~ if it's above freezing, or not, clothes are line dried ~
1.
It annoys the Home Owners Association. Frankly, I don't
understand people who carp about the environment and then use a
dryer. So many HOA's have rules against clothes lines where clothes
can be seen by other residents. Seriously? You're going to get
annoyed because you see my unmentionables? How old are you?
2.
It saves a lot of money. Dryers use a lot of electricity and the
older the dryer, the more electricity it uses. According to some
sites the energy hogs are heating and cooling (think heat pump),
water heater, lighting, washer/dryer, refrigerator, oven, TV/DVD/VCR,
dishwasher and finally, computer. The next water heater I purchase is
going to be an “on-demand” gas powered water heater which should
really push down the electric bill. I mean, why pay to keep water
heated 24/7 when it's only used a very few times a day?
Daddy
retired from VEPCO, now Dominion Resources, and used to say, “If
you're leaving the room, turn the lights off; you're not paying for a
dime more electricity than you use.” He's right and now I'm very
conscious of my electrical use. Last year, I bought a convection oven
and it's used most of the time and costs far less than my 1914 Acorn
stove oven, plus food bakes in a lot less time. This is very
important when I've misjudged my time and am ravenous.
I
no longer have satellite television and only watch a DVD a couple of
times a month. It's a time consideration; most of my time is used on
the farm or in the house and there's little to no extra time for
watching DVD's. Now that I'm without sat television, I'm more aware
of the amount of hours I wasted watching television, even “good
programming” such as PBS, Nat Geo, History, etc. Yes, I do miss it
but my decision was easy based upon time and needs not to mention how
much money I was spending to watch half dozen programs. Do I miss it? Yes, there are many nights I'd love to sofa crash, turn on the tube and get lost but since I've removed that temptation, I don't.
~ clothes line dried year 'round ~
3.
It's more exercise. My washer and dryer are upstairs, which is
where Dave wanted them because he said, “Most of our laundry will
be generated upstairs.” While that's true, it's also true I've
always line dried my laundry, all year 'round and lugging a huge
basket full of wet laundry downstairs then same basket of dried
laundry upstairs, means some serious exercise. In winter, if it's
snowing, sleeting or doing some other nasty kind of weather, I use a
clothes rack, also known as a clothes horse, to line dry inside. The
upside of that is the increased moisture in the air means no static
electricity.
4.
Clothes smell better. Really, clothes just smell better when line
dried in the sun. Nothing, not even lavender, beats the small of sun
dried laundry and using dryer sheets in the dryer means, eventually,
your towels and wash clothes aren't going to absorb water as well.
~ photo take very quickly in Romania ~
5.
Sunlight is a disinfectant. There's no need to use bleach and if
you want to boost your detergent's whitening and disinfecting power,
use a half cup to cup of baking soda.
6.
No wrinkles. On a windy day, clothes will line dry with few to no
wrinkles.
7.
Clothes last longer. In a dryer, clothes are being rubbed
together, somewhat violently, which produces lint. Lint is the result
of clothes losing fiber and will eventually wear clothes out much
more quickly.
~ Sandra with Romanian weaver ~
8.
Eliminates static cling. Lovely in and of itself!
9.
No shrinkage. Have you ever, mistakenly, shrunk something because
the dryer was on an incorrect setting? Yeah. Me too.
10
Softer clothes. If you must use a softener, use white vinegar.
11.
Time spent in nature. All right, so it's not a walk on the
beach or a traipse in the forest, it's still outside in nature. On a
beautiful day, it's glorious, even if you are hanging out laundry or
getting it off the line.
12.
Line dried sheets with line dried nightgown...'nuff said!
~ I made these spider web fabric shawls ~
Good
equipment is paramount in any operation, including line drying
clothes. A double T pole, opposite ends with good, plastic covered
wire stretched between means long years of drying pleasure. My lines
have been replaced three times in nineteen years which is remarkable,
considering the winds that scream down this valley. Just last week,
we had winds of sixty plus miles per hour and empty lines take a
toll; when lines are full of wet clothes, the lines are ripping back
and forth, back and forth continuously.
Yesterday,
I replaced one line, probably should have replaced the other but I
was expecting Donald, Mary's husband, after work to put up barb wire
on a fence line, and fixing one was gracious plenty. What it takes a
man 15 minutes to do, it takes me an hour, not including the figuring
out time.
~ I hand crocheted this rag rug hung on fence ~
I've
some of my grandmother's clothes pins and would love, dearly love, to
replace them with exactly the same kind. That's not happening
because, as we all know, they just don't make 'em like they used to
and 'em means everything. Please, whatever you do, do NOT buy
cheap clothes pins; you're wasting time, money, effort and, probably,
clean clothes when the pins break and clothes fall to earth.
As
an aside...Dave once bought an expensive gas grill and his friend
said, “Good grief, Dave, don't you ever buy anything cheap?”
Dave looked at him and said, “No, I can't afford to.” There's a
lot of wisdom in that simple statement.
If
you don't know about Lehman's, Simple Products for a Simpler Life,
in Ohio, visit when you have time and plan on spending some
pleasurable time perusing their it. Lehman's is the primary
source for old order religions such as Mennonite and Amish; most of
what they offer is non-electric, hand's on and stuff you've not seen
for years, even decades. For example, they have pant stretchers which
I've not seen since I was a teenager. For 25 clothes pins you'll pay
$6.95 but if you buy 2 packs, you'll pay $6.00 each.
~ clothes, frozen on line ~
In
Vermont, if you can believe it, a law has been passed “protecting
the right to dry laundry outdoors” even though “many people—due
to community, landlord, or zoning restrictions—are still prohibited
from letting their clothes dry naturally in the sun.”
Oh
yeah but they're “environmentally correct” in all other
ways...snort, chuckle, guffaw, laughing out LOUD! As an aside, does
anyone else see the absolute and total irony in the words “community
restrictions”? Can you say o.x.y.m.o.r.o.n.? Can you say
s.t.u.p.i.d.? Can you say... ain't no way I'm living that kinda life!
These are the same people who passed a law stating truckers cannot
leave their truck motors running when they're catching the few
winks required by law. Let's see now...we want our “stuff”
but we want to be environmentally correct and not release any smog
into the air and, by the way, it's okay to let the truckers freeze to
death. Sheesh!
But
I digress.
The
Vermont Country Store, another delightful mercantile, has clothes
pins; Theirs are 25 pins for $9.95 but the words RIGHT TO DRY are
printed, in red, on each and every pin, letting your neighbors know
where you stand. Unless, of course, you live in a “community”
where such shenanigans as line drying your delicates are prohibited.
~ crazy quilt, circa mid to late 1800's ~
The
last place I found to purchase wooden clothes pins is Lee ValleyTools and is, probably, where I'll buy my pins. I plan to as they look very
similar to my Grandmother's pins and, at $4.95 for 50 pins are more
than reasonably priced.
I will admit to using the dryer...sometimes. Like today, the day started out bright and sunny so I threw my blankie into the washer; by the time blankie was finished washing, it was raining. That blankie is important to an excellent night's sleep for me so it's going into the dryer.
What
about you? Do you line dry? Why or why not? Nosy minds want to know!
Blessings ~ clothes lines and pins ~ clean blankie ~ Romania ~ gift of travel ~ gift of line dried clothes ~ the work of our hands and hearts ~
