Emergency Laundry/Dish kit

A few things I'm adding to my emergency supplies will be some ivory snow laundry soap, a couple of bars of DR. Bonner's citrus soap,a old fashioned wash board, a rubbermaid tub to do washing, some rubber gloves (saves hands), a scrub brush, a hank of clothes line and a couple dozen clothespins, to enable me to do my wash if the power is out for a long time.

Clean clothes and bodes will help keep one healthier and may add a longer life to your clothes, towels and bedding. Clean clothes and body also may help keep your moral up.

I'm gong to place a big bottle of Dr.. Bronner's liquid peppermint soap, a stainless steel scrubber, and a couple of dish cloths in the Laundry kit, the rubbermaid container could made a nice dish "sink" container. A very small folding dish drainer rack might also be added to aid in the dish and pot drying,

A darn good idea...

I recently saw a Tide commercial talking about the mobile laundry truck the company established after Katrina. It has since been put to use in the Texas gulf coast region after Ike. The folks mentioned just how nice clean clothes and linen is, and what is does for morale.

Yeah, clean clothes are great for morale. Are you going to store more water than before, now that you've added these laundry supplies? Or do you have a well or some other local water source to use for laundry?

for soap try Campsuds..it's one of those "no soap"soaps..it comes in larger bottles than us campers use.it really go's far,a few drops will wash clothes and it leaves no perfume like smells.
without getting into the details i can stand on my well worn canoeing clothes,pour water over myself and wash with a few drops of this stuff while stomping the wet clothes,rinse with another cooking pot of water and hang my gear on a branch to dry and it's fit to wear.it's not like running them thru the washer at home but for someone living outdoors it works just fine and nylon fishing shirts and pants dry fast--

We have a lot of those five gallon plastic buckets that paint, drywall plaster etc. comes in. One of those makes a great container for a wash kit, if size isn't a major consideration. Good to have around for extra water carrying capacity, or as an emergency toilet. If size is a factor, the tupperware sounds good.

+1 on the camp suds. That stuff comes in handy in a lot of situations. Even camping trips.

As I think back, it's amazing how many reporters got into New Orleans after Katrina to do interviews, but nobody could get in to do repairs and rescues. C'est la vie.

Anyway, about laundry - it depends on where you are. In New Orleans, no one could do laundry for many reasons, so they just went to the local store and looted clothes from there. The police stood by as long as you were taking necessaries - they understood the necessity. Looters of liquor and drugs were arrested, but people looting groceries and clothes were allowed.

I would say clean clothes, clean dishes, and clean bodies are more than moral boosters. Cleanliness helps keep you from getting sick when there's no hope for medical attention. Cleanliness is _especially_ necessary for long term survival after a devastating storm, earthquake, whatever. The problem is getting and keeping clean water.

The best thing about that list is that they are all standard household items that can be used in the house.
Only the clothes pins and washboard are a bit odd.
I would hang them on a wall and if anybody asks then brag about my beginning antique collection.
The soaps and so on are just extra household supplies.
This should be easy to do.

Just a thought here.
Nothing says your emergency supplies need to be stored away never to be used.
All you need is to have them available and enough on hand to last until your supply lines are open again.
It is better if you use your supplies and keep restocking as you use it.
If you don't do that you will end up with product that is unusable due to age if anything does happen.
You will also find out what supplies you will actually use.
The only exception I can think of is things like mineral spirits (better than Kerosene for oil lamps and Kerosene stoves)unless you use enough of it as paint thinner to have some turnover, and it stores exceptionally well anyhow. (the odorless mineral spirits, they sell more of it so it is cheaper yet it is refined more so it does not gum up oil lamps or stoves. It is usualy sold as paint thinner in the building supply or painters supply stores)

I think of it more like how my Grandmother kept her pantry on the farm.
She was stocked up with food enough for the winter in the cellar (carrots, apples, potatoes), the pantry had at least a two month supply of staples like flour, and she had many shelves with canning, pickles and preserves.
When My Grandparents retired and moved into town one of the first things my grandfather did was cut a hole through the basement wall and make a root cellar. Grandma had at least two bottles of everything and bought a new bottle when she emptied one of them. The same thing with dried stuff like beans or flour.
So buy what you use, but keep a stock of it on handy.

