December 10: Last week sometime I think I mentioned “kits”. The idea is to look at each need and figure out the minimum I need to do the job (1) in a BOB, (2) at home with the power out, and (3) at home with the power on -and everything should be as uncomplicated and as tested as possible. I might also need to learn certain skills to go along with each “kit”. So far my hypothetical kits include: water, documents, cooking, heating, money-making work, food, sanitation/hygiene, lighting, repairs, gardening, basic electronics, communication, first aid/medical, clothing/textiles, defense, shelter, transportation, music, laundry. This is a rough brainstorming list and I am sure it will develop over time.
Today I’m doing something easy – laundry. I did laundry in a bathtub when my oldest was a baby (including the cloth diapers), and then wrung it all out by hand and hung it on lines strung across the living room because we were so poor I had to pick between going to the laundromat and having enough to eat (we lived above an old carriage house in Memphis, Tennessee). I have also done “bucket wash” (for both laundry and ourselves) in India. You fill a bucket 2/3 full of water (most likely cold, warm if you can get it), put in some soap (or soap nuts), and wash. Then you wring it out by hand and hang it up wherever you can find a place. We stayed at a college, in the “guest” house, which was a grade above the dorms for students (which meant it had a private bathroom). Still had to wash our clothes and ourselves using a bucket. The good part was that it only cost us the equivalent of $2.50 a night to stay there.
So my BOB would simply have (1) a length of clothesline that can be strung up somewhere, (2) a little bag of soap nuts (they last quite a while). Horse chestnuts are the equivalent in North America, but they’re a bit hard to buy. You have to harvest them yourself. Soapwort also works but, again, if you find it to buy, it’s expensive. I have some growing in my herb garden. Should dry some for the BOB next year and practice using it. And then, (3) something to wash the clothes in if there’s no bucket or stream nearby. One of those giant ziploc bags might fit the bill. I would need to test them, though.
My at-home power out kit would be my indoor and outdoor clotheslines that I already use anyway plus several buckets (soaking, washing, rinsing) and soap/detergent. The water can be used in the garden.
My at-home power on kit just adds a washing machine. Voila!
I also have some magnetic laundry thingies that greatly decrease water surface tension so that much, much less soap or detergent is needed. They can be used in a machine or a bucket.
Skills to learn: I need to learn to make soap, and also how to make lye from ashes. Actually, ashes by themselves can be used to wash dishes – the naturally occurring lye in the ashes is supposed to suds up when mixed with the grease on dishes – so I hear. I should also re-watch that episode of Tudor Monastery Farm where they do the laundry. No such thing as soap and they still got the linens clean and white by pouring diluted lye through the sheets in a big basket and then beating them on rocks with paddles in the river. 
That would certainly keep me in shape…
So I’m off to add soapnuts and giant ziploc bags to my list and put the clothesline in my BOB. Need to list things to test out, too.