In keeping with this week's Lenten Observance, I've rigged up a temporary clothesline to put to use. If all goes well, I may erect a more permanent one later.
Here are some thoughts on the project thus far:
1. Obviously (as pictured above), I didn't have the line taut enough at first. Girl 1's jeans were dragging the ground! I re-rigged it and now have a much more efficient line.
2. The current location is both good and bad: I like that it's right outside the kitchen window so I can see the clothes easily from the house (and know, for example, when a cat has pulled down a towel and is using it as a bed), but one side of it doesn't get good sun until the afternoon because it's so shaded by the house. I may have to rethink the location for a more permanent line.
3. What to do with the skivvies? You see, we live right next door to church -- and not just any church -- OUR church. While our laundry is not viewable from the road, it is viewable to anyone who pulls into the church parking lot. I have this fear that Girl 2 will walk into Sunday school and hear from a friend "I saw your 'Sunday' panties on the line this morning. Shouldn't you have them on today?"
4. What to do with John's dress shirts? I pretty much only get out the ironing board when I'm working on a sewing project. I pretty much only work on a sewing project when Little Boy is sleeping. Come to think of it, he may not even know what an iron is. This has been made possible by John's choosing non-iron dress shirts and my refusal to buy anything for myself or the kids that requires ironing. But, the non-iron dress shirts require the dryer to get them in perfect shape.
5. Even with these hindrances, I've found that I'm able to drastically cut back on drying. For example, yesterday, I washed 3 loads total. As they came out of the washer, I tossed the undies and dress shirts into the dryer and carried everything else outside. So, I washed three loads but only dried one in the dryer.
6. Even though it's cold, the clothes do get dry. I wasn't really sure about this. Obviously, if it were below freezing, this wouldn't be the case, but on a breezy but cold day, I can put clothes out mid-morning and bring them in late-afternoon.
7. I DO enjoy the additional outside time hanging the clothes allows me. I chat with the goats and chickens, and watch Little Boy run around. I expected to enjoy this part of it, but I was surprised by how much I enjoy bringing some of the outdoors in. As I was washing my face with a washcloth fresh off the line, I found myself deeply breathing in that fresh outdoor smell.
8. I DO NOT like how Milkshake, our smallest kitten, keeps jumping into the laundry basket full of wet clothes while I'm working. This morning I counted 8 times that I had to toss her out of the basket. Suggestions?
Ashley, You can put a load in the dryer for just 10 min., then hang them up, and they'll be softer and less wrinkled. You're using less energy, and the clothes also dry faster.
ReplyDeleteWe always had a clothesline. I love how sheets smell when they come off the clothesline! We had lines strung up in our basement to use during the winter and for things that we didn't want to fade in the sun. I think socks and underwear went in the dryer, but they may have hung up on the lines downstairs or on a drying rack. I hang all my underwear and the kids' clothes on a drying rack. That may be a good option for things you won't want waving in the wind for all to see. Things definitely last longer if they're hanging to dry.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I would recommend a retractable clothesline. You can find one with multiple lines and you can take it down when it's not in use or you need the yard for playing. (I have actually clotheslined myself on an actual clothesline before! Ha!)