I live in Southern CA, which means that most of the days now are pleasantly warm and full of sunshine. I've been eagerly awaiting the change from cloudy winter days, because sunshine means that I can use my clothesline again!
We have a clothes dryer, but it is a hand-me-down that came when we bought our condo. It is very old and very inefficient. It uses a LOT of electricity. So I have a pretty big incentive not to use it. Hence the clothesline.
It isn't just about the money (although when we're using cloth diapers, the money to dry them electrically does add up!) I also just like drying laundry this way. Yes, it takes more hands-on time to hang every piece, instead of just throwing them in the dryer. But it is a peaceful sort of activity. Jonathan likes to "help" by handing me wet clothing items, and Thomas seems to enjoy being outside (in the sling) in the open air. Pinning up clothes is the sort of restful, repetitive activity that lends itself to thinking or prayer or just listening to toddler chatter. I find that it is a nice part of my day, instead of just another chore.
Another nice bonus? The sun bleaches out stains on the diapers. And the clothes, for that matter. It is much preferable to baking the stains on in the dryer!
Clothes dried on the line usually end up pretty stiff (unless you've had a good breeze to go along with the sunshine.) You can solve this problem by putting the dry clothes in the dryer for about 5 minutes. They come out soft and fluffy.
Saving money, and turning a chore into an enjoyable part of the day? Works for Me!
3 comments:
I love doing the clothes line thing! I'm looking forward to being able to do it again after we move. Since our backyard is so shallow and north-facing, we don't get enough sun to be able to line dry anything until late spring. I wonder if the weather would allow for a year around clothes line up in Nevada County? Hmm...
i like clotheslines too. your post brought back great memories of me helping my granny hang up the clothes in the summer when I was younger. awww. thanks.
I have a built-in clothesline in our apartment. :) Well, it's actually a steel cable running from one wall to the other in the living room up near the ceiling, because it's an old building and someone noticed years ago that the top of the building was a few inches wider than the bottom half -- whoops! So it's to keep it from continuing to widen I guess. But I use it to hang all my 'hang dry' clothes up, and sometimes others too. It's great!
Post a Comment