The dreaded task: laundry

Photo: BR Whalen

One of my least favorite tasks is washing laundry by hand. I have lived at least five years of my life without access to washing machines - in various parts of Africa, India and Nepal - and I have never gotten used to hand-washing. Usually I employed someone locally to wash laundry for me but quite often I did it myself and my fingers feel chafed just thinking of it.

Now, here I am again without a washing machine. What should I do?

I pulled out the book called Practical Projects for Self-Sufficiency by Chris Peterson and Philip Schmidt, the one that had the instructions for the solar cooker, and found instructions for making a manual washing machine. It had a hand-pump and it just might work.

I showed my friend, Lawrence Davies, the picture and he called me up the next day ready to start the project. With friends like Lawrence and his wife Sherrin I can't procrastinate! Besides, it was still June and I could still use power tools so there was no delaying the project.

Between us, we found all the lumber and bolts needed, I bought a bucket with a lid at Home Hardware and we were ready to go. We set up operations in Lawrence's carport and brought the tools out from his workshop under the porch. There was a sign on the door that said 'Mancave' and I was honoured to be allowed in. Lawrence was hopping along with his foot in a cast but that didn't stop him one bit.

Let me be clear. I may be going off the grid for a summer but I love power tools. Since helping with the construction of my house four years ago I have learned the value of having the right tool for the job and getting work done fast. Lawrence has an an amazing Shopsmith multi-tool in his workshop that dates back to the 1950s or 1960s. It runs a table saw, a bandsaw and an air compressor that can be turned into a drill press. "My wife thought it would be the most wonderful tool that I could ever have and she was right," he said.

Lawrence's wife, Sherrin prepared us a delicious lunch and plenty of cool
drinks for a very hot day. She also shared her delicious no-cook breakfast
recipes from the days when the couple ran a bed and breakfast.

Photo: BR Whalen

The night before my project started I did a big load of laundry. I held out for as long as I could but within a week, well, the laundry had to happen. The washer works ok but there are still clothes that need to be washed on my Grannie's old-fashioned scrub board.

Drying clothes on a wooden clothes drying rack is no problem for me as I don't own a drier; that's how I always dry my clothes. One difference is that I hang the clothes dripping wet and let them drip for a while before bringing the rack in, if necessary.

Thanks Lawrence and Sherrin. And thanks Grannie. I'll bet you never thought this would ever come back into use.