It’s time for me to start using the clothesline again.
Some stalwarts dry clothes sans dryer year round regardless of the temperature but I’m a fair weather clothesliner.
I’m opening up this post to your best tips and advice for air-drying laundry, indoors and out.
Technique, anecdotes, advantages and everything else.
Do you let your unmentionables sway in the breeze? (Extra points for giant grannypannies).
How about your favorite piece of equipment? (I am coveting this).
For you urban/suburbanites, problems with the neighbors, homeowner’s associations, etc.?
How do you ‘line?
TL
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Unless it is raining or beyond reasonably humid, the clothes are on the line. I proudly display my candy-colored undies for all to see, aimed right at the neighbors who are less-than-neighborly. I made a clothespin apron, which is way easier on my shoulders than a bucket or basket.
I. Love. My. Clothesline.
The weeks of rain we’ve been having, however, have made me distance that love. I long for a dry spell and a free day.
Yay for clotheslines! I hang everything from g-strings to sheets. It has never occured to me that undies could be seen as a problem. Maybe it’s a cultural thing? I’m in Italy – and undies are “just clothes” here.
To avoid having t-shirts sagg on each side and get funny marks from the pegs, I hang them double folded over the line at a bit above breast height. That way the peg marks disappear in your armpits, and you save a lot of time and energy ’cause you don’t have to press/iron. You just fold them nicely and put them in the bottom of the stack, and by the time you take it out to use it, it’s been nicely pressed by the weight of the shirts that were on top.
I also have a rack under roof that I use on rainy days.
i grew up putting everything on the line.
my mom figured out that most things dry with less distortion upside down; pants, blouses, etc, so you don’t get pinch marks on the shoulders. long sleeves are tricky. for long-sleeves flat woven fabrics (blouses and dress shirts) we would put them upside-down and pin the sleeves up, too; for knits mom had a special rack that was poly-mesh on a slight incline.
i love my line… it’s short, only 2 sheets and 2 pillow cases worth… but hey, better than nothing… and YES my undies go up!!! if my daughter (who lives in town) comes when my sheets are up, she’ll wander by my line and bury her head in the sheets… deep breatheeeeee and smile… life is good!!!
You bet I use a line. I hang things out everytime I can. Things are softer when the wind is blowing, not enought to send you things over to the next county tho. I give things a good shake before hanging jus to help soften them. The smell is so great and last so much longer then the boughten softener. Getting into be with sheets fresh off the line is heaven. I made a clothes pin bag that looks like a little girls dress. In the winter if it is too cold or wet to hang outside I have a wooden rack by the wood stove and some hooks in the ceiling to hang from. The shower rod makes a good hanger for somethings too. Yes undies go up outside with all the rest. I use homemade soap to wash and vinegar rinse too.
We recently took a trip through a Mennonite community and smiled at the clothesline going UP at an angle from house or post to a high pole. Very neat. There is NOTHING like clothes dried on a clothes line. Our basement is warm enough in winter to nicely dry things overnight even when it is too cold for this lady to venture outdoors to a line.
I use an old fashioned clotheshorse. I can move it around the yard to where the sun is. However, I covet a Hills Hoist (Google it to see how awesome it looks!). Me want…
Vanessa–Ooo! Have to check it out. Sounds sturdy.
I agree – there is nothing better than climbing into bed after a long day and smelling that sweet sun and wind captured in the fabric!
My sis lives in a fancy subdivision and I was shocked to hear she was not allowed a clothesline! Maybe some beach towels over the deck railing…. but I see their point… if YOU paid 1/2 mil for a house you probably wouldn’t want to see those huge grannypanties either!
My neighbor has a really neat wooden clothesline – when not in use it looks like a pergola – has maybe 2-3 lines on it.
Unfortunately a recent storm toppled my 60′ blue spruce and took my clothesline with it
The cool thing now is you get a good chuckle at my clothes hanging all over the tree! Just have to be careful of the sap
Oh and I use my shepherd’s hook to dry my “unmentionables”.
Hey – I live in the country – what can I say?
I’m like Synj, I pin up my clothes upside down, then the pin “dimples” are somewhere less noticeable. As far as the underwear goes, I have 3 clothes lines running side by side and I try to put the underwear on the middle line. Why offend the neighbors any more than you have to, ya’ know?
The lines the thing, but a pulley in the garage suffices for rainy days. The tumble drier shrinks everything as well as costing a fortune – but it can be very handy
No one can see my line so my underwear offends no one! Not sure anyone would ever look and close though, and hey as long as they are clean right?! Here in Scotland washing on the line is often reffered to as ‘decorations’, so I think its just the colour and themovement folks see and not the individual items.
I like to use clothes hangers and hang my wet clothes along our suburban privacy fence. I hate the ugly things, but at least now I’ve found some function for them.