"Laundry" (In the Old Days)

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Friend of mine from Indiana just sent me this one, thought I'd share it here. -Chelsea

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Laundry

Many years ago a Kentucky grandmother gave a new bride the following recipe for washing clothes....

1. Bilt fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water.

2. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert.

3. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in bilin water.

4. Sort things, make 3 piles. 1 pile white, 1 pile colored, 1 pile work britches and rags.

5. To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with bilin water.

6. Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and then bile. Rub colored, don't bile, just rinch and starch.

7. Take things out of kettle with broomstick handle, then rinch, and starch.

8. Hang old rags on fence.

9. Spread tea towels on grass.

10. Pore rinch water in flower bed.

11. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.

12. Turn tubs upside down.

13. Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

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Print this out and tack it up over your automatic washer. When you're feeling overwhelmed with housework, read through, brew a cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), December 14, 2001

Answers

Response to "Laundry"

Thank You Chelsea, I just love that. Got any more like it?

-- Debbie in Mo (risingwind@socket.net), December 14, 2001.

Response to "Laundry"

My Grandmother laid her wet sheets in the grass in the sun to bleach them.

-- Susan (smb7705@aol.com), December 14, 2001.

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