Canoedogs:
Glad to hear you are a clothing stomper too. A lot of people never think of it as a way to wash clothes.
I found campsuds or soaps didn't burn my feet but some of the regular laundry detergents did.

A few things I add to a kit for keeping clothes and you clean:

1. glycerin soap, it is a gentler but effective soap, imo;
2. woolite, which are in my travel shaving kit, etc. for clothes;
3. a big stainless steel pot, dishes steeped in hot water cleanup easy, esp. when you add some dishsoap; and
4. baking soda, which has many uses.

I always carry small sample or travel size of soaps and such with me when we go places, so many places have stuff with perfumes and other such scents and smells. I'll get a travel size bottle and refill it.
With little kids who are always making messes and getting dirty I have a small sink and 7 gallon water jug to wash up in. I had taken it out for winter and we had a record high temperature weekend and went to a local park and my almost three year old was stranding by the tailgate wanting the water and sink to clean off.

This post gives me a "duh" moment. It's so simple, like the jitterbug, it plumb evaded me!

Thanks for sharing, I'll get this together when I get home!

I can use some of my potable water that I store in a 55 gal plastic drum for wash/rinse water.

Bo,
I'm surprised such a dignified P.P.o.W. as yourself hadn't thought of this before.

I live 2 blocks from a river and all of my planned bugout locations are near or in water (The sailboat is in the water after April 01) so wash water shouldn't be a problem.

I'm adding Dr. Bonner's liquid soap to my kit in both Peppermint and Citrus flavors and a couple of bars of Citrus. Dr. Bonner's soap is often used for camping and is organic and biodegradable. The soap has been touted by the doctor and his fans as good for bathing, washing dishes, cleaning clothes, scrubbing dentures, deodorizing diapers, cleaning vegetables and brushing teeth. It can be used as a shampoo, pet cleanser, after-shave, mouthwash, deodorant, mosquito repellent or for birth control – there’s a recipe on the label for that.
For a close up of the label and more uses click HERE

This is one of those things that I added to my camping setup a long while ago. It's smaller than your kit, and I don't carry special soap, but when we went camping this year with the kids, it was great to be able to wake up to fresh, clean bandannas and towels and the like.

Amen.

The perfumes and things are the whole reason I carry glycerin soap. I've spent way too much time having my body break out in nasty rashes due to alergic reactions. Figuring out the cause of the rashes was an alergy drove me crazy. Reactions came at unpredictable times. I usually try to carry my own shampoo for the same reason.

IIRC, there is at least one poster here who has used baking soda as a deodorant.

My BOB and other kits have glycerin soap and baby shampoo because if I am in a emergency situation, a rash is an annoyance I do not need.

Canoe and Scaf, I am proud to admit my membership in the walk all over me school of clothing agitation as well.

I don't know how many tarps, hotel bathtubs, cement patios, and the like that I have stood proudly upon, with my clothing trampled beneath me.

I am also a firm believer in minimal suds, I think we over bubble our clothing, a good stomping and a quick squeeze and I'm on my way.

That didn't sound right.

Lots of good advice and preps in previous posts, to which I would add, remember that illness or injury, or lack of time may prevent doing the laundry by hand.
Therefore also consider keeping at home a stock of old underwear, sheets, outer clothes etc.
In normal times launder and store old, just about useable, cloths and linens. Then when any emergency occurs, these articles can be used and tossed out, its no waste if they were due to be tossed out anyway.

Hand laundry for a large family would be a bit of a challenge, if power failures are the main problem then consider either larger stocks of cloths and linens in order to postponne laundry day until power returns, or a generator able to work a washing machine. (presuming that you have enough water)