washing clothes without electricity.

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lonewolf

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i have just been watching a link on prepper website about washing clothes after an EMP= so no electric for washing machines.
it was actually TEACHING people how to wash clothes by hand and hang them on a washing line, I mean do people REALLY have to be taught this in words of one syllable??
for me, and millions like me, when we were single this was normal life and nothing out of the ordinary.
if this is what people have to be taught to even hope to survive TSHTF then the general population really has "lost it".
 
yes, I have seen phone and technology "addiction" for myself, step grandchildren are the worst-never without the damn things.
but I just thought, washing clothes by hand is so basic, so easily understood, that it really dosent need teaching does it?
I spent many years, first in a "bedsit"-rented room in a shared house, then in a "flat" or apartment, where I did all my washing by hand, and all my friends did the same, its just so basic a knowledge that I thought everyone knew how to do it.
 
well, processed food is not good for you, and a lot of it is GM, or stuffed full with chemicals and palm oil. if you grow and rear your own food at least you know what your putting in your mouth.
 
pick any 50 teenagers,between ages 13 to 19...chances are,they dont know the 1st thing about washing clothes by hand,simply because they wernt taught how..and same goes for cooking as well.and id bet they always had someone do their laundry for them,to having someone either cook for them,or their eating out..if not eating some sort of junk food snack..cooking for some,if not most,is a opened canned of store bought food,that gets put into the microwave for heating..and i cant hep but wonder,how many can repair their own bicycle..i was rebuilding my own by the time i was 10,including making them into a chopper by adding other front forks to them..i believe over 50% of the people,of today will be lost without cell phones,computers,internet and tv..
 
jimLE said:
pick any 50 teenagers,between ages 13 to 19...chances are,they dont know the 1st thing about washing clothes by hand,simply because they wernt taught how..and same goes for cooking as well.and id bet they always had someone do their laundry for them,to having someone either cook for them,or their eating out..if not eating some sort of junk food snack..cooking for some,if not most,is a opened canned of store bought food,that gets put into the microwave for heating..and i cant hep but wonder,how many can repair their own bicycle..i was rebuilding my own by the time i was 10,including making them into a chopper by adding other front forks to them..i believe over 50% of the people,of today will be lost without cell phones,computers,internet and tv..
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50%!!! I think that's an underestimate! more like 75-80%.
 
and its not just teenagers, woman on a food show on tv, a wife and mother actually admitted she couldn't open a can-she had no idea how to use a can opener, she could only open it if it had one of those ring pull tops, unbelievable!!!!!
 
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You talk to the young males today and one of the first thing 'guys don't do that' Really now I say, My dad taught me to sew, prep foods, cook and his dad taught him and so on and so they come back with 'will there not men then because men don't do that' That's the mentality of young macho guys today, ask the young women and they will say 'mom doesn't cook' Ask any kids what a washboard is what's a ladles, whisk or ask them to pick up some lamp oil and they come back with paraffin oil, I would say that's candle oil not lamp oil and they would say 'it says lamp oil' or they would say 'the salesman says it's lamp oil' NOBODY of this young generation has what once was common knowledge. The common teachings of yesterday has been erased by this modern age! Sadly the young is doomed today.
 
Maverick said:
You talk to the young males today and one of the first thing 'guys don't do that' Really now I say, My dad taught me to sew, prep foods, cook and his dad taught him and so on and so they come back with 'will there not men then because men don't do that' That's the mentality of young macho guys today, ask the young women and they will say 'mom doesn't cook' Ask any kids what a washboard is what's a ladles, whisk or ask them to pick up some lamp oil and they come back with paraffin oil, I would say that's candle oil not lamp oil and they would say 'it says lamp oil' or they would say 'the salesman says it's lamp oil' NOBODY of this young generation has what once was common knowledge. The common teachings of yesterday has been erased by this modern age! Sadly the young is doomed today.
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quite right, anyone under 40-unless they were in the Boy Scouts or some such similar- have no idea how to lay and light an open fire, skin and gut a rabbit or a fish, or dig a latrine. post SHTF they will either starve or come down with a disease. well, that should cut down the numbers, anyway.
 
living without electricity would be the least of my problems, I have lived like this before and am happy to do so again, my plans are built with this very thing to happen, but I imagine for most of the population in my country this would be the end of everything.
 
