had a pump tapped into the water line, but it was not inside the home. Thankfully they were in the Caribbean 😅 Be grateful for safe conveniences. When we turn on the tap and safe water comes out… underrated advancement!
When I was in the army I spent several years stationed in South Korea. This is way back in the late 80's. It was common to come across large groups of women washing their clothes along the banks of smaller shallow rivers. This activity took place outside of the cities. Mostly in the rural areas. Kind felt like stepping back in time.
Ufffff.... nada más con verla, ya me cansé. De verdad que ese era trabajo duro. Mis respetos para todos nuestros antepasados que no la tuvieron nada fácil. Y mi reconocimiento para los creadores de este contenido, no solo por recrear todo con fidelidad, sino por su trabajo de investigación para hacerlo lo más real posible. ¡Felicidades!!
My Grandmother did laundry like this on the farm in 1915. They hand pumped the water, heated it in the yard fire pit, washed the clothes, using a washtub and washboard. Hand rinsed the clothes & hung them on a line. Mending & Ironing was done on Tuesday with a sad irons heated on a wood burning stove, the two irons being traded off from the stove to keep one hot continually. Wednesday was for scrubbing the floor & baking the second batch of the week bread and cookies, or pie. Thursday’s was for another household task along with sewing. Fridays for shopping or cleaning or fixing things. Saturday was a big day of cleaning, dusting, baking of bread, mild sweets etc., churning butter, Cleaning kerosene lamps, making candles or soap. Then Sundays were for church, Sunday noon dinner, visiting, resting…& of course milking was daily, twice a day, separating the milk and storing it in the underground ice house, or in milk cans set in water. I know this well as my family were doing all this when I came into the world in 1944. My first baths were in a wash pan, later in a tub pulled out onto the kitchen floor on Saturday night. The large moveable oval tub was filled with hand pumped water, heated on the woodburning stove. Our light was candles or more usually kerosene lamps. We lived a different life with simple ways and practical tasks. We didn’t have outlandish ideas about anything. The earth was beautiful, clean aired and good. The quiet was usually broken by birdsong or calling cattle or animals or family chatter and laughter. This would be in the 1940’s for me..1948 in Wisconsin in particular.
Yes..indeed we did the same in Montana.. I was always sick and cold to the bone.. And hungry.. Bad memories.. And ruff life.. Surprised I lived thru it.
Things were probably washed out in the house and hung near the fire,just the dirtiest things,such as undies ,socks and baby diapers. One First LAdy way back hung her laundry in an unused room,she was using her noggin.
It is interesting to see how it was done back then. This makes me appreciate the modern inventions much more. They save a lot of time! I can't imagine doing our laundry this way after getting them done via machines for decades now. We do hang them for sun-drying though.
@@iWantToBelieve... I agree with you there E L but humans have now become so accustomed to their creature comforts of habit and conveniences that it might now even be chaotic for many of them to have to go without them now.
It makes we understand that having women take care of the house wasn't just some patriarchy thing to keep women down. It was an absolute necessity, its an full time job.
@Sarah Hodgins I believe the blue part may be because at the time instead of bleach they used what we call "bleaching indigo" to whiten their clothes. It give water this beautiful blue color.
@@iWantToBelieve... how have humans become less creative? If back then people spent a whole day doing one repetitive task that's not 1 hour, now people have more time to do other stuff
I spent twenty years as a Civil War re-enactor doing a military laundress impression, and hauled my water from streams too! I had the big cast iron cauldron as well as a copper boiler. But preferred the cauldron even though it was more work.At the end of the weekend I always wanted to kiss my washer and dryer when I got home!
I live in rural Brazil. Their washers often sit on their verandas along side a double sink. I had a ten person family to wash clothes for and one week my washer broke down. I used that double sink in much the same way she used those buckets. Although, I had running water. I can totally understand why they had less clothes back then and washed them less! I am so thankful for a washer!
Wow, what a gem of RU-vid right here; I cannot believe I did not find this channel sooner. Always have been fascinated with the traditions societies used to keep before modernizing and globalizing. You both are doing such a service to the world by showcasing for the public the long forgotten, salt of the earth American culture. In an age surrounded by so much noise in the media, it's so refreshing and delightful to view such genuinely unique and informative content.
