Nifty little hand crank washing machine Groupon!

[hqueen13]

I agree, I'd only buy the thing with a REALLY good coupon...

Pretty cool concept. I wonder how difficult it would really be to make out of decent materials? It only needs a colander type basin, a bigger tub, a spigot/hose to drain water, and a way to turn easily, and a lid that secures on to seal in the water...
Doesn't sound THAT difficult! LOL

 

[Icu4dzs]

Doc and I ooohed and aaahed over that when we first moved out here and then quickly got into the frame of mind as Icu as far as just how long would it actually last with us regularly using it.

We're seriously thinking along the the lines of this, since it doesn't need electric and you should hear the family laughing at us!

I looked at that one too. I noticed that it was made of stainless steel, or actually looks like it is. It does have the appearance that it would last significantly longer than the plastic one in the other catalog. What is interesting to me is the fact that I would be a lot better off just getting the wringer since I have a tub that looks exactly like that one, and it would not be hard to modify to make the agitator for that particular tub.
I also looked at the pressure washer that is in the Lehmans catalog. It is only $59 and does not appear to need any electricity. I guess the reason I stopped being so interested in these particular pieces of equipment was that I was able to put my own washing machine on my alternate off-grid power system and I can run it off the batteries without any difficulty. It doesn't necessarily mean things like that will work forever but at least I have a better option for doing more than one piece of laundry at a time.
The one thing I would mention is that Lehmans catalog tends to be about as pricey as they come. There are lots of other people who sell the same things and are not quite as expensive but Lehmans has it all together in one place. That's his real advantage.
Saepe Expertus, Semper Fidelis, Fratres Aeterni
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[Dawn419]

The one thing I would mention is that Lehmans catalog tends to be about as pricey as they come. There are lots of other people who sell the same things and are not quite as expensive but Lehmans has it all together in one place. That's his real advantage.

Doc and I are in total agreement with you concerning Lehmans being pricey. We aprreciate the "one stop shopping" that we can get from them, though.

Recently, SurviveUSA has opened within a reasonable driving distance, for us. Unfortunately, they just don't carry some of the amenities we'd like to add to our homestead but they are carrying basic neccesaties/essentials.

 

[Icu4dzs]

The one thing I would mention is that Lehmans catalog tends to be about as pricey as they come. There are lots of other people who sell the same things and are not quite as expensive but Lehmans has it all together in one place. That's his real advantage.

Doc and I are in total agreement with you concerning Lehmans being pricey. We aprreciate the "one stop shopping" that we can get from them, though.

Recently, SurviveUSA has opened within a reasonable driving distance, for us. Unfortunately, they just don't carry some of the amenities we'd like to add to our homestead but they are carrying basic neccesaties/essentials.

Here is another option for some useful things. Most of this is marketed by the Amish. They seem to have a handle on SS.
Cottage Craft Works
The one that got my attention was a 3 point hitch mounted tool for building mounds for the garden. I liked that but will build one myself... assuming I ever get the time!
I looked at SURVIVEUSA's website and found it kind of lacking. Most of the stuff they have is found locally for a lot less. I find things at Mills' Fleet and Farm often that are a LOT cheaper in cost. Some of it is German Army surplus and some from US. I bought a pair of US military "mickey mouse" cold weather boots and they are the best available.
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***edited to fix link

 

[Athene]

I really, really wanted to buy a Laundry Pod last year. At the time, the best price I could find on them was $100, so I think $70 is a damn good price. In fact, I have a dear friend in college in a wee studio apartment, and this is cheap enough that I think I may buy it for her for her birthday.

I ended up buying thishttp://www.amazon.com/Chef-Master-Commercial-5-Gallon-Salad-Dryer/dp/B00125RLJA/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_0 giant salad spinner instead. At the time I bought the spinner, it cost $80. The reason we went with it was because (at the time) it was $20 cheaper than the Laundry Pod, and because we can get salad spinner parts for it very easily. We have a lot of handwash laundry. All DH's work shirts are handwash, as are my bras (I'm an odd size, so bras are $$$ and I take no risks with them), and most of my little ones pajamas are handmade (because storebought PJs are soaked in fire retardants) so I like to handwash them, too- handwashing is faster than mending! Since we moved to an all-cloth regime a few years ago, we have a ton of many different types of towels. I don't like to wash them together (Butt wipes with kitchen towels? Eww. Yes, we still by toilet paper, but we don't *need* to.) but there aren't enough of any one kind to make a full load, so I hand wash those, too. I do about one handwash load per day. My machine is a free 5 gallon pail with a hole in the lid for a plunger. New plunger cost $4 and I had the stepson drill some holes in the rubber part so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Works very very well. The ssalad spinner is the perfect size since it's also five gallons.

I also would like to buy this hand wringerhttp://www.amazon.com/GetPreparedStuff-Best-Clothes-Wringer-Hand/dp/B002QSXK60/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1343232136&sr=1-1&keywords=laundry+wringer . I did some research and looked at a lot of antiques before deciding on this one because, again, you can get parts for it. This way I can do blankets, which won't fit in the salad spinner (and clothes with zippers and clasps can't go through a wringer). Before I buy the wringer, though, I am in the process of replacing our blankets, towels, and robes with lighter-weight, more fast drying versions. I'm actually almost done with this slowww process.

I also bought a $13, 12', five line retractable clothesline for over the woodstove, and scavenged a really nice wooden accordion drying rack. I already have a huge outdoor clothesline and and huge basement clothesline, but these two new gadgets will allow me to quickly air dry laundry in the winter, since I can put them near the warmest/breeziest spot in the house (woodstove + ceiling fan).

I'm not planning on getting rid of my machines, but I started acquiring non-electric laundry stuff after an extended power outage. We also have a front loader that has saved us a ton in water bills and electric costs, but it has a "button trap" that gets clogged with near regularity every year. DH can fix it, but sometimes it takes him a few days to get to it, and while that doesn't sound like much, I do laundry daily and with three kids I *barely* keep up. My handwash stuff allows me to stay on top of things. I'm really looking forward to this winter to see if I need the dryer at all, now that I have a warm spot to dry blankets, etc. We switched from an electric dryer to a gas one, and while it is much, much better (our electric bill went from $100 to $50 and I barely used the thing, plus it's way faster, even though our electric dryer was purchased new and was only a year old, and our gas dryer was bought used and is at least ten years old) I like the idea of just not needing it at all.