Most people had certain days they liked to do the wash, but if it was raining you had to wait.

First, you had to pull the water out of the well or carry it from the spring or creek. Sometimes, in the Summer, you would just go to the creek to do the wash.

After you filled the big black pot with water, then you make a fire around it to heat the water. Now, you didn't use the wood that was for heating or cooking. You hunted old wood not useful for anything else, like fallen tree limbs, any old usable wood.

When the water is warm, you pour it into the tub. For the first wash, you would wash first the whiter and nicer things. You had a wash board. Rub the soap on the board, then rub the clothes up and down on it untill clean, then you would wring by hand & put put in the pot with more soap and boil awhile & punch up and down with a stick. (that was made for that). While these were boiling, you scrub another tub full in the same water. You would keep going from load to load, usually overalls & work clothes were last.

When a pot full was boiled, you put them in another tub & washed again, then into the rense tub in clean cold water by hand. You washed & wrung out; now they were ready to be hung on the clothes line. You would shake them good and hang on line with wooden pins to hold them. Now, you did this with each tubfull, if you were lucky, 1/2 day, tho I have washed all day.

Now, when they dried, they had to be ironed. Everything (Didn't have wash & wear) I ironed bed clothes, towels, under wear & wearing clothes (not sox) to iron.

You had to heat the iron by fire either cook stove or fireplace, no matter how hot the weather. We got our first electricity in 1948. Then I got an electric iron. & wringer in washer. Still had to bring in water and heat it.

In about 1950, I got my first hot water & automatic washer, and about 1956 comes wash & wear and a clothes dryer.

Now, when I need a rub board, I used lye soap.

We saved up meat scraps (only fat) or lift over butter. You used portions of grease (or fat), water & lye (dissolved in water), put in your wash pot & bail untill the fat dissolved. Bail untill thickened, then let stand over night. it would harden so you could cut it out in bars. These would harden & would last untill you used it up. Now, this soap was used for laundry, dish washing or cleaning. Some people even washed their hair in it. I never. I have heard it would make your hair red. (and would cure the itch. Ha!)