Saturday, October 15, 2011

Laundry Challenge Update: It's a wash

I suppose you remember the washing machine challenge.    I was doing pretty well with that over the summer.  After all, washing and drying the laundry outside wasn't too big of a deal, especially when we were wearing summer clothes: shorts, tank tops, etc.

Now that I'm doing the laundry inside, it's another story altogether.   Fall and winter clothing are bulkier, and more difficult to wring out by hand.  Sure, I've got these awesome forearms and biceps to show for it.  But you know all that water that doesn't get wrung out of the clothes?  It has to go somewhere.  My house is now a sauna, the windows are thick with condensation, and I'm pretty sure there are some lost rainforest animals living in my potted plants.

The time it takes to do the laundry is getting ridiculous.  It's not too bad if I can manage to get it done daily, but if I skip a day, yikes.  I can end up spending three or more hours on it.  Really, with all the other stuff I hope to accomplish on my free days, laundry is sucking up way too much of my time.  I have little enough free time as is, and life is short, ya know?

There are some good points to doing the laundry by hand:  I'm using less water, the clothes are cleaner, there's absolutely zero lint in my life (the army of dustbunnies living under my bed and seeking new recruits doesn't count), and the laundry is softer than if I had used a quart of Downy.

I've looked into getting a wringer.  A good one costs almost as much as a new washing machine.  I've looked into a few other ways to wring out the laundry.  But the more I think about it, the more I think I'm ready to go the lazy route and get a new washer.

I'm not saving any electricity with hand washing; I have to run the whole house fan to help cut down on the water vapor in the air.  Oh, and there's my knee, of course.  *exasperated sigh*  Even sitting to do the laundry is painful, and sitting for a long period is misery.

So, add me to a list of whiny housewives if you like.  Revel in the schadenfreude if you must.  I see a washing machine in the near future; I'm taking my life back.

8 comments:

Anne said...

I do remember how wringer washer and put rubber diapers through that wringer diapers and explodes and I ruined a couple of shirts
Did you ever get anything caught in a wringer?or ruined a couple of shirts?
an article of the wash may
wrap several times around a roller before it is noticed; unwinding such a
piece is often difficult, sometimes impossible without removing a roller.

Country Wife said...

Thanks, Anne! I hadn't thought about stuff getting wrapped around the wringers. I've heard of wringers crushing buttons and messing up zippers. Another good reason to opt for a regular washing machine instead of a wringer. :)

Marie at the Lazy W said...

Choose your battles, keep the big picture in view, is this what we're supposed to hear? ;)

Country Wife said...

Amen! Life is short. Eat dessert first! lol

Nicole and Andrew said...

mmmm dessert, can mine be lemon pudding
well you worked it over summer with the hand washing & did awesome, now give your self a break you cant always be wonder woman & winter is a bad time for hanging dripping wash all over the house.
twin tub washing machines are great you can reuse the water & they are low on power usage & because the spin tub is separate you can still hand wash if you want & just spin it in the washer. i have a front loader & i love it but i would go back to my old twin tub in a flash.

Country Wife said...

Thanks, Nicole! I appreciate the support. I hate admitting defeat, even with drippy laundry. lol

I've never heard of the twin tub washing machines. I'll have to google it.

Mmmmm...lemon pudding!! :P

Kevin said...

I dont have any hard facts, but I would imagine the dryer takes up the most electricity while doing a load of laundry. I honestly don't have the time or desire to hand wash (my hats off to you for doing it)... but it doesn't bother me to hang them up to dry. IMO its the best of both worlds. I cut down on the electric without adding a whole lot of extra work on myself.

Country Wife said...

You are right about the dryer. But if you are in an area with constant moisture, running a fan on the laundry for hours at a time is just as bad as using a dryer. If I do get a dryer, I'll still line dry on nice days.

The hand washing, well, you are right about that, too. It's a LOT of work. Not so bad in summer, as I said, but sheesh I'm so far behind right now that I just can't wait for that washer!! :)