My mother didn't have a watching machine till we were 15 years old and had to pay a lady to watch our clothe. When times economically got very hard she had to do it. At thirteen I remember watching all the family clothes. We did it different. We use a huge wooden water container in a shape like a boat, on top there was a wooden board that we use to scrub our clothe. The watching was done with earm water but the rinse with cold water. I remember we had what tt was called the laundru room. After watching and rinsing we put the cloyhe on a metal line with this clippers so the clothe wouldnt fall. I'm a baby boom from the mid sisties and even at thst time life was very hard , especially if you were a woman. Now a days everything for women and men is so much better! .
Back in 2012, I was a very poor college student and only could do the laundry in my small bathroom faucet or for larger clothes I used the shower space. I had a special rock or a piece of wood to scrub, but still, that itchy feeling after washing my clothes remained for days! Also, soap was very expensive for me so I only used it in specific areas, I even mixed it with sodium bicarbonate. Ahhh, now I have the facilities at home and, as absurd as it sounds, I feel so grateful for doing the laundry haha This video was such a trip down memory lane.
1977 rual parts of Mexico I witness women spending the day at the river with laundry. They washed on large rocks, rinsed and gather their laundry carry it back to their home to line dry. Usual a middle child would accompany the mother while another child would tend to the house chores. Father and sons would be out in the fields all day long and if it was a large family the parents would bring their children along to help. My family visited often...beautiful memories
Well, my family is from a rural area in Mexico and in the early 90s they still worked like this, I saw it many times, the iron they used was different than the one you see here it was thinner and you had to heat it up many times just for one shirt. They didn't have power grid connection, but they had some solar panels connect to a car battery, since the amount of energy they could use was very limited it was only used in the night, and sometimes they would still use candles.
I remember doing this after leaving my ex husband. I didn't have a washer nor the money to wash at the laundromat so I did what I have seen my Grandmother do many times. You can buy bars of laundry soap, they are usually in the International aisle at the store. I didn't keep the clothes all wadded up though. I made sure to pull them out when rinsing to get all the soap out. I enjoyed this video. Thank you for making it.
@@Michelle-pn9xt Ok "Michelle" you do not know me nor have you ever lived a life like mine so how would you know? You could wash your clothes the same way. You don't need a time machine. How else did this woman make this video? Michelle go back to your sheltered life. I think you are lying, how about that?
@@Michelle-pn9xt Im confused. Are you trolling, or just dense? OP clearly stated the reason why they washed clothes by hand. Its not unusual in this day and time either. Ive had to do it myself, I live pay check to pay check, and I dont have a car, so getting to the laundromat can be a struggle. Its more labour intensive, true, but at least your clothes are clean 😂
Feeling nostalgic. I remember following my Aunts to the riverside. Carrying clothes tied in a bundle, we'd go the riverside in the forest to wash clothes. Also, as a child in the 1990s I would carry water on my shoulders and fill three/four water drums before my parents woke up twice a week. Even today, I hand-wash clothes though there's a washing machine which uses too much water and doesn't clean clothes as nicely as our good old hands do. However, skin gets peeled and blisters form on hands if the laundry is a big one. This is a heartwarming channel. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for the beautiful content. Subscribed. ❤️
Watching this makes me appreciate my washer/dryer, but it also makes me realize that even though this is set in the 1820’s we still do the same things everyday although much differently! Thanks for sharing, love your videos!!
I cringe thinking of those clothes they wore in the 16 and 1700s. How in the name of God did they clean them?? And considering the lack of proper hygiene back then...Jesus Christ!
I love watching your videos. Seeing how simple people lived back then gives me so much comfort. I had the opportunity to live a similar lifestyle at my grandparents ranch. It’s actually quite freeing to live by nature only.
