The clothes were scrubbed against the washboard to remove the stains and grime.
How nice it is to drop a load of laundry in the washing machine, then go back to the book or TV, relax, while the laundry is being done! In the days before washing machines were affordable and widespread, lots of elbow grease were required on laundry day. Here’s an except from my upcoming book “Kampung Memories”:
“In those days, laundry was done manually or completely by hand. Washing machines were not in the picture at all. Most households had a person designated to do all the laundry, or often a washer-woman offered her service to the households.
The woman would come to the house several times week to do the laundry. I remember we once had a washer-woman who was quite a fascinating character. She was a stout lady, friendly but did not talk much. She often rolled a cigarette after she had done her washing, stood with one hand on her hips and smoked while seemingly lost in her thoughts. Even as a kid, I could see that she was a tough lady, not easily intimidated or ordered around.
One of the laundry items that caught my attention and imagination as a child was nila or indigo, a product that makes white clothes whiter and brighter. At that time, not only schoolchildren wore white shirts and blouses, many men also wore white shirts to work.
Nila was sold as a blue-colored soap bar. You cut a small slice and mixed it in a pail of water. It would turn the water a bright blue, and I enjoyed waiting for that “magical” moment. The white clothes which had been washed would be dipped in the blue water for a final rinse, then hung on the clothesline to dry.”
I remember that blue chalky substance. White sheets look the whitest!
Thanks for sharing this interesting snippet.
Those were the days… eh? Not always bright and beautiful but lots of hard work.
One good thing about the hard work – it made people resourceful.:)
Ah, I smiled as I read this post. For your information, I still use ‘blue’ as we call it in Ghana, to make all my white linen whiter or ‘blue white’, including white singlets and pants of my three boys and husband. I don’t have a washing machine, because I don’t want the boys to be lazy. So we do our own laundry (the underwears, bedsheets and the light-coloured clothes). We have two wash women who come in twice a week to do the heavier stuff.
Doing the laundry with the boys over the weekend is one moment that I look forward to; it gives me the opportunity to bond with them as we crack jokes, converse and have fun while working.
Thank you for a very interesting perspective on this topic. Bonding with your boys this way is a wonderful idea!
LOVE this post as um, well, I wash all my clothes by hand (and sure wish I had that scrubbing board and that blue soap!). It’s because I learned years ago that washing machines and dryers (especially dryers) tend to wear down our fabrics, and because of my delicates (and cheapie nature to pay $1.25 per load, otherwise, I totally machine washed all the time), it definitely brings me back to the good ol’ pioneer days. My headscarves last longer too, still vibrant after ten years of the same one (they just don’t sell the ones I like anymore).
Anyhow, thank you for visiting and following my posts. I’m really looking forward to following yours!
Pink.
Good to meet you. And thanks for the comment.:)
Your post is so nostalgic…transports me back to my childhood…. watching my nenek doing the laundry…. the smell, the sounds and the stories she told…..ahh….thank you for bringing me back
You’re most welcome!
Parabéns!Teu blog é muito interessante!
Muito obrigada!