12 Reasons to Line Dry Laundry

~ 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 ~

Put Your $ to Work

~ my neighbor's sheep ~

We're in the midst of a huge snow storm, expecting ten inches (or more) and are well on the way. Generally, they'll be drifts of three to five feet in the morning and chores are going to be difficult and tricky. There's no wind, thank God, but the temps are dropping quickly and I've done what I can do to prepare the animals, the farm, the house and myself. May God have mercy. 

For some, this money information will come as welcome as rain after a drought; for others, you'll say, “Well, I already knew all this” and my response to you is, “then why haven't you blogged about it and helped out the rest of us?” grin

~ Sam and Sadie ~

I'm not a financial expert, nor a stock broker and don't work for human resources or any of the companies I'm going to talk about. I'm simply someone who was told about all this and have taken advantage. I want to pass along the favor but, as always, you should talk over your money management plans with your spouse or someone else who has your best interest at heart. Let them help you make wise money decisions.

Lately, I've been working on “the book” and thought I'd blog about money. Money is part of “the book”, in fact, a major part of “the book” because you work hard for your money and there are two things that are very true about your money...(1) you want to keep as much of it as you can and (2) you want it to work for you. Money that's not working is money that doesn't have much value other than face value. It's possible for your money to go to work...every single day and, at the end of a few years or decades, you'll have a tidy packet to aid in retirement, help with college expenses, start the grands on a nice nest egg, etc.

First, if you have a 401 at your place of work, run, don't walk to the HR office and announce your intent to participate. Then, participate at the full maximum allowed by your company. Seriously, you cannot afford not to participate; companies vary as to how much they'll match but whatever they match, it's money in your pocket. Give up whatever you need to give up...mani-pedi's (it's not that difficult to paint your own nails), eating lunch out, buying coffee (make it at home and you'll save big!) and a load of other "small" expenses that chew through your wallet. 

One of a parent's primary jobs is teaching your children about money. If you weren't taught about money, the learning curve is going to be difficult but not impossible so better get started.

Putting your money to work means making it earn compound interest. Compound interest means not only does your initial principal work for you, so does the interest. In essence, you've got a double whammy going on which means more money in your account.

Using this investor compound interest tool will give you an idea of how your money can work for you. If you set aside $250 as your buy-in principal, add $25 each month and let it grow for 10 years at 7% interest and compound that interest twice a year, you're going to have close to $5,000 at the end of ten years. 

$250 current principal - initial buy-in

25 monthly addition = $300 per year

10 years to grow

7%interest rate

compound interest 2 times a year

will be $4,739.40

If you add start with more principal and/or add more than $25 each month your figure will grow accordingly. Research the company you're interested in and then plug in the numbers to see how much money you'll save and earn.

So, how do you buy stock? A lot of people think you need a stock broker or an on-line account. Neither is true. If you have a utility service in your name, you can call them and ask, “Do you have a stock buy-in program?” If they say, “Yes” then you ask, “What does it cost to buy-in? Do I buy-in monthly or yearly?” Then, almost the most important question, “Do you have a Dividend Reinvestment Program?”

A Dividend Reinvestment Program, commonly referred to as a DRIP, means all interest made on your money, will be used to make more money...for them and for you. You never opt to receive a dividend check; you always let dividends roll over and purchase either more partial or full shares of stock.

There are many companies that have a stock buy-in and DRIP program. In Virginia, it's Dominion Resources, an electric company, and in Florida it's Southern Electric. Other stock-buy in companies include EXXON, and there are more companies listed at List of DRIP Companies, Direct Investing and Online DRIP Database. A visit to any of these sites will give you companies that allow you to directly purchase stock and enroll in their DRIP program.

Or you could call your utility company and ask about their programs. BTW, utility companies are commonly referred to as "widows and orphans" stock...they aren't very sexy, like tech stock, but they, generally, aren't as volatile with wild swings up and down. Just nice and steady, aren't going anywhere and probably will be around for a long while. 

As with all financial decisions, you should do your own research and make your own decisions based on intelligent decisions. I'm not telling you to invest in any of the companies I've named, but I will tell you, some decades ago I invested in Dominion Resources and it was one of the best financial decisions I ever made.

Blessings ~ buy-in stock programs ~ DRIP ~ compound interest ~ your money at work ~