When we embarked on the East Wing project, Mark floated the idea of using a bit of the extra space opened up in the trailer to put in a modern washing machine.  At first, the idea seemed okay, but the more I thought about it, the more I clung to my wringer washer.

On summer days, doing laundry in the wringer washer is pure joy.  I sink my hands in the soapy water to pull out a shirt, pass it through the wringer into the rinse water, then back through the wringer into the laundry basket.  Later, I hang up the load in the sunniest spot of the yard, shared by our three bee hives, and the workers come to explore the damp clothing.  Now and then, a guard bee gets pissed off at me working five feet from her door and she buzzes me until I back off a bit, before trying again.

In the winter, laundry can be a bit tricky, but the experience is almost more enjoyable.  Once the laundry basket starts to fill up, I scan the ten day weather forecast looking for the most sunny, beautiful day.  Here in zone 6, there's generally at least one beautiful day per month, even in the dead of winter, and looking forward to laundry on that day makes it extra special.  Since we dry our clothes on the line, we need that warm day anyway to suck moisture from the clean clothes, and I suspect that if we got a washing machine, I'd soon be ignoring the weather and buying a drier.  Meanwhile, wringing each piece of clothing by hand reminds me to wear our clothes until they're truly dirty rather than dropping a clean sweather in the laundry basket after one light wearing.  Plus, the wringer washer drains completely by gravity, so it can be left outside all winter rather than taking up heated space in the house.

I know that Mark was trying to save me work by offering a modern washing machine, but right now I feel like I don't want to set foot on that slippery slope.  Maybe I'll change my tune in February....