Wash Day Blues...

What Ho ..

I have spent the morning hand washing, I just love this job and have a two vintage laundry bags just for items of clothing that require loveingly handwashing.
I wash all of my girdles,stockings, tights, petticoats and the majority of my vintages dresses, scarves and gloves... Oh the joy... love it love it love it....
     
                                                                                                                                  

Traditionally washday was Monday, it was a task that few women looked forward to because until recently and well within the lifetime of my mother washday was a real chore, a chore that has largely disappeared from Britain today.
Even if the adverts of the time attempted to tell housewives other wise. I can rememeber the little Rickett's Blue packets and have used them myself when hand washing.However, until a few years ago washday entailed a full day's hard work, today we just put the clothes in the automatic washer and forget about them until it's done, but it was not always like that. 

I can remamber my nan and my mum using  fairy house hold Soap, iether as it was on the block on to shirt collars and cuffs or having been gratedstraight into boiling water.

      Back in my nan's day the weekly wash was done in a zinc tub with a wooden three legged dolly to agitate the clothes .The cloths were then wrung out through amangle, the excess water went back into the tub, nothing was wasted.      And every memeber of the family did their bit, I can remember do this with my sisters and often as not getting pretty wet in the process.
                   

   But today I have done all of my hand washing because I wanted to and enjoyed doing it and yes I am even looking forward to ironing it all as I also love ironing, strange I know but true.

And this evening I am going to have a Pimms and go dancing with Shandy Ray, so I am  off to start getting myself and the evening meal ready.....

Toodle pip......