Chores Around the Ranch House

Chores Around the Ranch House. Tending to gardens and laundry. In order to prepare each day’s meals, fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs were harvested from the garden. Different crops were grown throughout the year, and flowers were often planted to attract pollinating insects. Nothing from the garden was wasted. Excess fruits and vegetables were dried or canned, and stored for later use. Compost heaps recycled melon rinds, potato peels, egg shells and other scraps into garden fertilizer., Before mechanized washing machines, doing laundry was a dreadful task saved for one day a week – often called Black Monday. Ironing usually followed on the next day, after clothes had dried on the line. To decrease these chores, dark printed clothing was favored rather then white, so clothes could be worn more often before needing a wash. If you had to make your own soap, chop wood to heat the water, scrub stains on a washboard and heat the iron on a fire, wouldn’t you wear your clothes a bit longer?, If you were a ten year old on this ranch in 1900, your chores would be….. , ✓ Help wash, hang, and iron clothes , ✓ Take food scraps to the compost pile , ✓ Collect chicken manure and spread on the garden for fertilizer , ✓ Pick vegetables for dinner , ✓ Weed, rake, and hoe the garden