Am I crazy? Well...maybe just a littleSo what's up with the washing board and tin bucket? I've just swapped my life of fast,convenient washing machines so the laborious life of washing my clothes with a little time and elbow grease. Well, at least this time my husband didn't look at me like I was crazy.
As you can see through my various posts, I'm slowly making the transition to "simple-life", in phases. I started the soap making (by the way, making a coconut bar batch TODAY--hopefully if life doesn't decide to derail my plans), started knitting (still haven't finished the one from my last post, because once again, life decided it didn't want me to), and now this, washing my clothes by hand!
Not only does this method save TONS at the laundry mat, I get some eerie satisfaction knowing that I just may very well be doing what my mother did as a kid. Which is comforting. And I may gain a little muscle mass on the arms too!
As I said in my very first post, this blog is mainly about my soapy adventures but also my crazy back-to-basics style. I haven't fully transitioned but I am getting there
(by the way I will be using the lye base flakes I use for my French milled batches! Versatile and saves MOOONAAYY).
Pros
1.
You save money: I put that first because who in the world doesn't want to save money? Especially in these hard economic times. On average we spend about 20 dollars a week (around 80 dollars a month) on laundry. Not to mention how much money we've lost for nothing because the management NEVER labels the broken washers and the dryers that do not dry AT ALL. That's 80 dollars we can be doing something else with. For a measley 16 bucks (the amount my wash board costs), you get a sturdy galvanized washing board, bringing our expenses down to around 3-5 dollars a week, and once we move and we transition to clothes lines, 0 dollars a week.
2.You have a back up in any critical event: One thing I remember was the Blackout of 2003, and how we couldn't do a darn thing for about a day or so. Life stood still, and because our reliance on all things electrical, life pretty much sucked. We've had many power outages since then, just in our own neighborhoods and life still sucked. Let's face it, sometimes technology fails, and if we don't have some type of non-technological device we are stuck. That's what I like about back-to-basics, it may take a little more time and effort, but you'll never be stuck.
3.
Natural and supports "Green" living: You are eliminating how much electricity is used each month which is always awesome for "green" people. I am living "green" by default just because I like simple living, although I really didn't consider this aspect of it when I bought the board.
4. Reusable: If you get a sturdy galvanized wash board you'll have it for quite sometime. Galvanized steel and metal can endure much more wear and tear (and it won't cost you a pretty penny to replace like it would a washer or dryer).
Cons:
1. Effort and time: I would be a liar liar pants on fire if I said that this lifestyle was easy, especially since we've become so accustomed to having things fast and simple. Things like washing by hand are hard and take a diligent effort. But there are ways to get around it. Just don't allow things like clothing to pile up to like 8 loads (like I did once and boy was that day terrible).
I can't really think of too many cons except being a time consumer (which like I said can be fixed with a little diligent effort). I will be posting my experience soon (this will be my first time using a BOARD and not just my hands).
Joyous washing (and soaping )!
