I have a lot more respect for my parents who taught me to wash my clothes by hand. I have a lot more respect for domestic helpers who still have to wash by hand, even when their wicked employers have a washing machine in the home. And I will not be wearing any more white clothes till the current water woes are behind us.

It is not easy to wash white clothes properly by hand after years of getting used to simply pre-soaking them then putting them into my computerised LG washing machine. This time, I soaked them in my Breeze-filled bath, then rushed home at 4:30 p.m. one evening last week to wash them. I wanted to take advantage of the infrequent trickle of water that was available from the taps that did not have enough pressure to reach the machine. Yes, I am now at the the start of week five without my usual water supply.

My whites were not badly soiled but I still had to be helped by blue soap, a little bleach and a wash brush, plus do a second washing before rinsing. It was dark by the time I hung them on the line. That was when I pondered again why some of the money set aside to deal with the present crisis, is not going into the establishment of a new dam to serve the Corporate Area.

The answer is simple. All our governments over the years would rather react to crises and waste money fixing problems for the short term than putting in long-term solutions. That is why we will never see economic growth while current approaches to problems prevail.

I would, therefore, advise the parents who are raising a generation of children incapable of doing everything except school work, going to parties, manipulating hand-held gadgets at lightning speed and plugging themselves into their iPods, to teach them some survival skills for the years when they too will have no water. That is, providing you know how to do these things yourselves. I have seen too many corporate executives wearing nicely ironed white shirts with bright yellow underarm stains!

Start with the basic

Teach your children to do their own laundry gradually from socks and underwear to bigger garments as they get older. Teach them to cook some basic dishes starting with their favourites. Forget microwave ovens and fast-food establishments. Teach them to tidy their own bedrooms, then the entire house. If you live in a bungalow-type dwelling, teach them to rake and sweep the yard, empty the garbage, water plants and take care of dogs and cats or other household pets. Teach them to conserve water and always keep some in reserve.

Then, teach them to shop in the market and supermarket by watching you do it. Even if they grow up able to afford a team of household staff, they must know how to do these things themselves so that when helpers pull the short-cut card, they will be able to steer them right.

I hope we all have a Christmas that is made happier with adequate water supplies.

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