In bootcamp all we had to wash our clothes was a brush and some soap.

Will try the plunger

Bet it's not as tiring as 100 pushups.

What if you take another bucket (same size) and slide it into the bucket containing the wet clothes and then turn it upside down and stand/sit on it? It seems like that would expel a good deal of water with practically no effort.

Art and CBP, thanks!

Someone should publish this as "The Complete Guide to Tactical Laundry Bucket Operation, with Technical Annotations."

Adam, the Staber washing machine would be excellent if I had the space and the dough. Someday, maybe...

When my wife was a struggling single mom with her first kid (not mine), she used a washboard in the bathtub in the evenings, to clean their clothes and the dirty diapers. My mom used one in a galvanized bucket on camping trips when I was a kid. Not high tech, but they still work...

When using a toilet plunger for washing, get the cheap kind with the flat open bottom, not the high-power one with the narrower opening. If you have enough water available, you can use it in the bathtub. Sit on the edge with your (clean) feet in the water and go to work.

If you have clothes that have odor but not much real dirt, wash them in a baking soda solution, rather than detergent. It can handle the body oils and the odor. And it takes less rinsing than soap.

If you use the sloshing-bucket method (on a boat or other vehicle), don't fill it full. It needs room to slosh, so don't fill more than 2/3-3/4, counting water and clothing.

For small items like socks and underwear, keep an eye out at thrift shops for a Salad Spinner for removing excess water. They are a plastic bowl with a basket inside that spins by way of manual power. Google Images will show you what they look like. (You can use them for salads, too, but then you might want to have two. Or not.)

Remember to rinse all clothing well, as soap residue and body friction don't work well together.

Sue

I would like to find a hand crank wringer that is portable and can handle a set of jeans. Hard to find.

Wringers remove 90% of water; spin dry only removes 45%. That’s a big difference!

Not expensive at all, if it worked well. It just didn't quite cut the mustard for me when hand washing would do just as well. I bought it for those few odds and ends clothes (okay pink) that might turn other things (like the husbands unders) an odd color.

Thanks Sue. If I ever find private hairs in my salad now I'll know the cook was just short on quarters for the laundromat.