Do you remember these coke bottle sprinklers? We sprinkled our clothes before we ironed them. For fun google the worlds vintage sprinkler bottles. Wow! I wasted 15 minutes browsing.
Bob came back to bed with his coffee one morning and said " Do you remember Starch?"
I said Starch? like what we put in daddy's white shirts way back when? Why are you thinking about starch?
His answer was, when I first get out of bed, I feel like all the starch has been removed, and my body doesn't want to stand up straight. Like my legs lost their starch and need to be starched. I told him, mine is the same way.
This was a trigger for an hour of conversation about things we remember from our childhood.
The coke bottle thing came up because we went from starch to wringer washers, to hanging on laundry on clotheslines, to removing the clean dry wash, sprinkle with water and roll in a ball until we could iron them. Everything was ironed, sheets and pillow cases, handkerchiefs (no tissues then) but not towels.
You mission today if you decide to take it, is to tell me if you remember any of this and if your body has lost its Starch.
with DETAILS please.
20 comments:
I remember it ALL! The green sprinkler bottle, and rolling up the clothes. And ironing. I knew women who ironed their husband's UNDERWEAR. And the dreaded wringer washer in the basement. I got many threats to NOT stick my hands in the wringers, or it would rip my arms out. I viewed it as an instrument of torture.
Yes I DO!!! I am so glad we don't have to iron any more!!! I have 10 white pillow shams on our bed at home and I was just thinking last week about starching and ironing them. Now I am thinking of taking them to the cleaners and letting THEM do it. I have never liked ironing.
F thinks her body has too much starch theses days, but her skin could do with a good starch and ironing to get rid of the wrinkled look. xxx Mr T
I loved ironing (yes I'm weird) but since the court shows are o longer in tv, I stopped ironing LOL
I don't think my mom used a coke bottle but there was some kind of bottle for sprinkling clothes. We also had a wringer washer and hung clothes outside. By the time I got married and moved out of the house, thankfully ironing wasn't a thing any more. There were some things that I did still iron but I hated that chore.
I was thinking there are days when I have too much starch in me. I sit for too long and get so full of starch that I stiffen right up.
Bud used to tell me about his body aches by these words..."everything is stiff except what should be". Sorry, I couldn't help it.
Yep, I remember it all. We even heated bricks in the winter (remember, Colorado is where I grew up) then put 'em under the bedding to warm our feet!!!
NO, I remember cans of spray starch. Ironing is one chore I never liked doing.
I need my coffee in the morning before I can do anything. Take care, have a happy day!
Hari OM
We were taught how to iron 'correctly' at school (Who the heck cares whether you did the collars or tails in the right order???!!!) and how to use starch. I've never used the stuff since. Barely ever an iron. I do have to iron my saris and kurtas, but only when I need to wear them. ... in fact... where IS my iron...???... YAM xx
(whose body is more lard than starch these days...)
I remember sprinkling clothes and wringer washers...hanging it in the line and bringing it in. I did some ironing but not a lot. I hated ironing jeans.
Like Ann, I sometimes feel.over starched...
You and Bob have the most interesting conversations. I don't remember seeing the sprinkle bottles but I do remember having a steam iron and spray starch for B's dress shirts.
Hugs Cecilia
You're singing my song! Yes, I remember my mother saying she felt the starch was missing from her body. AND my very first chore was being allowed to sprinkle the newly-washed clothes in preparation to iron. We had a big mangle iron (mangler?) that operated with foot pedals and I was allowed to use it to press my father's hankerchiefs.
Fun topic!
Of course I do and yes....my body has extra starch sometimes when I feel a little stiff in the morning! lol I've used a spray bottle to mist clothes while ironing too. But I rarely iron any more....throw them back in the dryer to fluff if they are wrinkled! lol Oh...my cousin's jeans would be on the clothes line with those metal things inside of them to have them dry flat! oh my!
I do remember all of the above. Hey, at my home Mom made sure that even tea towels were ironed. I used to love the way those cotton dresses felt after the starch and then ironing them.
Now this is a fun challenge...
I don't remember the Coke bottle sprinkler but my Mom had a red rubber one with the same type of top. She always hung her clothes out on the clothes line after washing the clothes in our wringer washer.
I would help her gather the dried things and she always sprinkled the clothes so they could be ironed, especially Dad's business work shirts and his wash pants were heavy and needed lots of "help" to have them look their best.
Starch...yup...a lot of mornings I feel like the starch has gone out of me too.
When Dave was working and had to wear dress shirts every day, I used a lot of spray starch..that did the job for me and was a life saver.
Fun dive into my memories.
Sue
My body is slowly losing its starch!!
I actually still use starch. Sometime on those rare occasions that I iron...but mostly when I am making crocheted flowers or snowflakes!
Here's hoping we feel more starched as the day progresses!
I remember my mum using sprinkle bottles (but they were not coke bottles). I also remember that when I was little, I guess still in the 1950s, I had a (party) dress that needed a starched underskirt under it, and I think mum used potato starch to do it. We have a mangle in the laundry room where I live, but if I can't use that, I still iron tea towels and pillow cases. Most of my clothes these days don't need ironing - or only a little. In my teens I spent a month with a family in England and was amazed to see the mum in that family ironing underwear - my mum never did that (nor I)...
I do remember these coke bottle sprinklers! Not sure if I ever had one. My back has lost the starch this past month -I have been trying to move things and for the past month I could not move my back - slowly the starch is coming back. I have NEVER had a bad back in my life.
Hi Sandra. :=) Like Bob, I could do with a bit, correction, a lot more starch in my body. Mornings are the worst, when it takes me ages to get going. I remember all the things you mentioned. Our mothers and grandmothers had a harder time than we do now.
No doubt my body has lost some starch. I do remember all of those things but I didn't actually do them. My mother and grandmother did. I do sometimes use a spray bottle with water. I don't really like how the iron sprays it's water out. I don't do that much ironing anymore.
What a neat conversation! Yes, I remember them all. I don't miss ironing. 😀
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