There was a time I didn’t give laundry a second thought. Toss it in, push a button, move on with the day. Like most of us, I didn’t realize how dependent I was on a washing machine and dryer until I stepped outside of it.
Back in 2010, my daughter and I backpacked through Egypt and Israel. It wasn’t a luxury trip. We stayed in hostels, carried what we needed, and learned quickly how people in other parts of the world handled everyday life without the conveniences we’re used to.
Laundry was one of those things.
While staying at a backpacker’s hostel in Cairo, I remember asking about how to wash clothes without a washing machine. They told me the woman who worked there could do it. They had a small machine, and she would wash everything for a fee. But then they casually added that the clothes would be hung to dry from the top floor… out over the streets of Cairo.
I paused.
There was just something about the idea of my bras and underwear drip drying over a busy street that didn’t sit right with me. I thanked them, smiled, and decided I’d figure something else out.
That “something else” came later, in Israel.
At another hostel, there was an outdoor sink. Nothing fancy. Just a basic place to hand wash clothes. I had packed a simple bar of Ivory soap, not thinking much of it at the time, but it turned out to be exactly what I needed.
I washed our clothes right there.
I’d fill the sink with water, scrub each piece with the soap, working it into the fabric with my hands. Then I’d let everything soak for a bit, giving the dirt time to loosen. After that, I’d rinse and rinse again until the water ran clear. There was a shared clothesline outside, and I hung everything up alongside the laundry of other travelers doing the same thing.
And that was it.
That became our routine for the rest of the trip.
What surprised me most wasn’t that I could do laundry by hand—it was that I didn’t mind it. In fact, there was something about it that felt… freeing. Slower. Simpler. You paid attention to what you were doing. You took care of what you had. Nothing was rushed.
It didn’t feel like a chore. It felt like life.
How to Hand Wash Clothes at Home (If You Had To)
I’ve thought about that experience more than once since then, especially when considering what life might look like during a power outage or water outage.
Because the truth is, laundry doesn’t stop just because the grid does.
If you ever need to wash clothes without electricity, the process is simple:
Soak your clothes first. Let the water and soap do some of the work before you even start scrubbing. Use your hands to work the fabric, especially areas that get the most wear. Rinse thoroughly, then hang everything to dry.
That’s it.
It’s the same method people have used for generations.
If you want to make it easier, keeping a few simple items on hand can help:
- A couple of buckets (for washing and rinsing)
- A basic washboard for scrubbing
- A clothesline or foldable drying rack for drying indoors or outside
You don’t need anything complicated. Just a simple setup and a little time.
It’s Not as Hard as We Think
We’ve gotten used to convenience. There’s nothing wrong with that. But it does mean we forget what’s possible without it.
Hand washing clothes isn’t complicated. It just takes a little time and a willingness to slow down.
And if you’ve ever stood over a sink in a foreign country, washing what you need for the next day, hanging it out beside strangers who are doing the same thing, you start to realize something:
We don’t need as much as we think we do.
Sometimes, all it takes is a bar of soap, a little water, and a place to hang things to dry.
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