I also read somewhere (long ago) that running an item of clothing through the washer and the dryer puts it through the equivalent wear-and-tear of 60 wearings.

Dunno if that is true, but the plunge and soak handwashing routine is bound to be gentler on the clothes.

It's an amusing curmudgeonly way to get an arm workout. Like most red-blooded Americans, I'd rather "work out" than do actual physical work. Drive my SUV right up to the door of the gym and commandeer the handicap parking spot, so I can go inside to walk on the treadmill; you betcha! Throw my laundry into the washing machine and then pick up my handweights and wave my arms around while the machine chugs away; oh yeah!

If I had to do more than just a smidgen of laundry for a couple weeks, I'd probably not find this plunger-and-bucket experience nearly as amusing...