The Ornery Old Lady's Tackle It Tuesday

Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

Before you start throwing things at me for the motivational poster, I am far from the sort of person who does those awful "YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY STOPPING THAT STINKIN' THINKIN' AND BEING A HAPPY CHAPPIE WITH A TERRIFYING GRIN FROZEN ON YOUR PSYCHOTIC FACE LIKE ME!!!11!!!" posts. Tackle-It Tuesday is part pep talk (with none of the blamey-shamey rubbish that no-one appreciates or needs) and part reveal of the exciting things going on in my wackadoodie world. Shall we begin?

So, what are you tackling today, Ornery?

Well, Readers, on Thursday the drainage hose on my washing machine decided to pull out of the drain pipe and lay on the floor, spilling water everywhere, so I ended up with wet, nasty carpet. For some reason, I thought that throwing towels on that would help. It didn't. Now I just have nasty, dirty towels to clean.

Since I can't use the washing machine again until the problem is fixed (apparently, part of the hose is missing and I could not tell you to save my life where it went--possibly down the drain) I am using the two big buckets and a hand agitator method to wash things. Since I don't have a working dryer either, and since I have had issues with getting a decent laundry rack up in here, I've been hanging my items over the front porch railing to dry enough that they won't drip all over the carpet. Then I bring them in here and hang them over a floorboard leaning up against the living room stair rail.

I've declared that these towels are not going to be used to dry humans again. They are going to be shop towels or possibly bath mats. But I still need to get the overt dirt out.

For small, less filthy loads, the two-bucket and hand agitator method works like this:

You will need two ten-gallon buckets. Put in your detergent and any laundry additives of choice. I add vinegar to my laundry. For a load this small, you only need about 1/8 cup.

Add 5 gallons of water.

Press the clothes into the water. Then press the hand agitator repeatedly into the bucket of clothes for 30 seconds. Rest, repeat for another 30 seconds. It feels a bit like using a plunger to wash your clothes.

Fill the second bucket with 5 gallons of water. Swap the clothes into the clean water. Press the hand agitator into the water for 30 seconds.

I repeat the rinse step two more times to get the detergent out of the clothes.

With modern washing machines able to adjust water levels to the load size, I don't think this method saves much on water. It does save on electricity. It also saves on going to the laundromat if you're currently in a situation without a washer, like I am. You can do small loads of clothes rather than having to wait until you have a full load.

So, where can I get 10-gallon buckets and a hand agitator, Ornery?

Grover can get them for you here in his Ghostly General Store! Don't take the 10-gallon hat, though. That one is his.

~Cie the Ornery Old Lady~

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