Washing Sheets

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Some night try crawling between sheets dried outside on the line. There’s nothing like catching a whiff of ozone as you drift off to dreamland.

But what if you’re a homemaker a couple of hundred years ago? How will you get fresh clean sheets then?

Here’s how: set aside the whole day to do the washing. Prepare the meals beforehand. Heat gallons of water in a big pot on the stove and get some strong body help to carry it outside and pour it into a galvanized tub. Pour in some cold water, too, but keep it as hot as your hands can stand. The only way to get a sheet clean is to rub it on a washboard with a bar of soap the ingredients of which are lard, ashes, and lye. By the way, if your teen-age son wants to learn to play a musical instrument, what could be better than a washboard as part of the percussion section with the Saturday night dance band? Then while you’re using it for its real purpose, you can think about dancing and music and at least take a mental break from the toil.

Pour bluing bought at the general store into the rinse tub to make your sheet whiter. Put it through the wringer. You’ve heard people say, “I feel like I’ve been through the wringer?” I know someone who actually has. My husband Bill caught his arm when he was just a kid. It’s a good thing it was already so skinny that it slid right out. That was as recent as 1942.

On the way to the clothesline, be careful not to drag the sheet in the dirt or you’ll have to wash it all over again.

I hope you have help when you hang it; even though much of the water has been extracted, it’s still heavy.

Did your granddad once carve dozens of wooden clothespins without springs that slip over the ends of the sheets? Did you inherit them? Cherish them, they occupied him many winter nights in front of the fire and he made them, not only from necessity, but from love as well.

Hang the sheet in the sun, if you can. It is the best bleach known to man. The neighbors will inspect as they go by to see if it is as white as white as white can be, they will judge your housekeeping by it.

If you live somewhere that has freezing cold winter days the sheet will stiffen into ice by the end of the day and you’ll have to wrestle it into the house. If you live in a desert place and you have a strong wind, it will dry quickly. Nighttime is for going to bed, flying to dreamland, but you may be so tired after your long, physical day’s work that you won’t remember your dreams when you awaken the next morning. Never, mind, you have the satisfaction of a job well done and you can look forward to doing it all again next week and knowing that you are an excellent housekeeper indeed.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Wednesday we will have Bill’s take on laundry.. …Onisha

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• How Clean Sheets Can Help You Sleep Better (prweb.com)