Ever since I can remember, I have always loved Wash Day, which preferably is on a Monday, depending on the weather, of course. And, it is even better if that day is sunny with a fair wind blowing. Today was one of those days. And, just as I do every Wash Day, I thought of my mother.
There were five children in our family, so Momma needed any help she could get. Even before I started school, I have memories of helping her on that day. By the time I was old enough to remember, she had a new-fangled electric wringer washing machine, which was a great improvement over wringing out clothes by hand. She would stand on one side of the washer feeding clothes through the rollers, while I stood on the other side catching and gently tugging each piece to keep it from rolling back around the rollers. On occasions, when that happened, a lever was released so the tangled piece could be removed. I do remember her cautioning me not to get my fingers caught between the rollers. Thankfully, they never did.
Mom had lots of clothes line space which was usually filled up, often more than once before we had finished doing the wash. She was awfully particular about the way the shirts and dresses were hung, but not so much about the towels and washcloths which she let me hang (or peg as some of you say). When they were dry it was my job to take them inside to fold and put away. I liked doing it, and still remember how fresh and clean they smelled.
Mom always said a lot could be told about a family by the wash, as she called it, hanging on a clothes line. Why, one could almost count the children and guess at their ages by observing the clothes. However, I always liked best seeing beautiful patchwork quilts flapping in the wind.
As I said before, the weather was perfect today for drying clothes outdoors. Our linen sheets, which are now back on the bed, hardly had a wrinkle having been whipped about all morning in a brisk wind. It is quite obvious, if you should have driven past our house today, that there are no small children living here as there used to be. I miss those days when there were size 2 and size 3 jeans and a few pretty little dresses dancing in the wind. But, that's enough of that. I suppose the clothes hanging on the line here today can tell their own story ~ a story of He and I pottering about the place, thankful for another day and a lot of happy memories.
15 comments:
I grew up helping with the washing, too. Sometimes I wish I had a wringer washer once again. LOL Mom had a certain way about hanging clothes, and I did, too. When I used to hang them out. Since Roger is so allergic to everything, I quit hanging clothes out. Mom also had a washboard that she used on stubborn stains.
I almost got my hand caught in one of those wringers. Both grandparents hung clothes on the line. So did my mom, and so did I. Now I dont, but the sheets always smelled so nice after drying outside! Janice
Oh my, what memories your photos evoke. My mother had a clothes line setup just like yours and had long 1x4 boards with a notch in the top to hold up the sagging lines when the heaviest items were hung. She was most particular about how the wash was hung lest the neighbors think she was a sloppy housekeeper! I love the smell of freshly dried sheets and towels, but now we only have an old dog run to hang a few things out during summer days, or sometimes for photographing a new quilt finish.
Ahhh.... loved this post...and the beautifully nostalgic photos. Just the mention of wash day zapped me back in time. We had an old wringer washer on the back porch and from the time I was old enough to reach the line, I had to hang the clothes out and bring them in....and, yes, my mum was particular about how to peg them LOL. To this day I remember that as I hang my own laundry out....although for me, it's usually only bedding that I hang as our weather is too temperamental here to consistently dry things outdoors...most specifically, the wind...oh yeah...and the snow. ;-) ~Robin~
I love hanging my wash out on the line too. Today I too hung my sheets on the line and in just a bit I'm going to hop into bed on those great smelling sheets. :) I don't even own a clothes dryer!
My clothesline has a pulley on the far end so the line is double ( if that makes any sense to you). When the wind whips things up and around both lines it's hard to get them off. But nothing smells as nice and fresh as line-dried.
My Mom would hang the line full and then the fence got used for work pants and overalls. Those were the days when wash day was a lot more work than nowadays, for sure.
MY goal for next spring is to get a clothes line up. I really want the sheets and quilts to have that fresh scent when I snuggle in. Of course the electricity rates have gone up so that will help with that too.
Cathy
I grew up with a wringer washer too, but I was one of those kids that DID end up getting my fingers caught in the rollers and still have a crooked finger because of it. How I miss hanging the clothes out on the line, something apartment life doesn't allow. I remember my mother bringing in dad's long johns in the winter and standing them in the corner because they were frozen solid - not a sight that made me want to go into the dark room by myself as a kid!
I love this post! Nothing like the smell of outdoors on clean clothes and sheets. Our Mennonite neighbors all around us hang clothes out and I love seeing all the tiny clothes of the children's along with the dresses and jeans. I love your photos too.
Oh my gosh! I could write a big and long book about washdays! You have mostly covered it though. My memories are good ones with a rejuvenation of the satisfaction and feeling of a wonderful accomplishment of those days - and there are MANY. Thanks for this post! I miss those days.
Beautiful! I almost always hang my clothes. There is something methodic about hanging them on the line - whatever it is, I must like it. :-)
What a beautiful post! I can remember my mother hanging sheets across three lines, to shelter the "unmentionables" that hung from the second line between the two sides of the sheets. She had a rolling basket to gather the dry clothes up. She was particular, too, about the way things were hung. She felt it cut down on how long each piece took to iron!
I so enjoyed your walk down memory lane, and the Wash Day. Growing up, we had a clothesline, and I always helped my mother with it. I remember my grandmother still washed her clothes for years with a washtub like you and your mother used. My dad gave me their old clothesline, and now, I hang my clothes out on it1 I like looking at clothes on the line too, and seeing their "story". Thank you for sharing such a beautifully written memory!
I'm still waiting to get a clothesline set up...we have much yet to finish at "Hermits' Garden". I love the story of Wash Day.
I still 'peg out' laundry when the weather is good--especially bed linens and towels. I'm glad to have the tumble dryer when I'm disinclined to fuss with items that can emerge from the dryer without the need for ironing, or to finish up pieces that haven't thoroughly dried by the end of the day.
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