The Way Things Were

Another journey into the past found this photo of the ways things were.

Back in the day before electronic dryers, wet clothes had to be hung out on a rope for the sun to bake. They could (and would) be hung inside when it was freezing or raining, but it was a wet mess.

My mother didn’t have a dryer so all our clothing was hung on a line from the house to the alley. We did have an electric washer so she didn’t have to walk down to the river and pound on the rocks, but the glop of soaking undies had to be totted out to the yard and hung out with wooden clothespins for all the neighbors to see what we wore when we were not wearing them. Everyone knew when ‘wash day’ was.

In college I couldn’t just ball up all my filthy stinky clothing and bag it up to ride for mom to pour in the detergent. The Laundromat became a meeting place to spend an hour or so with some duffle bags of t-shirts that were getting holey and moldy and the other pair of jeans for a few coins. The best thing it had was a dryer.

My first house I bought a washer that hooked to the sink in the basement, but the soppy wet mess coming out had to be strung across a line dripping on the cement floor going down the drain or evaporating depending on the season.

When I got this house, there was a clothes washer (plus a gas stove and a refrigerator) so I was in fat city. Throw in some soap, toss in the dirt and turn on for a wash and spin cycle. Then what?

Being a clever guy I went to the local home center and found a umbrella clothes hanger that would spin around and hold all my soaking laundry. Even got a spiffy cart to roll it out to the end of the yard.

When it is just a pair of socks, two shirts and some shorts don’t take long to wash and dry and the sun soaked results smell nice, but then she joined me.

The washer didn’t have enough settings so another had to be purchased. The stacked dryer couldn’t handle all the blankets and covers and burnt out. The next heavy-duty units had to be moved so the pipes and the drains had to be moved. Still the dryer couldn’t handle all the blankets and pet covers and pillow so line were tied amongst the trees to drape the human curtains.

Now the load is lighter and dryer sheets attempt to bring back that spring fresh air smell, but never does.