Truck Wash

A new way to do laundry.

From the title of this blog, you didn’t actually think that we washed the truck, did you? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just following up on a suggestion from a reader.

A couple of weeks ago, a woman named Babz contacted me about an old trick from Mother Earth News. She had been hand-washing laundry as well, and had used this technique for several years.

Now, washing clothes by hand is not something I mind at all. In fact, it’s kind of relaxing: physical work that requires next to no concentration, so you’re free to think and dream of other things. That said, it is time consuming and as the kids get bigger, the loads will increase as well.

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Anyway, I’ve been meaning to try this out ever since Babz recommended it, but never got around to it until yesterday. It’s very simple.

Fill a five gallon bucket half full with water.
Add a little soap.
Put as many clothes as you can fit without overfilling.
Put the lid on firmly, and even tie it down with an extra wire.
Tie the bucket to the truck.
Take the kids to school.

This was obviously very appealing to me, as our road is so bumpy that the clothes would be super agitated. I got to school, emptied out the soapy water and filled it up with clean. I then went home. After wringing out the clothes, I hung them on the line.

It worked great. Got everything clean, even the grubby little 2 year old’s stuff. The real test will be to try out some of Abe’s clothes after he’s been working with metal. May have to soak those overnight!

Thanks, Babz.