Thank you so much for sharing this! My youngest daughter and I were reading one of the American girl Kirsten books and it was talking about them doing laundry in the pioneer days. As I was trying to explain to her what they were doing and why, I thought it'd just be easier if she could see it for herself...this was PERFECT ❤
My great grandparents grew during the Great Depression and they refused to get a modern washing machine. Even when they were given one they would make us great grandkids use a washboard and bin to do laundry. I thought that was brutal. Justine I might have to try doing laundry the old fashion way like what you’re doing. It beats doing CrossFit and going to the gym
This was so great especially Sir Alfred at the end haha! Ron, you need to get Justine a rain barrel to collect water for her washing so,she dosnt have to schlep to the stream
I experienced both forms of washing in my country when I was young. The washboard when helping mom wash the baby diapers and at the river washing linens with a paddle. I remember complaining my butt hurt from sitting on the hard rock and all the ladies laughed. I was in my tweens when I experienced all this and even though at the time I wasn't too happy, I am thankful for the experience. It builds strength of character. I admit I was happy to be back to the comforts of plumbing and a washing machine.
I have a couple of antique books on home management with extensive laundry directions. Detailing how to clean everything from wool to waterproof canvas, how to make soap, to how to remove stains from each type of fabric (kerosene was used as a stain remover), and “blueing” tips. No wonder washing day had it’s own “day”.
So much hard work all the time! It was even more important back then to have excellent health, strong muscles, a good appetite, and a good attitude towards life. I watched the hens wandering around you and you working so hard, and I thought, "Those hens had it easy by comparison!" My Mom used a hand-cranked wringer washer, a washboard and a clothesline back in the late 1950's and early 1960's - and it was still hard work, especially since she had four kids by then - and lots of cloth diapers and bedsheets to wash, too. I just don't know how those pioneer women with families did it.
@@CFL641 My grandmother and grandfather died past 80. Our 7th prime minister is 90+ years old but he doesn't look like one that much because he was a doctor before indulging into politics. He is practising a very healthy lifestyle indeed and still alive today. I believed there are many with the same age out there somewhere and we've heard about people who lived past 90.
My father told me about how his mother used to wash clothes in the 1930s in Queens, NYC. The process was similar to what you show: heating the water in a tub, simmering the clothes in the soapy water, agitating the clothes with a dolly, scrubbing especially dirty clothes, rinsing the clothes, squeezing the water from the clothes with a wringer/mangle, and hanging them to dry. Then spending the next day ironing them. It was grueling work.
We had two of those irons in the 40's. One was on the wood stove getting hot when the other one was in use. When the one in use got too cold to iron anymore, we dropped it on the kitchen wood stove, removed the handle and attached it to the already hot iron. It was tricky to iron when you didn't know the heat temperature. That was obvious by the scorch marks usually near the hem at the bottom of a dress .
When I was small, I read Little House book series written by Laura Ingalls wilder (An American Author who was born in 1867). Your vedios show how they spent their simple lives full of hard work and it takes me to Laura's life.
Seriously, we have nothing to complain about in this day and age, every household chore is so much easier than it was back then. I have two loads of laundry to do today and won't grumble at all after seeing this video. 😉
As a fellow reenactor can I just say that your videos are wonderful? And to others that may be wondering, this method of life and hard work is so rewarding. You go to bed feeling like you have accomplished something and you get actual rest.
A few things in this video, I can remember as a little girl: we had a clothes line to hang up wet washing’s we had a black cast iron pot where my mother would soak or sterilize the clothes and bed sheets and it always had a fire 🔥 going underneath it. She would smack the laundry to get most water out then wring them. But she had a rub board and big bar of lye soap to wash clothes. Even though work and life was hard, people was healthier and happier back then than nowadays.
My friend had a running stream behind her house. To sleep there was so restful, as the sounds of the stream were soothing. I have an Amish wood stove, and dry my laundry in the house in winter; still hang it on the line in the summer. I also once had a wringer washer in the 80’s, washing the diapers, and hanging them out. More work, but money-saving. 😶🌫️
Even using an old wringer-washing machine is Tons easier and faster than washing dirty clothes by frigging Hand!! Yes, I said TONS Easier and Faster!😉😜
Kind of reminds me of wash day in boot camp in the 70's. water, bristle brush , scrub, rinse , repeat! The only difference was that the water came from a hose and we used liquid detergent. it worked, but it was time consuming.
