As I was vacuuming the rig this afternoon (which I hate), I got to reminiscing about clothes and bathing. Weird combination, I know, but with such a mundane task my mind wanders. Maybe it’s because I keep the vacuum in my clothes closet? Anyway, my mind wandered back to my growing up years in Chicago.
(Still plenty of berries around here for my avian friends.)
I didn’t have much of a closet for clothes growing up, and I had to share a dresser with my sister. I seem to remember that whatever I wore for school on Monday, I wore for the rest of the week. The only thing my mother taught me to change each day was my socks. I remember being shocked when Michael Jelonick, the son of a Polish couple, moved into our German neighborhood. He wore one pair of socks all week!
Bathing was accomplished on Saturday nights with the water in the tub being shared with my younger brother. When I was a young teen, I acquired a new sister, and we were each allowed to have our own bath water, but then I had to share the bedroom, closet, and dresser upstairs.
Skip ahead to my working years, and I showered daily and wouldn’t be caught dead wearing the same clothes two days in a row. Perhaps things come full circle, as I now continue to bath more often than once a week, but unless clothes get dirty, I tend to wear them more than one day.
It seems to me we left a smaller carbon footprint back in the day, and I don’t remember anyone smelling too terrible.
So, my friend Jack just called and he drove all the way here from Rockport, TX, in one day. He said it was only 638 miles! Egad! We’ll be meeting up tomorrow morning to hunt down some long-leafed pine needles for his pine needle basket weaving hobby. Basket weaving… just don’t think I can go there, but hunting down the longest and best needles is something I can get into.
I’ll be happy to get out and about tomorrow and quit for a while with the normal chores. And by the way, I bathe and change my underwear and socks daily…
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
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George Stoltz commented ---
ReplyDeleteJudy,
I think this is the first blog I've ever read in which the writer described their bathing habits and when they changed their undies. Not sure what I should do with that information. (grin)
Until I was about 5, we bathed in a big wash tub in the basement (once a week). After that dad remodeled the main floor. Took a little off the living room and a little off a bed room, and made a bathroom. We were styling. I also remember going to school one day, and one of my classmates did something wrong, Sister spanked him in front of the class, (1956) and dust came out of his pants. We were afraid to even giggle for fear we would be next. Thanks for jogging my memory.
ReplyDeleteClean under-ware every day and a shower every other does it for me!
ReplyDeleteI had a friend who made those pine needle baskets - they were time consuming and she had sore fingertips, but they were beautiful! She made quite a bit of money at Christmas time selling those baskets at gift fairs.
ReplyDeleteLAUGHING!! In this case I believe discretion is the better part of valor and so I will forego a detailed comment lest I reveal similar childhood memories...hahahaha
ReplyDeleteI wear clothes until they are dirty or too wrinkled, and that could be after one day or several. A lot of Americans don't have a worry in the world about conserving water and other resources required to do a load of laundry. That is one thing I like about the countries in Europe that I know something about - they tend to not waste near as much as we do.
ReplyDeleteA couple of days ago I saw something on TV about a woman who wove the pine needle baskets. They were gorgeous!
I'm with you on saving resources. Guess that's all I'll say on that topic. But a 600+ mile drive day, whew. That's a friend who really wants to see you.
ReplyDeletesaving resources is a good idea..around here we wear the same 'happy pant ensemble'..our after work attire until Friday..that is our contribution to saving on laundry!
ReplyDeleteYou're supposed to change your underwear??? Once again, you've educated me!
ReplyDeleteOh, I want to see pics of the pine baskets please. Emma looks quite serious in her photo. Ahhh, childhood memories. Grew up in an old 100 year old farmhouse as a country kid. No plumbing till I became a teen! Wow, amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to be reverting a bit too. Definitely shower more than once a week but like you if it isn't very dirty it gets worn again -all except the socks and undies, my mom would haunt me from the grave if I didn't change those daily. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember my Mom saying she was glad she had two boys because one would change his shirt but not his underwear then the other would change his underwear but not his shirt so when she hung laundry out back it at least looked balanced. :)
ReplyDeleteThis brought back memories of my childhood:) On our farm, we had no indoor plumbing. Bathing involved someone hauling the water. So you had to be dirty to get a bath. Not sure about how long we wore are clothes, but I suspect it was a lot longer than one day!
ReplyDeleteI would not like to return to those standards, but I think most of the world would be shocked about how we waste good drinking water:(
And always make sure your underware are clean and hole free incase you get hit by a car or something and get rushed to the hospital. (my mom's thing) :-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting stroll down memory lane for a lot of folks with this one my friend! I word my clothes more than one day growing up and still do. Now, it's determined by whether or not I get food dropped on them. That happens when you get old. ;o)
ReplyDeleteAs for the unmentionables, which everyone seems able to mention, I do change them daily! Once when I was growing up someone stole them off the clothes line! That after we'd had to go to the laudramat to wash them.....
Probably more info than I was looking for this time of morning, but a somehow comforting post nonetheless! ;)
ReplyDeleteThese comments are as much fun to read as your blog!! ; )
ReplyDeleteToo funny Judy! You've given me fodder for a future blog!
ReplyDeleteSince retiring after 25 years of working in a law office I thoroughly enjoy wearing the same clothes two or even three days in a row! Love the picture of Emma!!
ReplyDeletesharing bath water....yikes!
ReplyDeleteI've seen those baskets made from long leaf pine needles and they are sure beautiful.
Love your lizard at the top of your blog! I usually read the blogs I follow in Google Reader, so I don't always see the header pictures. Just had to see the whole thing today, since your post was interesting and funny. Even drew a comment from my wife, Donna. I knew it would!!
ReplyDeleteNow you have really opened the proverbial " can of worms " LOL! I enjoyed the comments. Entertainment at it's best
ReplyDeleteJust BS!(Bob and Sue)
When I was little, in Elgin, IL, my mom was a seamstress and my sis and I always wore home made clothes..sometimes matching. She hated that because she was 7 years older than I was...We had more money than some back then, and we were the first ones on our block to get a TV..and Dad was our hero when he had a brand new bathroom and shower with glass shower doors installed in our upstairs..Shortly after that, we lost our life savings..long story..At home I am a daily shower girl, but on the road we shower every other day if we aren't in full hook ups (which is most of the time)..and wear clothes more than one day (outer layer only)...WOW..this was a very intense blog on personal habits..made me dredge up some old memories...thanks!
ReplyDelete