This morning it was still dark when I slipped out of bed, and gathered some laundry together.
I popped the several towels into the gleaming white, front-loading washing machine, pressed the right buttons to make it work, and noticed the equally sleek dryer machine standing there, silently waiting for its turn to get into the laundry act. How things have changed, I thought. |
It would take most of the day, even longer if the weather was bad, or the dust was stirred up.
A 19th century English folk song describes how these sort of tasks were done by women. Today I can choose any day for the big wash.
Laundry here, laundry there--it's always a pain!
You could usually bank on the weather being fine, hot and dry. I had never seen a dryer, as we have here in North America, and it's still that way in most year round hot climates.
I’ve done laundry in many parts of the world. In warm places it seems unusual to have a dryer. Most have washers, now, varying in quality. One in Australia had a sign on the lid, instructing you to bang firmly on one corner of it to start it! Worked like a charm.
But as I write this there is snow, up to 6’ deep in many parts of North America. I wouldn't like to try hanging out the washing, even if it did meet the loving gaze of some young guy looking for a life partner!
What is your laundry day like? What daunting perils do you face as you think about washing clothes?