You think that's bad, wait till everyone looses their phones. One quarter of the country will go nuts in the first 48 hrs.
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That's a scary thought.

Without phones, this new generation can't even do math, and since they rely on it for all their info, they rarely bother to RETAIN any other information. I don't blame them, I get it...but if it is taken away, they are even more screwed than other generations. Even just basic communication skills are lost on many of them.
 
that's why I have said before, on many forums, that this current civilisation isn't immune, its just got further to fall is all. apart from a few enlightened souls, most don't get it and never will.
 
bigpaul said:
living without electricity would be the least of my problems, I have lived like this before and am happy to do so again, my plans are built with this very thing to happen, but I imagine for most of the population in my country this would be the end of everything.
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I've been working to make my modern home more livable without electricity. It's really not too difficult, but is surprising how few are built with any thought of it at all. Some do have fireplaces, but not only are they not efficient at heating, but try cooking in one, espechially in the summer time. My next thing to add will be enough solar and battery to run lights. Since lighting dosent use much energy this won't be too bad of a hit financially. I figure lighting is a comfort that would ease the transition to a no grid situation.
Through all the things I've learned and worked to prepare for (a lot that I learned from fellow preppers here) I have been fortunate enough to have a good standing with water, food and security. Now I'm starting to work on a few luxury preps.
 
that day,if I ever get my sorry ass out this place and find my dream place,a nice rural spot by the way,that house will have means to cook and bake without electricity, it will have a sauna..naturally,it will have a root cellar,if I have to use a spade to dig it from the scratch..
 
jontte said:
that day,if I ever get my sorry ass out this place and find my dream place,a nice rural spot by the way,that house will have means to cook and bake without electricity, it will have a sauna..naturally,it will have a root cellar,if I have to use a spade to dig it from the scratch..
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I dug my own, but did use a bobcat to help out. I still had a lot of hand digging and manual labor though. With a little well thought out effort and sweat equity you can make the things you want. It's surprising how few are willing to work hard now days. I wish you all the success in the world to make what you want happen!
 
I would keep it simple, no solar....that's how someone got caught back along, someone saw the sun shining off a solar panel where no one was supposed to be, just get up when it gets light, probably pre dawn-we are early risers now, well earlier than most, and go to bed when its to dark to do anything.
 
there are but in the wrong direction for now :(
but I'll keep searching all the time 'cause I don't wanna change this city to the other ;)
right now they are in a process of re-structuring our health care sysytem and nobody seems to know what the outcome will be..
 
bigpaul said:
I would keep it simple, no solar....that's how someone got caught back along, someone saw the sun shining off a solar panel where no one was supposed to be, just get up when it gets light, probably pre dawn-we are early risers now, well earlier than most, and go to bed when its to dark to do anything.
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When camping I always adjusted quickly to a sleep cycle that matched the day/night cycle. I still think a solar system is smart though. The generator will last a long time with careful cycling on only when needed, but will run out eventually. A solar setup will last three to five years with the batteries and much longer after they die. My goal is to get a solar system large enough to run the fridge, but I'll start with just lighting and expand as I can. Yes, I can survive without electricity, but life is a whole lot more comfortable with it.
 
too much hassle-for me, and generators can be heard a long way off, then there is the problem of lights being seen where there aren't any others.
 
bigpaul said:
too much hassle-for me, and generators can be heard a long way off, then there is the problem of lights being seen where there aren't any others.
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Yeah, from a security standpoint, any luxury makes you a target. Using either would require some common sense and window shades. I also think burning a fire in the daytime could be risky. People will follow smoke trails too.
 
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