I wash all my clothes by hand. Use a plunger type device called a breathing mobile washer and a washboard and a 30 gallon plastic barrel. Repaired a 16 gallon cast iron wash pot and use it to heat water. Eventually bought a Wiseman wringer. Been doing this for ten years. In my mid60s now and the hand wringing causes the arthritis to act up some when I would wring out the clothes. It is hard work, but my clothes are very clean hanging on the clothesline to dry in the Mississippi sun.
I had to wash my clothes by hand for almost 2 weeks and I was practically crying like Cinderella. Horrible job for a woman. I have a lot of respect for those who still wash, clean, raise many kids, etc. Hard job.
😆😂🤣 yes, it’s very hard to wash clothes and wring them out by hand. I honestly, don’t know how women stood it back then: then having to prepare supper then wash dishes omg I don’t think they had a moment of time for theirselves plus being a wife in other ways. Wow! Too much.
@@thetruequeen6747 I think once the ole wringer-washing machine was invented that it vastly improved the lives of women. I can still recall my oldest sister and my mom washing clothes on our front porch using that contraption. This was when I was very young, around 4 years old. After that we moved to New Orleans and was introduced to laundromats!!😁 btw the wringer part of the washing machine was fascinating to me! And one of my sister's a few years older than me, keep playing around with it and got her arm stuck in it!! #OUCH!!!!😱
If I had to wash clothes by hand I would drastically reduce how many clothes I wear per week. Never mind the smells. I'm thinking two every day dresses per week to alternate and air out in between wearings and one nice dress for Sunday or special occasions. That would be about 6 dresses total + seasonal adjustments, counting on the clothes taking a week to air dry when it's colder. That sounds doable.
Your content is absolutely great! If things go to hell in a handbasket in this country, at least those us who watched your fabulous videos will be a little bit ahead of the curve. Thanks very much for all you do.
Thank you. What most people don't know is, that the same principle that was used back then to push the dirt out of fabric by dropping on a rock or using the bat, is also what makes front load washers work. And people think what we have today is so modern because it's "high efficiency". Everything old is new again. PS please take good care of your hands.
Wow It's interesting to know that that's how laundry was done back and even more interesting that that's what is done in my area presently, I'm from Mbengwi, north west region, Cameroon. That's in Africa. It's almost the same thing, the only difference is that we use plastic buckets, detergent and carry water directly from a tap just beside the house, even though some people still go to the stream to wash dresses. We use the charcoal iron too, especially when electricity goes off.
Hi Justine all I can say is I will never take my washing machine for granted ever again, in England it always used to be a Monday was laundry day, and lunch on that day were leftovers from Sunday so you didn't have to cook, I think we look back on the past with rose tinted glasses, but in actual fact it was just really hard work just to stay alive, thanks Justine and Ron 🌞🌞🖐👍
I saw a diary from my great grandmother which she wrote as a young mother in 1871-1873 in a Midwest U.S.A. city. Detailed doing the wash. Made a fire in the yard with the iron kettles on. Well water obtained and put into the kettles. Lye soap used to scrub the main filth and dirt off children's diapers and clothing. Adult clothes and bedding that was washable got scrubbed in a different pot than the filthy diapers. Then cooked a bit in the hot water as a first rinse then into the cold bucket to be finally rinsed. Then through the mangle roller to squeeze the clothes dry. Then hang on the clothes line to final dry. The last step was starching and ironing with a heavy made of iron and heated in the fire, iron to get the wrinkles out of the clothes. Took most of a day. Intensive hard work and she only had 2 children and her husband back when the diary was written - had 5 in all with some born a bit later on.
When I was younger my sister and I would stay over night at our grandmas house. It was so fun mowing her yard with the old time mower. I loved watching her wash clothes. She had an old washer with a ringer you had to be careful with buttons. She’d use bluing to wash her white uniforms for work.
My great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother, myself, and my sisters still will handwash. Good bar of laundry soap, brush, board, and elbow grease still works. p.s. Still hang 95% of the laundry.
When our washer broke a few years ago, we did hand washing for all our clothes for a week. We used plastic horse water trough and had the kids stomp the clothes clean. They thought it was fun at the time. We usually hang up about 1/2 our laundry to dry anyway. Our sun is too harsh most of the year to line dry outside. It makes the clothes crunchy and the fabric break after an hour.