Hi jt, I think the easiest thing to do is the lasagna gardening. I have done many many of these in my yard when I lived in Louisiana and now Mississippi. All of gardening is somewhat physically demanding, I am surely slowing down as I age. But there are some easier methods. First I would do some reading. Check out some books at the library if you can on what interests you, I enjoyed reading lasagna gardening books and Ruth Stout the mulch lady. Online has lots of info too. Depending on your budget you might be able to hire a young fella to do some work. I just paid a neighbor's boy and he worked 4 hrs in my yard this weekend. You can make lasagna beds just by mounding up organic matter or you can make a raised bed with wood, a raised bed kit (Sams Club had them cheap), or with bricks, pavers, cinder blocks. For shade I have columbine, hostas, hydrangea, mahonia, lorapetalum, astilbe, pieris. People also grow heuchera but I have no success with them. Hostas are easy, in my opinion, and make a nice garden. Start small. Since you want to attract birds and butterflies, get a birdbath or fountain (love, love my fountain), even a small one and some are solar. If you can, put out some shepherd's hooks or hang bird feeders in trees. These do not have to be expensive. I get best results with black sunflower seed. Butterflies usually like plants that grow in sun, so if you can find a little sun, you can put some annuals there. Even if you buy some pots (my advice buy the resin or fiberglass ones that are not heavy and don't crack in winter). You can find some that look like real stone, shop around it is fun to be on a mission. I am frugal and am always looking for a bargain. Butterflies are said to like a shallow place with little rocks for water. I use a clay saucer with smooth rocks in it. I nestle that in some flowers. Again, let me say, start small with a spot that you enjoy looking at out of a window or sitting outside. Good luck to you. Laurie

Ok so I'm the newby around here but I love this thread you started (apart the squabbling) because if someone has a reason for hand washing they should have somewhere to discuss it. There are plenty of reasons to hand wash things: Travel, Unexpected Trips, Unexpected Delays, Loss of Washer/Dryer, Lack of Access, Global Concerns, Minimalist Living, Avoiding Chemicals.. etc. I have long stints where my only access to washer/dryer are in a communal situation where many of the people have quite a different lifestyle than I do. The management is good about replacing the units as needed but being the one coming behind the sick person or the guy who partied/smoked all weekend is out of luck. I really enjoy the idea of doing things on my own terms in my own time and that is greatly affected when you have a few hundred other people to work around. It's more fun to take one's self out of that hectic/annoying equasion. I'm highly chemically sensitive as well so imagine the courage it takes me just to walk down to that laundry room praying that no one is running chlorox in their loads. (It could be months before I could come across a time when that isn't going on.) After seeing various shows about what lives in the water of most any washer (even privately owned ones) I can't imagine doing my laundry with anyone elses now. Dust mites, Fecal Choloforms among other things are just some of the common things found in water that cause rashes and other problems even on supposedly 'clean laundry'. Because of that now, I don't wash anything without Grapefruit Seed Extract because it's the one of the only things that kills that stuff. I was drawn to the thread also because I was looking for an easier way to handwash items with a low footprint ie.. In a small space to have multi-purposeable items that are easily stored goes a long way. My biggest concerns are: * Avoiding CRUNCHY or STIFF laundry (after all that work). * Finding a way to adequately spin/mangle the water out (without killing the hands completely as I have early onset arthritis)... I am currently using a 6 gallon drink tub with a handle and spiggot so I can move it around and do it wherever I want to and drain most of the water out before moving again. I realize I'm going to need to find a hose of some kind to hook to the sinks though. (Not as easy in the bathroom...) I also want to get a rolling plant stand or something for it so I can move around easily enough, which might actuall work out for agitation of some kind. The lid fits very tightly so it winds up having a wider opening than the WOnder Washer and holds more as well. AGitation? I'm going to look at the agitator on the Lehman's page but for right now I have one of those 'grabber' devices that people use to reach things when they can't bend over safely. Spinner verses Wringer/Mangle? Does anyone have any ideas on which is better in the long run? I've read extensively about two 'small' electrical spinners as well as the 18 inch type hand wringers and I just wonder about the benefits of either item. BOth wind up being a little pricy (@ $150 or more) and I can't imagine spending that kind of money on things that will not work on towels or sheets... Where does all that water go? Do you literally sit inside your tub? As for hanging to dry I have a single pole curtain rod from Ikea but I may go get the double one and put a rod on it without a curtain to drape the larger items over when I wash them. It allows for about a 1.5 inch space between curtains so I figure it will not affect the light weight curtain much if at all. It's right near the cieling fan as well so as long as it's well wrung it should dry quickly. I may post this kind of thread as well under another type of title about being chemically sensitive to see if more people who relate to that might have some experience with what to do. Thanks for any thoughts. I'm so tired of things coming out stiff - like socks, etc. Thanks GG

The good news of those of us who participated in the search for the hand soap is the results of this recent study: Searching the Internet stimulates brain activity in the elderly and middle-aged and may help keep their minds sharp, researchers have found.

Start out simple with a small piece of muslin, and draw on the muslin with a pencil (#2). Your stitches will cover the pencil and it will wash out. You can buy marking pencils that also wash out, but I find that I always have a simple pencil. Aunt Martha is a brand of iron ons you can get. I get mine at the Ben Franklin or at Walmart. Use a hoop to hold your fabric taunt, I find one that fits my hand versus fits the design. You can aslo trace a simple design from a coloring book. Redwork is a nice way to start, because it only uses one color thread.