There used to be a song that children sang (particularly girl children) that started out "This is the way we wash our clothes". It listed the various household chores and what day of the week they were done, in a song. Of course, it wasn't always followed, but was a rather lofty standard that women would try to hold up to. Perhaps it gave some order to their days out on the lonely homesteads when the closest neighbours were several miles away. Perhaps it helped keep track of what day it was. Perhaps it was meant to give meaning and continuity to a world awash in strangeness and confusion for women who had arrived from another country, only to find they were alone in a strange place with no support.
"This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our clothes, wash our clothes,
this is the way we wash our clothes early Monday morning.
This is the way we iron our dress, iron our dress, iron our dress,
this is the way we iron our dress so early Tuesday morning.
This is the way we scrub the floor, scrub the floor, scrub the floor,
this is the way we scrub the floor so early Wednesday morning.
This is the way we mend our socks, mend our socks, mend our socks,
this is the way we mend our socks so early Thursday morning.
This is the way we sweep the house, sweep the house, sweep the house,
this is the way we sweep the house early Friday morning.
This is the way we make our bread, make our bread, make our bread,
this is the way we make our bread early Saturday morning.
This is the way we go to church, go to church, go to church,
this is the way we go to church early Sunday morning."
These days, we are lucky to find the time to do all these things, and have devised ways to NOT have to do some. Whether it is good, bad, or indifferent, we tend to throw things away instead of mending them, and purchase clothes that do not need ironing. Our washing machines are set up to operate themselves once the clothes are loaded, and once that cycle is finished, they go straight in to the dryer. We no longer need to soak the soiled clothes for hours and then scrub on a scrubbing board (or find a rock in the river to use). We don't need to haul water for miles, nor do we need to make our own soap or go through the tedious process of hanging clothes on the line, worrying about it raining on them when they are almost dry, and then ironing out the wrinkles. An excellent video from the Elgin History Museum on old style washing methods and equipment is available. Also, a three part video series on laundry in the 18th Century showing the evolution of tools used to get clothes cleaner - faster - easier. The fourth video goes over the combinations of chemicals to make soaps and stain removers. These last four videos are put together by Townsendsplus who have a great many interesting videos available on historical processes.
As far as floors go, we run around with the vacuum and then a 'wet-jet' or the like, and consider it done. The bread we pick up at the grocery store on our way home. We are told this is progress.... but is it progressing in a way that is good for our health and well-being? There was a certain amount of serenity when doing the tasks manually. Scrubbing cloth, ironing, taking small stitches to mend things, all gave us time to contemplate the ways of the world - to add an extra layer of depth and excitement to our dreams for the future. The aroma of fresh, clean laundry hauled in off the clothesline is exquisite. There is no way to duplicate that with manufactured smells. And, there is nothing better than the smell of fresh, baked bread! But we are moved forward with new gadgets to try to 'save time'.
During the early 1900's running water was a luxury. Most families had to heat water up on their coal or wood stove. If you were lucky, you had a proper bathtub to bathe in that was in a separate room. Many were just tubs brought in the home and set next to the stove where everyone took their turn. The men of the Sicamous had the convenience of running hot water (heated by the steam from the boiler) to shower after a day of work shovelling coal or greasing engine parts, but if the boiler dropped below a certain pressure, they would get a sudden decrease in water temperature as the cold water took precedence over hot!
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