Worth Sharing I think.  Life doesn't get any easier than this does it? ………… or does it?

A Kentucky grandmother gave the new bride a list of instructions for the order of the weekly washing of clothing.

1. Build  fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water.
2. Set tubs so smoke won't blow in eyes if wind is pert.
3. Shave one whole cake of lye soap in boiling water.
4. Sort things, make 3 piles…. 1 pile white, 1 pile colored, 1 pile work britches and rags.
5. Wash whites first, then colored then britches and rags because the water gets dirtier.
6. To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water.
7. Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and then boil.  Rub colored, don't boil, just rinse and starch.
8. Take things out of kettle with broomstick handle, then rinse, and starch.
9. Hang old rags on fence.
10. Spread tea towels on grass.
11. Pour rinse water in flower bed.
12. Scrub porch with hot soapy water.
13. Turn tubs upside down.
14. Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs, brew cup of tea, sit a rock a spell.
15. Count your blessings.

I have cleaned up the slang because if you aren't old enough to remember this task, some of the descriptions might not be very understandable for you.  Remember, I am not ancient but my observation spanned the generations' carryover from these earlier days.

Briefly from what my mother told me………..
Rain water is soft water, making clothing softer when washed.
Pert was a description for "lively" or in this case gusty.
Lye soap……. Nasty homemade stuff, held together (binder) included some animal fats.  Lye soap was named such because it included "Lewis Lye" a very caustic granule that resembled hydrochloric acid.  Lye soap in addition to good wash soap (because it didn't melt away) was also used for the bath water after handling chickens or bird nests that infested one with "mites".   I do remember Mom making the soap and watching it bubble like a witches brew.
Britches of course were men's overalls, most likely bibs or "wash pants".
Going 'way back'… rubbing on a board would be replaced by pounding on a rock and probably was done in periods of travel in a wagon train.   The board in this time period would be a 'scrub board', constructed with a wooden frame and rows of metal hills and valleys.   It not only forced soap in and out of the fabric but also softened the material (later known as fabric softener).  Unfortunately the only time I tried to use one for an experience, it also was pretty hard on the knuckles. 
Because the wash water was boiling, a broomstick or whatever other wooden device available was necessary for removing the hot fabric.   The wood did not absorb the heat and conduct it to your hands.
Rain water was not wasted, soapy or not.  The least soap filled would be used to water the flowers.  The soapiest would be used for other needs.  Thus when the wash was done, the work wasn't necessarily over.

What I have not edited………" count your blessings"……..   That never changes, does it?