HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Stanley]

You still can't beat drying outside Cathy, sheets are always better.... Not an option here though most of the time....

[PanBiker]

No way could you do it in the streets either Stanley as was the norm on a Monday morning, too many cars and not enough hooks!

The 1963 aerial photo in the other thread was taken on a Monday by the look of it, front and back streets are festooned with sheets and other washing.

[Cathy]

It makes me wonder why Monday was always washing day... I would have thought Saturday would have been better, having everyone's work and school clothes to wash and iron for Monday morning.

[Moh]

From 10am to 4pm washing had the right in the back streets. We once had visitors from Loughborough to Colne and they were taking photos' of the washing in the streets.

[PanBiker]

I think only the folk with a garden can peg out now, (wonder how many do)? Like you said Moh, no deliveries on a Monday, washing ruled, you could smell Daz and Persil in the air as well.

First machine I remember my mum having was a single tub Service with an electric mangle on the back. When dad built the kitchen extension in the early 60's she went all mod con with a Hoover Twin Tub, later replaced by an automatic which she thought was heaven.

[Stanley]

When I was doing the interviews for the LTP the two milestones in the week were washing on Monday and baths on Friday. I think it had a lot to do with full employment with long hours. The weekend, Saturday afternoon and Sunday were the only rest period. Another little known event was the rolling up of the rugs and putting them away for the week, they were only used at weekends. Some hooks still survive if you look carefully for them.

[Stanley]

Thornton Hall Farm....

[Stanley]

Washing at Hey Farm in 1976. Knickers galore!

[LizG]

It must have been bath day for Teddies too. How cute is the Teddy hanging on the line by his ear?

[Cathy]

Must have been the 'bloomers and singlets' load.
Very observant with the Teddy, Liz.

[Stanley]

With four women in the house there was a minimum of 28 pairs a week augmented of course by my budgie smugglers.

[Stanley]

Have you ever noticed that even in the cleanest house grot can creep up on you to the point where suddenly, one day, for no apparent reason it jumps out at you. That was the case the other day with my plain yellow kitchen curtains. I realised they were beyond filthy! Straight into the washer, curtain pole polished with Pledge and the curtains rehung while wet to iron them. Problem solved.....

[Stanley]

I freely admit that my house is a clutter to the untrained eye. I have so many small artefacts that all have a story for me and so they crowd in from all sides. To many people this would be anathema but no more than minimalist interiors are to me! Each to his or her own. If you do have a lot of stuff about, don't worry but reflect that the various schools of thought which advocate meditation say that it is an advantage to be surrounded by things that have meaning for you. If that's true, my house is ideal for meditations..

[Tizer]

It must be like our house, full of small objects many of which only have meaning to us. As well as such artefacts our interest in geology means we have pieces of rock and mineral all over the place too! Behind most of these things there is a second layer made up of books. A characteristic of it all is that hardly anything is of much financial value...but to us it's priceless and sometimes irreplaceable.

[PanBiker]

We are much the same bolstered by both of us having a range of hobbies and interests. We do tend to hang on to some stuff though that seemed like a good idea when it was ferreted away but is actually no good to man nor beast. The tins of paint in the cellar that we kept for touching up but are now for colour schemes long gone. I have a lot of small plastic boxes as well with useful stuff in but have no idea what is in most of them.

On the other hand our kids are semi minimalist but the eldest with two young kids has no option at the moment to practice what is in her head. Jack on the other hand has always been minimalist even when he was a kid. His idea of tidying his bedroom was a bin liner! There is an exception though at 30 years old he still has all his War Hammer figures. Oh, and we have a very large box of Lego, (adding to the clutter in our house) that we are never allowed to get rid of, apparently that is the law, told in no uncertain terms by all three of our kids when Sally tried to shove it on Ebay.

[Moh]

Can't stand clutter!
I hang my washing out weather permitting (or should I say since my hip fracture when hanging it out - hubby does it now).
We bought a twin tub washer with my maternity grant when I had our first daughter - so much better than the single tub we bought with the house.
I remember washing my daughter's white teddy and hanging him on the line - she stood underneath crying thinking I was hurting him.

[rossylass]

Not wandered in to this site for ages!
I can think of a tip which came from Quentin Crisp. When the dust in your house reaches a certain level it stops accumulating. Wee hee!!! I'll go with that!

[Cathy]

I don't like clutter, it makes me feel like my home is about to fall down on me....that's why I don't spend a lot of time in my spare room.

[Stanley]

Morning Rossy! So nice to see you popping up. Quentin said that three years was the cut off point where it ceased to build up..... I once heard him doing an interview and one thing he said is indelibly engraved on my brain. " Life is best described as an importunate dash across open country, naked and under fire".
Everyone is different, Like Tiz and Mrs Tiz, most of my clutter is of no monetary value but at the same time priceless and irreplaceable because of the memories they trigger. It suits me. One friend who visited me commented that I had 'colonised my personal space'. I think that about describes it.

[PanBiker]

Our house has been described as "homely", that will do for me.

[Stanley]

Quite.....

[Stanley]

Keep your fruit bowls well stocked. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Our grandmas knew what they were talking about!

[Stanley]

This spell of windy weather is exactly what caused the damage to my lilac not long ago. It's cut back now and is a manageable and safe size. If you have larger trees close to the house not a bad idea to have an assessment..... It could save a lot of hassle!

[Stanley]

Don't leave your empty wheelie bin out in a gale! You never know where it will end up. The bins in the back street were blown about like skittles yesterday.

[Stanley]

Don't worry if you seem to have more stuff than you can fit in your kitchen cupboards. Just park the surplus on the worktop and tell yourself that the kitchen looks lived in!