Brielle's Avalon

Ugh! I hate it when my house elves are on vacation! My clothes washer died, so today I did the laundry in the tub for the first time in years! It wasn’t that hard, just more time-consuming than when the washer worked. Did I mention I really miss my house elves? Anyway, for future reference, and if this ever happens to you, this is how I did it.

My clothes didn’t have any special stains, so I didn’t have to pre-treat anything and went straight to washing. Sort your laundry.

Measure soap

Put the plug in the tub, measure the laundry soap for 1 load and turn on the water.

Swish and dissolve

Swish it all around until dissolved.

Kitchen towels first

Add the most sensitive things that need to be cleanest first, like kitchen towels and dishrags. Get them thoroughly wet and let them sit a few minutes to  loosen any dirt and stuff. Now jostle them around. You get to be the agitator. Check them and when all the stuff is off then squeeze them out and set aside by the sink.

Set aside in or by the sink

Shirts next

Next put in the shirts. Soak for a bit, jostle/agitate, squeeze, put in the sink. Now repeat the process for all the wash, lightest dirt-things to dirtiest. Underwear, pants, socks. Basically head to toe. If the water gets too dirty then change it and start a new load.

Wash in sink waiting to be rinsed

When everything is  washed and waiting in the sink, drain the tub, rinse and start the rinse cycle i the same order as the wash. Kitchen things, shirts, etc.

Rinse cycle

Put them in the tub, add water, jostle until they’ve gotten soap out, then wring/squeeze/press against side of tub. Right. I should have photographed that one…I’ll try to remember next washday.

Line dry til they stop dripping

As you rinse each batch, take them out and hang them on the line. Let them drip for about an hour before putting them in the dryer. They really are still VERY wet. When they’re ready for the dryer, grab a clean, dry washcloth, put a bit of perfume on it and throw it in the dryer with the clothes before turning it on. They’ll smell great. Or you could just let them finish drying on the line.

Everyone should have a clothesline. I hide my clothes lines in my arbour. Now to raid the kitchen for dinner.