My sister-in-law, Emily, gave us an outdoor drying rack late last summer and we’ve finally found the perfect home for it. Confession! Although I really wanted one, I’ve never really used one so let’s just say I’m still learning. Further proof that I’m a complete dork: I actually Googled “how to hang clothes on a line” because there is probably a correct way to efficiently do it, right? Sure enough, 55,600,000 results popped up. This actually made me feel a bit better about my dork status. A bit.
Fun facts I ran across in Cyberspace about line drying:
- According to the NYT, clotheslines are banned or restricted by many of the roughly 300,000 homeowners’ associations that set rules for some 60 million people. Yikes, Big Brother, yikes.
- Most households can save more than $25 off their monthly electric bill. Nice!
- You can reduce the full lifecycle climate change impact of your jeans by up to 50 percent by line drying and washing them in cold water.
More fun facts and reasons to line dry can be found here.
I think clothes on a line are just beautiful and I’d like to see more of it. But not your dirty old stained underwear, thank you very much. What are your thoughts on drying clothes on a line? Do you have a method or routine you follow? I’d like to know!
love the idea of hanging wash out to dry. But you cited an example of why it is banned in so many places: you’re putting your own rules on what should be fluttered about for all the world to see and be offended by (terrible grammar there) – stained and torn underwear!
ha, so true…
we do line dry if the weather’s good and it’s not a bunch of socks and other tiny items. too much fuss. but towels, yes. jeans, yes. shirts, yes. sheets, YES. we had a line just like yours when i was a kid growing up. i’m lazy, so whatever works best is what i do. i have a load of LOTS of mini me clothes in the washer right now. hell no, i’m not line drying all that stuff. but my clothes, sure. i don’t know about efficiency in line drying, but i love the way it smells lately – they just cut and baled the hay on our property. that plus the honeysuckle = best smelling laundry EVER. cheers to the clothesline!
I’ve been dreaming of the hay/honeysuckle combination…
heh – I want to see the torn, stained underwear, it makes me feel better about my own 🙂
well, I line dry when I can, but the last time I did so, hubby was sure to let me know that his clothes were quite stiff (actually I recall laughing as I took them from the line – they could’ve stood on their own)…I’ve since invested in liquid fabric softener which I’ve not yet tried. Wish me luck!
Any luck with the liquid fabric softener? I’ve discovered an added bonus of line drying. Bugs! More protein in our diet? …
ha! This made me spit my coffee out. Perfect.
How funny that a clothes line is such a ‘strange concept’ in the U.S. I’m from Australia where the hills hoist clothesline was designed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hills_Hoist
I grew up with my mother and grandmother wandering out the backyard several times a day to hang 8 family members clothes out. Half chewed wooden pegs (our mischievous labrador) and yes, bugs attracted to the white clothes items are etched in my memory.
I now live in a subdivision where the HOA will not allow clothes lines! My answer is to dedicate one room in our house to clothes racks and use the dryer only to soften the towels.
Jenny!
It looks like I might have a cheaper version of the Hills Hoist rotating clothesline? Wow, eight people. That’s a lot to hang… You must truly be dedicated to devote an entire room to drying – I salute you!
Thanks for clicking in on me today! Ash
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