Doing the Laundry - Now and in the 1930's and 1940's...

 Laundry Day, Now and Then...

My fairly new front loading washer started giving me the flashing sign this week, telling me it needed to be freshened and cleaned.  I had to go find some washer "cleaner/freshener" at the grocery store that was compatible with front loading washers that require HE detergent before I could wash again.  I grumbled at the inconvenience and wondered why a washer that is designed to clean clothes, needs to be washed?  I've done laundry for 48 years and have never had to clean my washer.  As I read the instructions, I saw that you put the "cleaner/freshener" in the detergent cup, turn on the washer and wash for about 5 minutes, and then pause it for about 5 hours, before finishing.  I thought crankily, I guess I won't be washing that quilt today, after all.  I had really wanted it on the bed tonight, as we are expecting a cold front.

As I was looking through an old cookbook today, I came across an article that I had torn out of one of my favorite magazines, Country Living, November 1991 edition called :Doin' The Wash, by Mary Seehafer Sears.

Reading about women's laundry day at the turn of the century made me sorry and ashamed I was complaining about my washer. 

Ms. Sears said:  Mondays were wash day, an arduous, dusk-to-dawn undertaking.   "Wash day" usually occurred on Monday because clothes were changed for church and Sunday dinner the day before and it was just logical to do the laundry the next day.  Every woman wished for bright sunny weather on Mondays.  Clothes were soaked the night before.  On Monday, in the basement or outdoors if the weather was fine, pots were set to boiling.  Washday routine included sorting,  washing, rinsing, and wringing the clothes.  When ready, the wash was hung on outdoor clotheslines.  In bad weather, they were hung in the basement to dry--and dry--and dry. 

Ok, now I'm feeling pretty ashamed at my thoughts of my "hardship" of having to go get the washer "cleaner/freshener," waiting for the washer to clean itself, and then throwing in a load of clothes.  No boiling the water, no making starch, no rinsing, no wringing, and no walking up from the basement to hang out clothes or back downstairs to iron them. 

I remember my grandmother doing laundry for a family of five, at the age of 60 in the 1940's and 1950's.  Her wringer washer was in the basement and she had to carry each basket upstairs  inside the house and down the 5-6 stairs on the back outside stairs to hang the clothes outside.  She then gathered the dry clothes, took them back to the basement, where she ironed each piece of clothing, including bed sheets, and then carried them back upstairs to the bedroom.  This memory makes me wonder exactly how many times she climbed stairs on washday? 

I realize how privileged I am, to have a nice inside first floor washer and dryer.  My only hardship is that my washer and dryer needs to be reversed because I have to reach over the washer door to put my clothes in the laundry. When that gets switched, my laundry chores will be even easier.  I seldom visit my iron...I'm ashamed to say.

                                                        

Also, in Mary Sears' article is a copy of an anonymous note (c.1900) on display at  the Whistler Museum and Archives, in Whistler, British Columbia, entitled "Recipe for Washing Clothes"  which described washday in the following 12 steps.  

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1.  Build fire in back yard to heat kettle.

2. Set tubs so smoke won't blow in eyes if wind is pert.

3. Shove one whole cake of lye soap in boiling water.

4.  Sort things.  Make 1 pile coloured, 1 pile white, 1 pile breeches and rags.  

5.  Stir flour in cold water to smooth.  Thin down with boiling water. Starch.

6, Rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, then boil.  Just rinse and starch.

7.  Take white things out of kettle with broom handle.  Then rinse, blue and starch.

8.  Spread tea towels on grass; others on fence.

9.  Put rinse water on flower beds.

10.  Scrub porch with soapy water.

11.  Turn over the tubs to drain.

12.  Go put on a clean dress.  Smooth hair with side combs.  Brew tea. Sit and rest.

       Rock a spell.  Count your blessings.......

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Ok, I'm really ashamed.   Just imagine doing laundry for a husband, six to 12 children, and yourself.  (In those days large families were fairly common.) 

This afternoon, I'm going to sit and watch TV and blog a bit, while my new washer cleans itself.  It is raining outside and today is Saturday, but I may still have time to wash my quilt and dry it before bedtime.  Electric washers and dryers are miracle machines....and I have a new perspective on what doing the laundry means!  Piece of cake!!!

And now we know why cottages of old had back porches.....don't we?

Pleasant daydreams!  Phebe

Cottages that Grew and Grew......

A friend is fond of saying that a young couple builds a small three room cottage for the two of them, then the wife wants a back porch.  Once the back porch is built, later it will need to be screened.

Soon the couple has a child;  the cottage needs to be bigger, so the couple encloses the back porch so the baby has a room.

Gradually, the cottage grows from  3 rooms, to four rooms, etc.

Here are some photos of cottages that have apparently grown, as a family's needs increase. 

Below, a gorgeous newly renovated cottage in Marble Falls, Texas....and how it grew and grew.....  Note, the chimney on the side of the front view can be seen again in the second photo, near the front side. 

The next cottage that grew is located in the lakeside community of Highland Haven, Texas.  The cottage is on the lake and actually looks like two cottages joined together.  They are painted different colors to highlight the differences.

