Frugal Corner: The ultimate laundry list

Here’s something to think about the next time you find yourself grumbling about the laundry.

A handwritten list of “Grandma’s” recipe for doing the laundry hangs on the wall at the Rosalia Museum. Diane Nabel, a member of the Rosalia Historical Commission, sent along a copy of it. Although the provenance of the letter is unclear, it’s believed to have been written by a farm wife in the area in the late 1920s or early 1930s, Nabel said.

“Forgive her spelling, but I think you’ll get the ‘Green’ picture,” Nabel wrote.

Here’s the letter:

1. Build fire in backyard to heet kittle of rain warter.

2. Sit yore tubs, so smoke won’t blow in eyes if wind is pert.

3. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin warter.

4. Sort things out and make 3 piles:

*1 pile white

*1 pile cullord

*1 pile werk britches and rags

5. Stir flour in cold warter til smooth, then thin down with boilin warter.

6. Rub dirty spots on bord, scrub hard, then boil. Rub collard stuff but don’t boil – just rench and starch.

7. Take white things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then rench out, - blew and starch.

8. Spred tee towls on grass.

9. Hang old rags on fence.

10. Pore rench warter in flower bed.

11. Scrub porch with the hot soapy warter.

12. Turn tubs upside down to drain

13. Go put on clean dress, Smooth yore hair with sidecombs, Brew a cup of tee Set and rest and rock a spell and Count yore blessings.

More expensive than you think

A lot of people lack a sense of urgency about building a retirement fund, because they don’t fully understand how expensive it will be, according to a McClatchy News Service story. Here are some of the reasons people lack a sense of urgency about retirement planning:

•Underestimating how much it costs to live in retirement. Many people will actually see expenses increase once more travel and recreation are factored in.

•Not realizing how long they can live. Life expectancies have made retirement periods grow to 25 years or more today.

•Overestimating what they will receive in Social Security and other benefits. Request your Social Security earnings statement at socialsecurity.gov to see what your monthly income will be. The maximum monthly check is $2,323.

•Underestimating the cost of assisted living or long-term care. These average about $3,000 a month, according to insurer MetLife. The government will pay for it only when you’ve run out of money.