Washing Clothes

In the past most people only had a few outfits of clothing. It was difficult to wash clothes by hand, so everyone wore their clothes several times between getting them washed. They'd have to be sprinkled with water and rolled up for the moisture to spread before they could be ironed.

Even in the 1940s and 50s most kids would wear their school clothes at least twice and switch to play clothes, which they wore all week, when they got home from school. They'd have a nice outfit for church and special occasions, and possibly, depending on the climate where they lived, different sets of clothes for winter and for summer.

Of course now most people in developed countries have access to automatic washing machines. With fabric softeners and synthetic fabrics not many clothes have to be ironed and we have steam irons for those that do.

Lots of folks have dozens of outfits.  Simple wardrobes and the small closets in Victorian houses are no longer big enough to hold them all.

I'm glad I don't have to use an old wringer washing machine like my mother had, or wash clothes by hand in a laundry tub. But, let's admit it. We've become a bit spoiled.