Winter Wash Day of Old

Tuesday was wash day here when I was growing up, but with the weather like it is today it would not do to wash. Winter washing back then was not done weekly — partly because of the weather. In the 1930’s and ’40’s — with no washers and dryers and even without electricity — bathing was only done on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings; therefore washing need not be done as often. In our case on Sunday morning with a fire going in the cook stove, a wash tub would be brought in, water drawn from the well and then heated on the stove and the baths were taken right there where it was warmer.

Well, as usual I digress. In that day clothes had to be hung on the clothesline to dry and this damp, dark day would not be weather for drying. Beds were not changed like they are today either. We used double cotton blankets — and what I mean by double is the blanket was long enough to begin at the head of the bed, go to the foot and then fold back to the head of the bed. They were not wide enough to tuck under the mattress and I’m sure some mornings the bottom blanket would be wadded up. These blankets were not as easy to wash as sheets are — thus, the need for a sunshiny day and they were sometimes few and far between. I used to have a friend whose grandmother lived in Habersham County, Georgia — deep in the mountains of north Georgia — and she said they always went to visit her grandmother the pretty spell in February. Well maybe that’s when country people had weather fit to wash in, too.

Lots of quilts were used also — we said there were so many quilts on the bed that we couldn’t turn over. LOL Washing of quilts was not done ’til springtime when they had good hot sun for drying.

Towels were made of guaner (guano) sacks and there were enough of them to last from wash day to wash day.

As far as wearing apparel — I expect my daddy worn the same longhandles,shirt and overalls all week (and maybe even longer). I remember that Mother washed my underwear daily so I would have fresh clothes to wear to school. Lightweight things could be hung by the fire to dry and that’s what happened with diapers and the baby clothes when the weather was bad.

There’s no place for me to stop with my telling of tales, but this is how it was with that kind of country living.