Laundry. I love
it. The word, concept, process, and
result.
What I don’t understand is why it is that so many people
seem to hate it. As in “Ugh! I spent all afternoon doing laundry.” I don’t understand why putting clothes into
piles and periodically putting them into machines and pushing buttons is arduous. I don’t understand why folding a basket of
clean, dry clothes takes more than 5 minutes – a perfect little occupation
while watching the news. And I don’t
understand why one would acquire clothing that is too difficult to care
for. (I hate ironing and therefore won’t
purchase anything that needs ironing.) But
back to my love of laundry.
First of all, laundry is a great word. So much better than “doing the wash”. A special word for the cleaning of clothes
and similar items.
Secondly, the concept of laundry is fascinating. What is laundry? It is clothing (and other textiles) that is
in the process of going from dirty to clean, unusable to usable. You do not wear laundry. Laundry is either dirty clothes in a pile
waiting to be washed, clothes being washed, or clothes that need to be dried,
folded, or put away. Once it is in your
drawer, it is no longer laundry. It has
magically transformed back into clothes.
But the process of doing laundry is weirdly fascinating. You add soap to water, throw in the clothes,
swish everything around and see the water turn that murky brown color. When I am using a washing machine, I cannot
resist the urge to open the top and peak in for the satisfaction of seeing the
brown water, or stand in front of the front loader’s window and watching the
clothes circle the machine, proof that the clothes I get back will be cleaner
than those I put it. Doing laundry by
hand, a task that is more time intensive and laborious also has the
satisfaction of that dirty water, and also the dirt collected at the bottom of
the wash basin.
I first did laundry by hand in Bulgaria in 1997. One day, when I had first arrived in
Bulgaria, I was having lunch with a friend who said something like “you know
when you’re scrubbing your jeans with that little brush…?”. Having never washed clothes by hand, yet not
wanting to admit it, I nodded. Several
days later, as my pile of dirty clothes grew and clean clothes diminished, I
went to the outdoor market, purchased a small brush, and decided this was the
secret to washing clothes by hand. That
first time I washed jeans, I was fascinated to see, after having allowed the
jean to soak, the dirt at the bottom of the washing tub.
In Russia, I washed much of my laundry by hand (with the
exception of sheets and towels – which I brought to a local woman working at a
hotel). I would put hot soapy water in
the bathtub, throw in the clothes, swish everything around, and then go out for
the afternoon, letting them soak for hours.
When I returned, the dirt would be at the bottom, I would use my little
brush to scrub a few items that I knew needed special attention, rinse, ring
out, and hang the items on pipes to dry.
(The drying process was faster in the winter when the pipes were
heated.)
In Ghana, while there for a one-month fellowship, I went out
one day, bought a little brush in the market, and each evening would wash the
day’s clothes on the shower floor.
Others who hadn’t done laundry by hand before were intrigued and also
started to try to do laundry by hand.
In Georgia, I lived in places with washing machines, but
when our machine in Tbilisi broke, I pulled out the wash basin and a little
brush.
Now in Liberia, I have asked a local woman to wash for me on
Thursdays. But, for some reason,
possibly due to the use of a washing board, I find that my clothes are getting
a little too beaten up. So, I decided
that she can do the sheets, towels, and any items that I don’t care too much
about. And I will do the clothing items
I want to keep for a bit longer.
I know that the first thing I will do when I get home is
fill a washing machine with clothes and soapy water and watch the dirt fall
from the clothes into the water. And
then use that miraculous machine called a “dryer” to, in under an hour, dry
everything. In less than two hours, all
my items will go through the transformation from dirty, unwearable items to
items in the process of being cleaned to items that can be put away or
worn.
And what do I get at the end of this process? Not simply clean clothes. But the opportunity to wear my favourite
items again. Because most of us wear our
favourite items first, dirtying them, and transforming them into laundry. I would argue that most loads of laundry
include favourite items that we are waiting to wear again. Favourite jeans, favourite shirts, favourite,
as a friend would say, “unmentionables”.
Laundry. What could be more satisfying?
