…is frequency.
I’ll remember that advice with a bitter sneer in a few months when I’m heating water on the stove and trying to pound sweatshirts clean in my kitchen sink. But for now, a sunny day without (or even with) shit-shoveling duties is likely to be laundry day. A week is a long time to let it build up, when you’re washing it by the bucket-load.
Kind reader AS sent me a box of prosthetic parts, some of which I can’t use and some I might be able to use but don’t really know how. But one thing I do understand is stump socks. I moved out here with a bunch of good wool socks and they last well, but that was eight years ago and they don’t last quite that well. And they’re expensive. A new stump sock in the right size, in the right thickness, is precious as gold and he sent me a few.
Last night I found out he did more than that. I got an email from a prosthetist he’d contacted on my behalf, offering parts and advice. I replied very promptly with pix and specs on what I’ve got, which really is starting to need refurbishment. So that happened, and I’m very appreciative.
I can’t imagine trying to do the laundry in bucket, though I’ve done it in a sink a time or two. I do remember the wash set up we had when I lived in Mexico long ago. It was a small wringer type washer with an old chain saw motor attached to move the agitator. We had to fill it and empty it manually (cold water from a hose in and another hose to drain it), and wring the clothes in the rollers, but it sure did a great job under the circumstances. Don’t suppose there’d be any old wringer washers availale now outside of an antique store. But it’s a thought. Or, maybe, just find a bigger tub somewhere. A bucket would be the pits, I’d think.
Glad to hear about the improvement in your prosthesis situation. Here’s hoping the guy can set you up good. 🙂
Always a plusgood bellyfeel at the gulch!
The older-style wringer washers are available, but tend to be surprisingly pricey (check Lehman’s Hardware). Probably cheaper to just get a mop bucket wringer and mount it on a tub.
I’ve done laundry various ways, including scrubbing clothes on rocks by a stream. So far as buckets go, Joel might want to consider getting a 30 gallon Rubbermaid-type garbage can or two — generous donations permitting. You can do more laundry at once, and lose less water to sloshing
Believe it or not, guys, I stick to the 5-gallon buckets for a practical reason. One U.S. gallon of water weighs in the neighborhood of 8.5 pounds. A full mud bucket contains something over three gallons before sloshing, which is manageable weight. A trashcan would make for more comfortable washing but would contain a more-than-practical amount of water.
That – plus cost – is why I’ve stayed away from big washtubs. Lehman’s makes a pair of drainable 21-gal tubs with a rack, on which a wringer can be mounted, and that would be heaven on earth but it would cost more than $350 in total and I could spend that much money much more advantageously elsewhere. (They also have an old-fashioned wringer washer, but it’s just this side of $1000.)
Joel, complete this thought…if Claire can get a new roof…
Yeah, but that’s a well I don’t want to go to very often. Less than a year ago reader contributions bought me my eye surgery. I’m not going to hold a fund raiser for every little thing. Maybe next year when I can’t go without siding any longer.
Joel, any publication date on the new book? Price?
You wash a sweatshirt in those tiny buckets? Or jeans? Wow. That’s world class technique.
The book might be out in a month or two, there are some issues. It’ll be about $2.99, I think.
And washing sweatshirts in a five-gallon bucket is a breeze. It’s doing it in a sink that’s hard.