Things are far different today when I say I have wash to do than they used to be.

Today I open the lid on the automatic washer, set a few dials or punch a few buttons, add my detergent — which incidentally now comes in pods, one per load — put the clothes in and close the lid. In twenty minutes or so the washer stops. The clothes are washed. Then you throw them into the dryer, turn a few knobs, and your clothes will dry.

If you happen to have a stain you apply extra detergent or a spot remover. Most stains come out easily.

When I grew up doing the wash was something different entirely. It meant spending a couple hours n the basement. First you filled up the washing machine with hot water – the water was so hot on ours that we used a stick to fish out the clothes.

We added soap to the washer and turned it on to agitate. Next came the filling of the rinse water. We used two tubs to get all of the soap out.

When all was ready we put clothes into the wash water. They agitated for a while then we fished them out with the stick and ran them through the wringer. The wringer was designed to get most of the suds out. Then we dumped them into the rinse water. At this point we swished them up and down getting out more suds. They went into a second rinse water to remove the remainder of the suds.

When they were rinsed to our satisfaction, we ran them through the wringer once again. They deposited into a wash basket that was just below the wringer. The wringer did not always work the way it was supposed to. Often the clothes rolled around the rolls and got tangled up. Sometimes we had to pop open the wringer to remove the clothes.

Our wash basket had wheels so that it rolled around the cellar easily. During inclement weather we hung our clothes in the basement. When it was nice we carried the basket outside to hang them up outside. The clothes smelled so good when they were air dried.

In my early days there were no automatic washers or dryers. I remember when Grandma got her first automatic washer. She wiped out the inside of it each time after it was used. She still hung out her clothes because she did not have a dryer.

When I got my first apartment my landlady took me to the basement and told me I could use her washer as long as I did not use it on Monday or Tuesday. I was young, just out of college. I have to think most girls my age knew nothing about using a wringer washer but thanks to my experiences at Grandma’s I understood what had to be done.

The model she had was a step up from what I was sued to. You ran the clothes through the wringer but then put them into a cylinder where they spun out.

While there I hung my clothes on the clothesline in the backyard. In a couple hours they’d be dry. If it was rainy I hung clothes in the basement. I was sure to remember to take them down before Monday.

Once I got married I lived next door to my in-laws. I used my mother-in-law’s automatic washer. It was not long until I had diapers to wash.

I really had to plan ahead. I made sure I washed when there were still some diapers left. There was no dryer so I hung them on the clothesline as long as the weather permitted. I was elated when we had a warm December day to hang out the diapers. It was not long until I had two in diapers so it definitely was a challenge.

Next, I moved to Hickory Heights. I started out hauling clothes to the laundromat. At least there were dryers there. Sometimes though I chose to bring home wet clothes to hang them outside. I stretched a clothesline between the porch and a tree. Another line was on my side porch so I could dry my clothes no matter what the weather.

Once we poured a couple cement pads in the basement, I was able to get an automatic washer. I could not get a dryer because of our antiquated electrical system. Nothing had been done to the electricity since it was put in in the late 1940s.

I chose a freezer over a dryer. I was able to preserve a lot of food that way. When there were hayers to feed I went to the freezer to check my stash.

When the children went to college I still did not have a dryer. Each of them brought home clothes to be washed only one time. Bad weather kept their clothes from drying so they took wet clothes back to school.

During the winter I still hung clothes outside. I became very adept at handling clothespins with gloves on. The clothes freeze-dried. When I took in the coveralls they stood up in the corner and gradually melted and slid to the floor. From there, they went on my indoor drying rack. As long as it was just me at home I put the rack in front of the Franklin fireplace and they dried faster.

Today I have both a washer and a dryer tucked neatly away behind some folding doors in my downstairs bathroom.

When I have wash to do I just dump the clothes into the machine. Then, I wait until they wash, then toss them into the dryer and turn the knobs.

I got tired just thinking about how hard life used to be.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.