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While I was at the grocery store the other day, this lady and I started talking, because I commented on the price of the twin loaf of bread that I buy week in and week out and how it had increased from 2.19 last week to 2.49 this week. She said her family had enlarged their garden, and are now buying what they can from the Amish to help cut down on the cost of food. I have a feeling the Amish are suddenly going to become very popular people.
Experiment: Laundy
One of my main concerns for the household in any given emergency situation, is what to do about the laundry. I thought I would try doing a load by hand. Here’s the set up:
1-small kiddie wadding pool
cheap botttle of laundry soap and liquid fabric softner
clothesline and clothes pins
washboard
small stool
I set out this morning armed with supplies and DD 2. Filling up the kiddie pool halfway, I pured the laundry soap in, then fought with DD 2, that she couldn’t pour the fabric softner in just yet. Being as the well water is ICE cold, I heated up a stew pot of water. While the water was heating, I did a load of dishes(by hand, I don’t have a dishwasher. Well, I do but she’s at school.;-)
Carted boiling water outside to pool. DD2 thinks now she can pour the fabric softner in. Noooo. Not now. We put handtowels, socks, three shrits, and 3 large towels in. I showed her how to swoosh the laundry around and squish down on it. She’s getting into this, and telling me, “No mummy. Like this.”
I set up the washboard, and showed her how to scrub the clothing on the board. Seeing as I have a large washboard with a glass insert, I cautioned her to be carefuland not break the glass. So here we are, mother and daughter, scrubbing away, washing laundry by hand. DD asked, “Mummy, why are we doing this?” So I try to explain to her, that if we have an emergency and loose power, we have a way to wash some clothes. “Oh, emergency. We loose power.O.K.” She’s shaking her head in the understanding way a 5 year old would.
I started at 9:33 am, and finished at 10:43. Not to shabby. I think for a summer emergency situation I’ll use this method. I thought it worked as good as anything else.