It’s hard to even imagine a frightful life without conveniences like a clothes washer, let alone adapt to such a scene of horror and hardship.
To get a taste of that life, I did some laundry in a bucket with a plunger.
My experiment was also functional as my washing machine lost its mind and started turning off and on, beeping uncontrollably all on its own.
It’s haunted. By obsolescence.
That’s alright. As a renter, all I needed to do was contact the property owners, and they handled the rest. But there was that laundry to be done, and I was keen to test the bucket method since I already had everything I needed.
It was labor-intensive compared to the mechanical machine we all know and love, and I worked harder than a cat trying to get its Halloween costume off.
I used a plunger to agitate the laundry, water, and soap in the bucket for a few minutes, then let it sit and soak for 10 minutes.
When I returned to the bucket, I changed the water and agitated the laundry again to rinse. I felt like a laundry zombie as I chanted "clean clothes" as if they were as desirable as fresh brains.
At that point, I was only partially done with my monstrous task—the bucket load needed to be wrung out in preparation for drying (I used the dryer because it was raining out). My biceps felt like I’d just arm-wrestled a the Hulk.
I quickly came to appreciate the spin cycle of my washer now that I was the one strong-arming the water out of the sopping laundry.
Results? The bucket method got the job done quite nicely. I was more than satisfied with how it performed, and for what it did for my upper body strength.
I’m looking forward to the washing machine being repaired or replaced soon, but I wouldn’t mind doing more in the bucket/plunger again.
As it turned out, it was more treat than trick, which was counter to what I was expecting. It wasn’t spooky at all.
Doing laundry by hand—something that millions of people do every day around the world—felt more satisfying than passively loading and unloading a washer. I felt like I really accomplished something that mattered, and that I upped my resilience factor.
Knowing I’m not completely dependent on technology felt good. It made me feel positive about the future, and that is better than a pillowcase full of candy.
What’s one convenience you’d ditch for a day to build your own resilience? Share below—we love to hear your stories.
Happy Halloween, simple livers!
To get a taste of that life, I did some laundry in a bucket with a plunger.
My experiment was also functional as my washing machine lost its mind and started turning off and on, beeping uncontrollably all on its own.
It’s haunted. By obsolescence.
That’s alright. As a renter, all I needed to do was contact the property owners, and they handled the rest. But there was that laundry to be done, and I was keen to test the bucket method since I already had everything I needed.
It was labor-intensive compared to the mechanical machine we all know and love, and I worked harder than a cat trying to get its Halloween costume off.
I used a plunger to agitate the laundry, water, and soap in the bucket for a few minutes, then let it sit and soak for 10 minutes.
When I returned to the bucket, I changed the water and agitated the laundry again to rinse. I felt like a laundry zombie as I chanted "clean clothes" as if they were as desirable as fresh brains.
At that point, I was only partially done with my monstrous task—the bucket load needed to be wrung out in preparation for drying (I used the dryer because it was raining out). My biceps felt like I’d just arm-wrestled a the Hulk.
I quickly came to appreciate the spin cycle of my washer now that I was the one strong-arming the water out of the sopping laundry.
Results? The bucket method got the job done quite nicely. I was more than satisfied with how it performed, and for what it did for my upper body strength.
I’m looking forward to the washing machine being repaired or replaced soon, but I wouldn’t mind doing more in the bucket/plunger again.
As it turned out, it was more treat than trick, which was counter to what I was expecting. It wasn’t spooky at all.
Doing laundry by hand—something that millions of people do every day around the world—felt more satisfying than passively loading and unloading a washer. I felt like I really accomplished something that mattered, and that I upped my resilience factor.
Knowing I’m not completely dependent on technology felt good. It made me feel positive about the future, and that is better than a pillowcase full of candy.
What’s one convenience you’d ditch for a day to build your own resilience? Share below—we love to hear your stories.
Happy Halloween, simple livers!
Loved your conclusion that knowing that you are not completely dependent on modern technology felt good, but not sure it matches a pillowcase full of candy. Trick-or-treat night in our town finished an hour and a half ago and there were many young ones positively THRILLED with the accumulation in their pillowcase! And I bet they would have gladly jumped in on plunging laundry in a bucket too!
ReplyDeleteWe have no dish washer here, so I wash dishes by hand everyday and rather enjoy the process. I threatened my last dryer that if it went down due to planned obsolesence that I would not replace it, so far it's working well. Knock on wood. LOL
ReplyDelete