Laundry day for the typical Amish women is not as simple as throwing in a load of laundry. We can simply dump in the detergent, push a few buttons, and walk away. Then we come back later at our convenience and throw it in the dryer. For the Amish woman, laundry is a very different process from our modern methods.
The once a week laundry day is no small task for the Amish ladies. At the beginning of the day, the water must be carried to a big black cast iron kettle and a fire is built under it to heat the water. The hot water is then carried to the wringer washer powered by a gas engine inside the wash house. Several loads of laundry are washed in the same water before it's drained out and filled again with clean water for the next several loads. Sounds gross, I know!
Once washed, the clothes are rung out through the hand-fed wringer which consists of two rollers tightly stacked to press out the excess water as the clothes pass between them and into the rinse water.
After thoroughly rinsing each item by hand, it again passes through the wringer into a basket. It is then ready to be hung on the clothesline to dry in the sun.
By mid-afternoon the clothes are dry and brought inside to be folded and put away. The never ending cycle!
So, the next time you find yourself buried underneath an insurmountable mountain of dirty laundry AGAIN, just think of your Amish friends with large families. Visualize her laundry day and remember to appreciate the convenience you have when you can simply “throw in a load.”
Having "been there and done that," I'm often reminded that laundry day could be and has been much worse! The automatic washer and dryer has to be some of the greatest inventions this side of Heaven!
Crawl out from under that laundry mountain, smile, and have a Happy Laundry Day!
Photo Credits
clothes pins: Dave Salter
bright clothesline: David Mark
fall clothesline: Randy Fath
In my book, The Greater Inheritance, I share many more little-known facts like this!
The Greater Inheritance
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of my book, The Greater Inheritance