Washing "Machine"

The subject of laundry comes up a lot when people discuss being off grid. There are so many ways to wash clothes. It saves money but takes a lot of hard work. I'm happy working hard and so is the rest of my family. I can honestly say that there is nothing better than the feeling you get from accomplishing something by the sweat of your own brow!!!

Options for doing laundry -

1) Rain barrels in the back of a pick up truck. Add clothes, water & laundry soap. Shut lid tightly and then drive around, running your errands. You don't need a lot of water & washing takes very little energy. The rinsing is done the same way, in a second barrel. The wringing out of water ... well, if you're doing it by hand that takes strength & stamina ... it's a tough job but well worth it!!! (You can always get a crank wringer too). The above picture comes from HERE It's only being used here to display how to set your rain barrels in the back of your truck.

2) Plunger/Bucket "machine" - as simple as it sounds. Get a 5 gallon bucket, cut a whole in the air-tight lid ... enough room for a plunger stick to fit through. Put clothes in, add water & soap ... plunge. Not too hard. Again, the tougher part is going to be wringing water out of the clothes. (A lid is optional but it helps to keep water from sloshing out of the bucket)

3) There's also the reliable, old fashioned washboard method. Really it isn't as hard as one thinks, especially if you let the clothes soak a few minutes. You can always use a wringer type mop bucket to wring the water out too.

The above methods are great. However, a couple take longer if you have a larger than average size family.

My personal favorite ... (and something we hope to build soon)

4) The bicycle powered washing "machine." YES ... I get so excited every time I think about building this!!! You can build two different types ... one is like a normal bike, with handle bars like in the above picture. The other is as seen in the video. (We'll be building the one in the picture above)