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> Time spent doing laundry fell from 11.5 hours a week in 1920 to an hour and a half in 2014. This might sound trivial in the grand scheme of progress. But the

> Time spent doing laundry fell from 11.5 hours a week in 1920 to an hour and a half in 2014. This might sound trivial in the grand scheme of progress. But the rise of the washing machine has improved quality of life by freeing up time for people—mostly women—to enjoy other pursuits. This. I remember following Reddit AMAs of two centenarian women, women who remembered SS troops arriving at their village, who watched live as men landed on the Moon, and witnessed the spread of electric light, cars, planes, radio, TV, phones, mobile phones, internet, etc. and other technologies that in the 1900s were only in the realm of fiction. And yet, when some redditors asked them which, among all these technological marvels developed in their time they had loved the most, both answered that the washing machine, because suddenly they had much more time to devote to other, more interesting things.

rm_-rf_slash 9y ago
It’s worth noting that the act of sorting, inserting, removing, and putting away clothing is not very labor intensive. Having to manually wash each article of clothing takes actual effort, which can be quite tiring. It’s not easy to engage in other pursuits when one is tired out from physical labor. One could argue that the savings in exertion even outweigh the savings in time.
- JorgeGT 9y ago
  As someone whose washing machine broke the other day mid-washing, having to do the laundry old-style, I cannot agree more with you.
- Tepix 9y ago
  Still, a robot that would remove the remaining hassle of dealing with clothing would be fantastic!
  - GeorgeTirebiter 9y ago
    I think societies should embraced Naturism. It solves so many problems, certainly this one.
- nsxwolf 9y ago
  But now we're all fat.
- switchbak 9y ago
  Washing clothes for your family was hard enough, those who would do this professionally would suffer from the phsyical labour so much as to have a reduced lifespan. And here I am complaining about working at a desk all day :)
trs80 9y ago
In my case I wash outer garments once per month (button down shirts, pants, etc). But I wash under garments weekly: white t-shirts, underwear, long underwear (esp in winter). They protect my outer clothes so get washed more frequently. I hang up my button-downs immediately when I get home. I don't like having to wash and iron a shirt every week, which does not get dirty anyway. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who does this but I would imagine they did huge batches of clothes back then that got dirtier more often, to save time, and didn't really wash their "Sunday best" as frequently.
- mseebach 9y ago
  There's another variable here: clothes are immensely cheaper today. It was much less affordable to own a huge batch of clothes at all back then.
dorian-graph 9y ago
I saw this first-hand in the Philippines. The women had to spend so much time washing clothes by hand. It's also a reminder that it's not over, there are still huge amounts of people around the world yet to benefit from these inventions.
krylon 9y ago
About ten years ago, my washing machine went kaputt, and due to complicated circumstances, I ended washing my clothes manually, for about two weeks, until I had a new washing machine. And my clothes were not very dirty, and I did not put all the effort into it that I could have. And still I understand these women. It is exhausting, boring, repetitive. Way worse than doing the dishes manually (which I already do not like to do).
- gowld 9y ago
  Washing dishes is rather easy -- dishes are glazed ceramic, designed to be dirt-proof. Underclothing is designed to draw sweat from clothing, and outerclothing can't practically be made soil-proof since you don't want to wear ceramic armor all day.
  - Nition 9y ago
    Also, a dishwasher doesn't feel like it saves that much time vs. manual washing, so it doesn't feel like quite as miraculous an invention. Especially if you leave your hand-wash dishes to dry on the rack. Whereas a washing machine saves lots of time because as you say, clothes take longer to wash.
peter303 9y ago
Plus the refrigeration and industrialized food like processed dinners and fast food. These cut food preparation from tens of hours a week tomjust a few hours. Further automation like food deliveryband cooking systems could this even further.

rm_-rf_slash 9y ago

It’s worth noting that the act of sorting, inserting, removing, and putting away clothing is not very labor intensive. Having to manually wash each article of clothing takes actual effort, which can be quite tiring. It’s not easy to engage in other pursuits when one is tired out from physical labor. One could argue that the savings in exertion even outweigh the savings in time.

JorgeGT 9y ago
As someone whose washing machine broke the other day mid-washing, having to do the laundry old-style, I cannot agree more with you.
Tepix 9y ago
Still, a robot that would remove the remaining hassle of dealing with clothing would be fantastic!
- GeorgeTirebiter 9y ago
  I think societies should embraced Naturism. It solves so many problems, certainly this one.
nsxwolf 9y ago
But now we're all fat.
switchbak 9y ago
Washing clothes for your family was hard enough, those who would do this professionally would suffer from the phsyical labour so much as to have a reduced lifespan. And here I am complaining about working at a desk all day :)

trs80 9y ago

In my case I wash outer garments once per month (button down shirts, pants, etc). But I wash under garments weekly: white t-shirts, underwear, long underwear (esp in winter). They protect my outer clothes so get washed more frequently. I hang up my button-downs immediately when I get home. I don't like having to wash and iron a shirt every week, which does not get dirty anyway. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who does this but I would imagine they did huge batches of clothes back then that got dirtier more often, to save time, and didn't really wash their "Sunday best" as frequently.

mseebach 9y ago
There's another variable here: clothes are immensely cheaper today. It was much less affordable to own a huge batch of clothes at all back then.

dorian-graph 9y ago

I saw this first-hand in the Philippines. The women had to spend so much time washing clothes by hand. It's also a reminder that it's not over, there are still huge amounts of people around the world yet to benefit from these inventions.

krylon 9y ago

About ten years ago, my washing machine went kaputt, and due to complicated circumstances, I ended washing my clothes manually, for about two weeks, until I had a new washing machine. And my clothes were not very dirty, and I did not put all the effort into it that I could have. And still I understand these women. It is exhausting, boring, repetitive. Way worse than doing the dishes manually (which I already do not like to do).

gowld 9y ago
Washing dishes is rather easy -- dishes are glazed ceramic, designed to be dirt-proof. Underclothing is designed to draw sweat from clothing, and outerclothing can't practically be made soil-proof since you don't want to wear ceramic armor all day.
- Nition 9y ago
  Also, a dishwasher doesn't feel like it saves that much time vs. manual washing, so it doesn't feel like quite as miraculous an invention. Especially if you leave your hand-wash dishes to dry on the rack. Whereas a washing machine saves lots of time because as you say, clothes take longer to wash.

peter303 9y ago

Plus the refrigeration and industrialized food like processed dinners and fast food. These cut food preparation from tens of hours a week tomjust a few hours. Further automation like food deliveryband cooking systems could this even further.