My first memory of Monday and Washday. The first step was to take a bucket to the outside pump and fill the bucket with water. That took several trips to fill the large container on the oil cooking stove. Heating the water took about half an hour or so. Then pour the hot water into the washing machine.
The washing machine was a half round container with a paddle handle which moved the contraption inside the washer... all done by hand. Here is the best picture I found to let you see what it looked like.
Back and forth, by hand, for 10 minutes each load . Then put each item in the hand wringer... turn the handle ... and the clothes went into the rinse tub. Swish them around by hand to remove the soap, and put them back through the wringer ... and into the basket to take outside and hang up on the clothes line. By noon, the clothes lines would be full with sheets, towels, and clothes. A long stick was needed to prop up the line from sagging with so much hanging.
The washing process took all day... the last of the clothes (usually jeans) done by 3 pm... and the water drained out of the washer into a bucket to be taken outside and dumped out.
In the wintertime, the clothes were usually still hung outside on the line and brought back in, frozen stiff. If it was raining or really bad weather, we'd hang a line inside and dry things one room line at a time. Monday was still wash day, no matter what the weather.
Tuesday was ironing day.
I could write about so many things we did back then. Nothing was as easy as it is today.. and I didn't hear anyone complain then either. To just get up in the morning and get things started... that's a whole story in itself. I'll do that another time though.
One tidbit I want to add here before signing off ....
Grandma would say "clean up your house in the morning, for you might have visitors in the afternoon". They didn't "call first".. they'd just come by and hope you were home. Grandma loved to have visitors.
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