And third, a Fredricksburg, Texas cottage that is an eye-stopper! 

Do you wonder if it was once two log cottages, on separate lots?  How much I'd love to know the history of these three cottages.  I may have to make a return visit and ask.  If so, I will give you an update. 

and finally, although this probably doesn't qualify as a cottage, it is made of stone, and is a very old home, in Stonewall, Texas.  I'd guess it has been added on to...and I love it!

What a wonderful old country estate near the LBJ birthplace! 

I'll be back soon with Blog # 4.  Until then, Pleasant Day Dreams!  Phebe

Great Little Cottages in Central Texas

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There are many older small cottages in the Hill Country of Texas.

This stone cottage in Fredricksburg, Texas with prominent chimney is characteristic of many older Texas stone cottages.  I love the porches and red shutters.  Surely would love to see inside. 

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San Angelo is in West Central Texas.  At Fort Concho, a frontier fort and National Historic Landmark, several officers' cottages are similar to the Fredricksburg cottage in design, which makes me wonder if the dates of construction may be similar.  The officers cottages were built in the 1860's.  One is available currently for dignitaries or for overnight rental by the public.  Several have period furnishings and artwork and are open for tours. 

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Three attractive cottages are located at the LBJ National Park in Stonewall, Texas.

This red and white cottage was the home of Sam Ealy Johnson Sr.  Sam was Lyndon B. Johnson's grandfather.  This home is not open to tourists. 

Another small white cottage, where Lyndon Johnson was born and lived for his first four years has a dogtrot separating the living and child's room section from the parents' bedroom.  This home is open to be viewed through dutch doors.  Furnishings are similar in period to what was there when Lyndon and his parents lived there. 

Another small cottage sits across from the main large Johnson house, and is a home occupied by family when they visit the ranch.  It is not open for tours.

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These extremely small privately owned cottages are quaint and attractive.  I love cottage screen doors. 

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In the past 30-40 years, homebuyers have wanted larger and larger houses which caused the cottage to fall out of favor with home buyers who aspired to "Mc-Mansions" but with the housing crisis, loans difficult to obtain, and the increasing desire of some homeowners for smaller cozy homes, the more affordable cottage style in new or older cottages are likely to be in demand, especially with mid-income families.

Pleasant Day Dreams......Phebe

Post #3:  Some cottages grow and grow....

My Cottage ~ 2011

I have lived in my current cottage since 2007 when my husband and I moved here from Northwest Florida, where we had lived in a 55+ year old cottage on a bayou, a small older cottage with all the quirks,  age and mature trees that made it charming and quaint.  At our stage of life, we decided that a new cottage, without plumbing and electrical needs, would be ideal.  Our new cottage was built in 2005, and has been described as a "Gothic" cottage because of the wrought iron spear shutters, the dark stained wood trim, both inside and out, the unraked mortar,  the wooden front door, and the unique hanging lantern style light fixtures, both inside and out.  In my opinion new cottages lack charm and history that comes with age.  Folks with new cottages have to be patient, to put it mildly, and wait and work to achieve the landscaping (and hardscaping - like stone walkways) that gives an older cottage its sense of place.

My front door is a favorite feature, because it has a "speak-easy" door within the larger door to open  and greet unknown arrivals.  I also had a small removable screen built for the speakeasy door, and use it for ventilation. 

I think all cottages should have a meaningful personal name, so I have named my cottage "Lakeview Cottage" because  Lake LBJ can be seen from the front porch, driveway and front yard.   Lake LBJ is a "constant" level lake, one of the chain of six lakes, known as the Highland Lakes in the Texas Hill Country, west of Austin, Texas.

I love lots of greenery around cottages, to create a sense of privacy but this, being a very new cottage, had very little landscaping.  To further complicate my desire for appropriate cottage landscaping, this part of Texas is prone to periods of drought, followed by very wet periods. Purple vitex bushes grow well here and quickly have given me some privacy for the front porch. There are also two of the three oak trees we planted, between the vitex and the house.  Unfortunately of the 38 various trees and bushes  my husband planted our first summer, only a few remain. 

There is an arched wooden bridge in the front yard which I walk across to the mailbox. Shortly after we moved in, there was water flowing under the bridge.  The water runs to the lake at the end of the street during infrequent downpours.

                

                                                

  The backyard has been a work in progress since we arrived.

The gazebo was already there when we arrived, but the Garden Room was added this summer, with surrounding landscaping and hardscaping for privacy in place, but a lot of growing has to be done before privacy can been attained.  To help, a lattice privacy screen with metal roof was added behind the swing last month.  Sitting in the swing while it is raining is a thrill - hearing the rain fall on the metal roof and feeling cool mist on my skin -a rare treat after our 105 degree weather this summer. My swing brings back memories of sitting in my grandmother's swing under her grape arbor, back in my childhood. 

There  is much more to share about my own little cottage, but it is time to focus on other cottages, both mine from the past, as well as those older cottages where history and charm abound.  Such is hard to achieve in a new "cottage", but doesn't every cottage start out one day as a new cottage?