Earth friendly clothes washing

Earth friendly clothes washing

While many of us remember these old ways of doing laundry, I wonder how
many of us can and do still utilize the ways of our Grandmothers?  I remember so well my Grandmother Emma (Lydia) pulling out the wringer washing machine and filling it with scalding hot water, sorting the laundry into piles around the kitchen, and then beginning with the whites, she'd add her Oxydal and Bleach into the washer and laundry day was under way!  She hung her clothes outside throughout every season and so when the first load went into the wash she'd gather her clothespin bag, and a wet rag to wash down the lines with, and outside she'd go...That old woman worked harder than any woman I've ever known.  She had ten children to raise and I never heard her utter a complaint her whole life long.  I often think of her as I grow older (and I'm soon to be 58), and how much she endured for the love of her family.  Laundry was a big affair for her, and I am sure there was more than one day a week when she had to do the laundry, before I was born.  By the time this came into my full awareness (I was eleven) she was getting up there in years and caring for a grown son at home who had a glass lung and tuberculosis, a husband, and herself.  Now add to that mix, three young female grandchildren who'd just lost their mother to death (my sisters and I) and you can imagine the extra workload, probably just when she was really wanting to slow down in life.  (My Mother also used a wringer)
  Anywho....I remember those days all to well, and my heart actually grows huge in my chest and I get big tears in my eyes when I think of what she did to help us.  But I digress....I think we all need to get back to a way of doing less invasive ways of doing laundry and many other chores in our homes, whereby we use less chemicals, and utilize the wonderful clotheslines and the natural sun and air to dry our clothing.  My Grandmother Emma used enough bleach to kill us all...and understandably because she was trying to kill tuberculin germs from my Uncle.  She was always very conscious of that.

  However, we as a society have gotten spoiled in our using electrical devices that do much of everything we need to do in our homes...and I just think it would be so nice to get those of us who can, back to a much simpler way of doing our laundry and many other things, and using less chemicals, keeping them out of our water systems, and being Planet Friendly.
  I used a wringer washer actually up into my late twenties...and it never bothered me a bit.  If truth be told I wish I still had one, and yes it is electrical too, I must admit but I remember washing load after load in the same waters...as I said, starting with the whites first and then gradually making your way through the rest of the laundry until it was finished with the work clothes, lol.  Lots of water was saved!  I also threw that used water into my flowerbeds and garden and not down the drain.
  Right now I rarely go to the laundromat, and I don't have machines in my apartment...what I have, I found online, called a Wonder Washer, it sits on the counter top and has a small recepticle to add water to, and then it agitates the clothing to wash it and then I rinse things out in my sink and hang them in my shower to dry.  A few things at a time but, I'm only one person and have learned to really conserve.

  So...I guess what I'm sharing today, is just be more conscious of what you use as chemicals going into our waterways, since we all share the same water, you and I.  We will honor Mother Earth by doing so, and our Grandmothers...what was good enough for them, is also good enough for us.
We are a nation who thinks we have to change our clothing each time we wear it, we use water we need to be conserving, and we use electricity like it grows on trees.  All of that affects our planet.  So I hope you can go to the link I've provided today and check out Michael Bloch's Green Living Tips.  He has many wonderful suggestions that will lessen our imprint on Mother Earth.

My tip for today is to remember that Necessity is the Mother of Invention.  :)

I wish for All of Us that we can leave this Earth, Our Mother, a cleaner planet to live on for our children and grandchildren.....

P.S.  You can click on the link at the top of this post and it will take you to Michael's site!