Monday, August 25, 2008

Doing the Laundry
















A peek into my daily life here in Paraguay...a lot like anyone else's! Lots of laundry!


Right off of my beautiful kitchen is my laundry room. See my BIG washing machine! I can wash about four pairs of jeans at a time. It beats a laundry mat which is what I have had to do for the last year. It takes about an hour and a half to do a wash cycle. So I am always washing something!




Next to the washer is my utility sink which I can not live without! It's great for all kinds of messy jobs.





















This is my "dryer'. It is on a pulley system and under a roof so it works on rainy days.
The roof is open on the other end so it gets lots of light and air.






















I pull the ropes which raises the racks so that they are out of the way! !
























OH! And in case Al Gore is checking...
I've already done my part to lower my carbon footprint!


26 comments:

MightyMom said...

I like having the hanging racks on a pulley....I wonder if Subvet would like that....now we have a bunch of standing racks in our garage that take up about 1/2 the space in there.

MightyMom said...

oh and why on earth does it take so long to wash 4 pair of jeans??

Starla said...

WOW!!!! That is a little washer. It looks like the perfect size to wash a baby's laundry.

Unknown said...

I can't believe how much your hair has already grown! Love the drying system and am sure ol' Al does it that way as well! (HAH)

So glad to finally have a peek into your new life! I'm still awaiting the yearbook photo though!

Also, I'm sorry I sent you a few forwards! I wasn't thinking about your slow internet at the time.

Deedra said...

How neat! We used to have a kind of "pulley" clothes line across our back yard. It made hanging the clothes out a fun job!

I'm loving the Al Gore comment! Yes you have done your part, Girl! Still are!

Thursday's Child said...

MightyMom- They take so long in those little front-loader machines. Also, they heat their own water. Instead of taking water from your water heater they heat it themselves from the tap. So that takes more time as well. I pretty much avoid using hot (or even warm) water in Lebanon unless it's the floor cloths. Due to the power situation here I don't have an electric dryer...just racks on the terrace like most others. But in Kuwait we have a small dryer which also takes forever. So I just use it for towels, sheets, and underwear. Clothes I prefer to hang dry since it's better for them anyway.

Jane said...

Great pictures. That IS a small washer. Maybe at some point you can get a bigger one! I wouldn't be TOO concerned about Al Gore.....I dare say that Tipper does NOT have to wash their clothes in a little washer OR hang them on a line to dry!!!

~Karen_ said...

I like that pulley system! We have a dryer, but it uses so much energy and heats up the kitchen in the summertime! So I have a drying rack that I put up in the bedroom with a fan blowing on it. Then I'll put them in the dryer in the evening to finish drying them or soften them up!

In the winter I do my wash in the evening, hang the clothes on the rack that I put up in the kitchen, and warm up the kitchen with the dryer in the morning!

Our washer isn't very big - 5 kgs is the weight limit (about 12 lbs)

I love the photo of doing laundry in the river!

Webutante said...

I'm afraid Al Gore isn't looking...he's too busy on his half million dollar houseboat making the world's larger carbon footprint himself.

But isn't a smaller one much more fun?

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this peek into everyday life!

Betty said...

I have a pulley system to hang my clothes too. I wouldn´t want to live without. If I can´t have a dryer at least I have this.
But there are bigger washing machines out there. (Just in case this is the landlords, I mean)

Brenda said...

I have the same system for drying my clothes and I love it!

Rita Loca said...

Betty,
Yes, it is the landlord's. My daughter has a larger one though it still seems to take a long time to wash. if I do not use hot water, it cuts the time in half.

nanc said...

this is just about how we live when we go to the cabin except we have clothslines outside - no dryer - in the winter, i hang EVERYTHING on hangers on a hanging pole by the woodstove - I LOVE IT!

pop WON'T put a clothsline up for me here at the "civilized" house - my family members are yard snobs...

Brooke said...

OK, I'm going to have to kick my carbon output up a notch to make up for your lessening.

BTW, that's a really cool laundry system! :)

Gayle said...

Al Gore certainly can't pick on you, Rita! :)

I'm guessing, but does it take that long to do a wash because of how long it takes to fill with water?

Dawn said...

That is a great way to do laundry! But it would take a lot of time.

Love the story about the baptismal service!

Findalis said...

Your dryer does more to lower your carbon footprint than Al Gore does any minute of the day.

The Local Malcontent said...

Algore would have us all walking around in dirty, unwashed clothes, and after sunset, in the dark!

What an irrelevantcy he is.

BTW, you still look happy, even doing the laundry!

Charles said...

Algor wants us to forsake techonology, except for the voting machines which give him and his type the power, and of course the internet , which he invented after all.

Dr.John said...

The drying system is also good for the clothing. It is much better than an electric dryer.

Liz said...

I really like the drying pulleys! very smart thing... I live in an apartment and have a dryer (can't live without it!) But still have some kind of indors laundry line, but yours is awesome.

I used to have one of those european washers, they do take longer time but I have to say that clothes stay in better shape. They wash with the power of the water and its movements.

I can see that you have a 'batea', which is perfect for the 'coleto' washing :D

Rita, just use the hot water for the whites or very dirty jeans.

Susan said...

What a neat clothes line. I really do like mine. Hung a load out today in the sunshine and fresh air. So nice. I don't envy you the tiny washer!!!
Susan

Most Rev. Gregori said...

That is one heck of a Dryer. Is that the latest design?

Rebecca said...

That's how our washing machine was in our last house. It always took 2 hours and if I put it on bio to take out any kind of biological stain it took more than 3. I was always washing, but I did have a dryer. Still I like your drying system and I love that you can pull it up and out of the way.

Mrs. Who said...

You have such a lovely home! So many blessings...despite the laundry situation. ;)