1.5 months without a washing machine
Previously, the longest time I lived without a washing machine was around 1 month when the old one approached the end of its life, and I decided to give myself a gift of living without one. This time I decided to give myself the same gift again when I moved into my new (rented) apartment. I was going to invite a washing machine into my life eventually, but now it's been 1.5 months and I enjoy living without one. A washing machine was one of those devices I thought I definitely needed even if I could live without an iron, a toaster, a kettle, a car, a dishwasher and so on. However, caring for my clothes and textiles myself feels liberating. I do not consider those activities to be a waste of time or inefficient. Those are some of my most favourite moments when I can feel grounded and honour the objects that I share my life with. For the same reason I wash my dishes by hand even though there is a dishwasher in this flat, or I clean the floor by hand even though I could acquire a device for this purpose. Perhaps I would acquire a washing machine if I had a family or children or a larger wardrobe. But I live on my own and have a minimalist wardrobe. When I wash my clothes and textiles by hand, the fabrics look great, and handwashing appears to remove all the detergent from the fabrics well. I also feel more comfortable about washing only one or two items if I want. One downside of not owning a washing machine is my skin condition which at times manifests on my hands. In this situation I would probably ask my friends if I could use their washing machine.