Doin' Laundry

Historically, Monday was Washday. I can remember the smell of Lye soap and sheets frozen hard as a plank being brought in and hung over doors and chairs to finish drying. The sharp smell of "clean cotton" pervaded the house. I remember my mother's red, cracked hands making supper amid these sheets and towels. I do not remember any complaints. But the memory I miss the most was the smell of air-dried sheets and pillowcases. If you want to experience "Our Canadian History" just hang a set of bedding outdoors to dry!

Laundry Advice to A Bride from Her Grandmother Circa 1800 (sic)

Bild a fire in back yard to heat kettle of rain water
Set tubs so smoke won't blow in your eyes if wind is pert.
Shave 1 hole cake soap in biling water.
Sort things-make two piles, 1 pile white, 1 pile cullord.
Stur flour in cold water, to smouth, then thin down with bilin water.
Rub dirty spots on boaed, scrub hard, then bile, rub cullord but don't bile- just rench
Take white things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then rench, blew, and starch.
Spred towels on grass.
Hang rags on fence,
Pore rench water in flower bed.
Scrub porch with hot soapty water.
Turn tubs up side down.

Go put on a clean dress - smooth hair with side combs - brew a cup of tea - set and rest and rocka spell and count your blessing.

Editors note: The term SIC is a literary one which is used to indicate that a word has been purposely misspelled. Normally it is used after the word but since there are many purposely misspelled words in this passage we did our "sic'ing" at the beginning.

To students who are planning to submit reports and essays, you should know that just putting SIC at the beginning of your work does not excuse bad spelling!