Comments on: Answering Questions..Laundry

By: The Prudent Homemaker

The Prudent Homemaker — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:55:45 +0000

When I lived in Europe, we had washing machines in our apartments, but no dryers.
We hung all of our clothes indoors to dry (we didn’t have balconies). We hung them on a drying rack.

While I have a dryer now, I also use my drying rack several times a week to dry items that cannot go in the dryer.

In Europe, though, everything was hung up that way, including towels. Towels are stiff when done, but they are clean. We only had one drying rack, but it would have been really helpful to have had 2. They fold up and don’t take up a lot of room, so even in my tiny apartments I could find a place to put it.

By: Bellen

Bellen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:24:43 +0000

As an alternative to the bucket/plunger would be to do the laundry in the bathtub and have people do the ‘grape stomp’ on them. Great fun for kids. Remember, however, in times of electric outage you may not have water either – electricity powers the water system.

Solar ovens – well, I live in Florida so usually the sun it out more than not, however, after Hurricane Charley we only had a gas grill. It was the kind with the side burner and regular grill. It was truly a life saver as we had to use it for several weeks. The MUST do with any grill – gas or charcoal- is to use it OUTSIDE away from anything combustible. People seem to get ‘stupid’ in times of emergencies. We always had an extra propane tank for the grill so we did not run out.

Back to the solar oven – I recently found a recipe/instructions for baking a pie in it. Next on my list to try. Currently we have cooked muffins, bread, biscuits, chili, sloppy joes, pot roast with potatoes and carrots, lasagne, BBQ ribs & chicken, any kind of chicken including whole ones, pork roast, tuna casserole by adding extra water to cook the macaroni, beef stew, clam chowder, vegetable soup coffee and tea. While we’ll probably never recoup the cost, about $250, knowing we will be able to have a normal life during an emergency is priceless. And, we also use the solar oven almost everyday.

By: Jeanette W

Jeanette W — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:29:29 +0000

This year where I live it has rained and rained and rained. Last year and the year before I had used my solar oven many many times by now. This year on the first day of summer it rained all day. Since the first of January I have probably used my oven twice. Last year I probably used it almost every day since the first sunny day in May by this time.
The best solar oven is the brand that is used at the base camp of Mt. Everest. That is the kind I use. I have used it in January when the outside temperature was 14 degrees F. There is about a four hour daily window when the oven can be used in the winter. There is about a 12 hour daily window when it can be used six weeks on either side of the summer solstice in my area. For me with daylight savings time high noon is 1:30 p.m. That is when the oven is the hottest. Bright clear days right after a storm in winter or summer when there are no clouds are when the oven is hottest. My oven will easily get to 425 degrees F. during these times.
I use cut squares of pressed board to tip my oven further than it would normally tip in order to use it as early as 8 a.m. and as late as 8 p.m. The squares are stacked front and back by increments as I turn the oven every 15 minutes if I am trying to keep it at maximum temperature. I can also cook in the middle of the day at position it to the place where it will have the highest heat about midway during the time I am gone.
My oven is not large and will only use the same pans that are used in a toaster oven. It takes me 3 hours to bake one normal batch of cookies. Normally that would only be two regular cookie sheets in a kitchen oven. By the same token the oven is easy for me to lift and carry. I would not bother if it were any bigger as I have arthritis. It weighs 21 pounds and that is my limit.
So, if one wanted to cook for a larger group of people one could have more ovens. I gave an oven to all of my children. If we have a get-together we can cook a lot with all of the ovens. If you have a big family at home maybe you could get or make more ovens. Ovens can be made with cardboard boxes. You would also need to have enough extra pans with more ovens.
On cloudy days, especially if there is an extended rainy season you do need to have other options. That is what preparedness is about–as many options as you can possibly create for yourself ahead of time.

By: Dulce

Dulce — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:22:18 +0000

I am so glad that you covered the laundry question! I have often wondered how we would handle that situation. It’s cheap and sounds much easier than a washboard. The kids could do the aggitating and burn some energy. Two birds with one stone.

By: SuperMom

SuperMom — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:09:45 +0000

One inexpensive and often free source that I’ve found for pails are the bakery departments of stores that ice their own cakes. Now not all stores will sell or give you their used pails, but it never hurts to ask politely. And if it’s a free source, I try not to ask too often as I don’t want them to think that I’m taking advantage.

The WalMart a mile away from me recycles theirs, but the WalMart on the other side of town sells their empty pails complete with lids for $1.

And not all pails are created equal. I’ve found the best quality pails with heavier plastic and wire handles I get from Food Lion and WalMart. I use those for both short and long term food storage. For short term, I use the smaller pails and the larger ones I use for long term with mylar bags inside.

The Kroger pails I’ve gotten have plastic handles and the lids don’t have rubber gaskets, but that wouldn’t matter it you were going to use them for making a laundry bucket or for storing non-food items.