Conservative Friend

For reasons forgotten, I strung up a line, and bought some clothespins earlier this summer.  Oh, the dryer was still working, it just didn't give me the satisfaction as a clothesline.

And my washer  20+ yo is the worst one made, according to the Consumer Reports ratings.  It is good for changing whites to Quaker grey whether you want it or not.  It still works just fine, unfortunately.

But line-dried sheets smelling so wonderful is not a myth--it is real--and snuggling down on fresh rough sheets at night is a sensation not to be missed.  

I decided that I would see how long I could go without using the dryer.  There were other clothespins "games" one could play.  For example to try and see how few pins  you could use to hang a load of wash.  Then there is the "game" of trying to hang clothes with the goal of  reducing wrinkles, ie.,  Hanging jeans so there is a crease.

I just hung a load, and there is a breeze--not a strong enough one to to make the clothes all soft, and shake out some of the wrinkles, but I have hope as the afternoon wears on for some real gusts.

A couple of weeks ago I washed on a day where the temperature hit 111 degrees (I meant to check whether we were the hottest in the nation) , humidity about 15% at my house.  It was funny.  By the time I got to the end of the wash, the beginning of the line was already drying.

Clothesline Hints:

Dark colors, inside out.

Learn how to repair clothespins that have separated.

Pull pockets inside out.

Hems of denim skirts that tend to curl upward, train it by hanging it upside down, pin hen folded over the line, and stretched. 

For softer sheets, fluffier towels, take advantage of high winds. Don't be in a hurry to take the wash in, let it get slapped around.

It is claimed that the electricity used by the dryer, while not an energy hog, costs about $100 a year.

One of those little laundry caddys with wheels that hold the wet wash waist-high, in the words of Martha Stewart, is a good thing for old backs.  And you can place folded items when you are harvesting your wash.

My set up is low-tech, a single line, consisting of a bucket of rocks over a strong branch at one end of the line, the other end over a hook on the garage.

Clotheslines are the norm where I live, and so it is that I discovered the simple pleasure of hanging clothes on a beautiful day.   

How beautiful, Linda. I feel ashamed of myself that when the clothesline broke earlier this summer, I left it "broke". We don't have a working dryer, which means hanging clothes on hangers in the basement.  They do not smell nearly as fresh, I can tell you, as clothes hung outside in the sun and breeze.

Maybe I'll go to the Dollar Store for some new line.  I have a fresh pack of wooden pins just waiting for me to get it together. 

Nan

I LOVE my clothesline!  I love being out there in the early hours (I have a day job to get to) hanging up things, listening to the birds and other sounds in the woods while the neighborhood is stirring.  The smell of the clothes can't be imitated by any "laundry product" out there.  I also delight in keeping my dollars at home instead of sending them to the power company.  I made myself a clothespin apron so they are always at hand.  There's nothing that'll make you appreciate a cup of hot cocoa as much as wrapping the mug with cold hands from hanging out winter wash.

Our propane dryer gave up the ghost some years ago, and so I sank some posts out by the garden for about 120 feet of clothesline. With seven of us, we fill it all at once, because we have to do all the laundry in town all at once until the rains fill the well back up in the autumn.

The mechanical dryer was more convenient, but interestingly, Shawna prefers the solar technique. It doesn't cost anything, works whether we have propane or not, and is a pleasant opportunity for conversation in a joint task that we both can participate in occasionally.

The only problem with it is in winter, when the cloth freezes before it dries. Then you have to let stuff sit out in the sun for days until the moisture sublimates. Believe me, putting on frozen trousers that slowly thaw into icy-damp trousers is a good way to wake up quick in January!

Vermont & Right to “Dry Movement”

http://www.eroei.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=223

(Watch little video)

http://www.laundrylist.org/index.php/advocacy/76-the-right-to-dry-campaign

Green inc

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/clotheslines-stage-a-comeback/

Elites don’t want to look at poor folks wash?

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/conflict-over-clotheslines-in-greenwich/

(I just wanted to try and get the grey out of my whites---!)

I didnt realize that tumble-dried lint is the evidence of how hard dryers are on clothes. Notice the one Seattle woman hangs her wash year round (Seattle has rains that never stop) stringing a line over a pipe in the garage on the wet days.