While Texas is flooding, Alabama is turning into a desert. We have had months of uncommon dryness and heat. Weeks on end with highs over 100F(38C) and lows around 80F(27C), and no rain to speak of. In a state where we are used to luxuriating in an abundance of water, we have been put under legal restrictions for our water usage. I was tired of watching all of the plants in my yard dying of thirst,so I decided to capture the water from my washing machine, and use it to water the most desperate plants. The point of this post is: I am amazed at HOW MUCH water we routinely use without thinking about it. One load of laundry uses so much water that it takes me about half an hour to haul it outside with a bucket. It seems that we place huge demands on our planet without even knowing or trying. We turn on a faucet and the water runs. We flip a switch and the electricity flows. We buy our stuff and then throw away the packaging. My recycling bins overflow for just lil' ol' me. All of my friends think I am completely insane with my mildly tree-hugging tenancies. But this one little experiment has convinced me that I need to work harder to tread lightly on our world.
Ever compared the amount of water and electricity a front loading washing machine uses compared to a top loader? Also clothes generally last longer being washed in a front loader as they are more gentle on your clothes.
I am really interested ,were could I find a wash board ? What kind of soap/ natural product do you wash your clothing with? What do you do with the water when you are done? Sorry about all of the questions LOL
I am really interested ,were could I find a wash board ? What kind of soap/ natural product do you wash your clothing with? What do you do with the water when you are done? Sorry about all of the questions LOL I appreciate all of your advice
^ yep, and also when brushing your teeth. When I wash food, hands, etc in the kitchen sink I usu. have something else under the tap so it too gets a rinse. The only place I've found wash boards were antique stores and unfortunately they're asking for a novelty price . Not that I would wash all my clothes by hand, too much work, only the delicates and the really soiled.
http://www.carbolicsoap.com/ sells them. washboards have a little shelf at the top to put a big bar of soap on. you rub your clothes on that and then on the board. i find that dr bronners soap works really well though. i just squeeze the liquid into my wash tub and get it all sudsy, then put my clothes in, let them soak and rub them on the washboard. i really enjoy doing my laundry like this, and it gets your clothes much cleaner than using a machine too because you can see where its dirty.
ohh wow thankyou sooo much!! dr. bronners I hear about them all the time and seen it in trader joes ... is it all natural ? Is it tested on animals ? Is it vegan? Lol sorry about all of the questions lol... I really want to be more earth friendly and try to lead more of a natural life so I am just learning lol . thank you soo much
youre very welcome dr bronners is all natural and vegan and they dont test on animals. its also almost totaly fair trade. it can be a little pricey but it goes a long long way because you dont need very much to get a lather. i use it as shampoo, bodywash, dishsoap, anywhere i need something sudsy
That is really interesting, actually washing your clothes with a washboard. I will have to try that sometime. Dr. Bronners is great. I use it for all my soap needs, washing my body, hair, dishes, etc. I might try it in the laundry some day. Dr. Bronners is apparently proud of their product as it clearly states on the bottle that it is vegan, mostly organic, mostly fair trade, and never tested on animals. A bit pricy, as mentioned, but worth it, especially when you consider that most other soaps contain harmful ingredients.
I bought a sunnyland washboard today !! I got it for 15 bucks at my local antique store !! its really cool ... I was gonna get a glass one but I got the metal one instead .... once it rusts I will later go back to get the glass one ... lol I am soo excited!! lol thanks for the advice everyone !
www.lehmans.com They sell washboards, plus a lot of other simple, back-to- the- basics type things like oil lamps, woodstoves, etc. Some of their stuff is pretty pricey, but some of it is not...I've gotten some neat things from them that are very basic, and will last a lifetime and more. The store was originally started to serve the local Amish community, now they have a pretty decent (it would appear anyway) online business as well as a store in Ohio...
we are in the same pickle here as original poster is,, turning into high desert and doesnt look like it is going to get any better in near future... atla and there water woes is quite frightening to me and waiting in town for water at a later point in time does not sound at all fun to me,,, if anything seems like it could be downright dangerous.... we also have no well and are not hooked into a city water system so we already use water pretty sparingly,,,, anywho,, on top of what we already do ... i have begun washing dishes in the house in wash basins and collecting it for my indoor and outdoor plants,,, wash water goes to outdoor plants, rinse can go to the indoor ones,,, we r going to do a few more rainbarrels around the property n are also going to put more gutters and rain barrel catchments on the cabin house and anything else i can attach a gutter and spout to. .With lack of water atleast we can catch as much as possible when it does and hopefully tide us through to the next rain episode... Will also go to the solar shower if need be to further reduce our water use , would keep it to a five gallon per use shower... we currently do laundry in town but using a wash board or finding an old wringer has been on my mind as of late anyway so may even go that route a bit further on down the line...... our biggest water use by far here is the animals,,, figgering out how to ration them would be a nice thing or soonly we will be faced with a decision of animals or water for us.....
That sounds great! Sorry i kind of abandoned the thread, my read states got messed up and it didn't show new posts being made in this topic (no bold and stuff). THe Dr. Bronner's is great, I also use it on basically everything (including me ). I don't have a washboard, I just use clothes on clothes friction to get stuff out, and a rock if there's a serious stain.
I just bought some Dr. Bronners a few days ago!!! It smells amazing !!! I got hemp & peppermint and lavender & hemp they both smell great ... I used some lavender on myself a few days ago and it was great !! I cant wait intill I wash my clothing with it ... I think I will do some washing tonight
I have a great non-electric catolog that sells many supplies to the Amish people. I can't remember the name at the moment. Anyway, they sell washboards as well as other manual washing tools. One interesting item was shaped sort of like a plunger, but the wide attatchment on the end was metal instead of rubber. You use it by plunging it up and down in the wash tub with your clothes. Its shape jets the water in a certain way. If I remember correctly, the name of the company is Lehmans. I currently do not wash my clothes by hand, but I will try to do it in the future. My clothes is currently washed by others for a small fee. This is best for my current situation at this time, but things will change.
