I return to my saga of laundry with a look back at my first place of my own after college. I found the washing machine in the basement and quickly mastered rolling it over to the sink, filling the tub with water, draining the tub, filling the rub with rinse water, draining the tub and then hand feeding the garments through the wringer. The only electrified parts of the machine were the agitator and the pump for draining. The wringer was hand run. This required a certain degree of coordination, using one hand to turn the wringer, another to feed the garment, and another to make sure the clothing didn’t fall on the floor. I knew it felt as if I needed three hands!

The basement also had clothes lines as did the back yard. The whole process was tedious, not fitting my idea of myself as a successful working woman. I occasionally took a load of washing to my parents when I visited and did it while we talked. I also discovered the laundromat.  As anyone who has used a laundromat knows, this has its own lengthy requirements from finding quarters, getting soap(unless you’re willing to pay an arm and a leg for the laundromat’s own little packets of soap), and transporting the clothes to the laundromat. Then the social interactions. Of which, more tomorrow.