[W0lfEagle]

My guess is that it would probably feel quite cathartic to unplug from all those digital distractions and just use your hands on a physical task for a while for many people not used to doing things like this.

If however your washing machine breaks and you need to wash by hand AND do all the other hundreds of tasks filling up your time it will probably feel like a massive waste of time.

[SoftTalker]

When people washed clothes by hand they had far fewer items of clothing.

[thsksbd]

No, what they did is wear the same clothes a couple more days. Just because I have a fancy suit doesn't mean I wear it -> get it dirty.

They also had fewer clothes because they weren't mass produced.

[whywhywouldyou]

So not only do you gain a meditative and rewarding practice of washing something by hand, it sounds like it incentivizes you to cut down on frivolous spending on clothing as well.