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I can’t remember when a clothes dryer came into the family. Probably the early 60s.
My grandparents lived in a 3 decker in MA, with a back porch, which my grandmother called the piazza. Clothesline’s stretched from the piazza, over the back yard and back again.
We lived in a single house, but we always had a clothesline. I even had one in the late 60s when I used a laundromat, so I could dry the clothes at home.
I'm seriously considering getting the guy next door to come over and put some kind of bolt on each side of my 12 x 16 screened porch off the kitchen, and I have a large yard. So I can run 'a line' and at least hang my sheets and pillowcases, and some etc.'s out there inside the porch.
D'ya think the HOA would pitch a fit ? (Rules prohibit putting lines in the yard. But not on the porch.)
That other thread about repairing underwear got me to reminiscing a little about childhood in the 50s and brought to mind "wash day." Ma would do the laundry with an electric machine that would agitate the wash, then drain it and rinse it twice, but she had to take each item and run it thru the wringer individually. My bride, at age 5 got her hair caught in that menacing device once. Luckily, her ma was on the spot and yanked her out before she got trapped. No damage done. Severe injuries were not uncommon from an adventure like that-- crushed fingers & hands or hair caught so deep the only remedy was to cut it off.
Then Ma had to lug the wet, heavy laundry out to the back yard and hang it with wooden clothes pins (also made good toy soldiers or two crossed together as a war plane) on the clothes lines. The lines, sagging with the heavy load, were then propped up with notched clothes poles. Playing with those polls and leaving them in outlying hiding spots was a capital offense, as I recall.
As an adult I lived for more than a decade in a ritzy neighborhood where hanging your wash outside to dry was actually outlawed!
Anybody here using "solar power" the old fashioned way and hanging your laundry out to dry? Nothing like that crisp, clean feeling of fresh clothes & linens treated that way.
Nope, it's always been against the law in the places I've lived. That's just fine because I had the stiffness of line-dryed clothes.
Anybody here using "solar power" the old fashioned way and hanging your laundry out to dry? Nothing like that crisp, clean feeling of fresh clothes & linens treated that way.
Yes...we use the clothesline practically every day.
I can't bring myself to use the dryer on a hot day when the sun dries the clothes faster, and at no cost.
Even in the winter I'll hang some clothes on the rack inside, as it's only a matter of a couple of days till they're dry.
I love the smell of clothes from the line.
Not sure if I've answered this before but here's an update anyway.
I LOVE hanging clothes out on the line! I just had my husband install a clothes line from the pergola to the fence - it's retractable so I only pull it out (and attach it to a hook on the fence) when I want to hang clothes out.
I don't generally hang towels on the line - I prefer them to be soft and fluffy. However, just about everything else goes out there, including jeans. I also air our dog beds, comforters, pillows, etc several times a month. I absolutely love the smell of freshly washed clothes and linens that have been out in the sun for hours. It's also economical, doesn't create heat in the house like a dryer does, and sunshine is a natural antibacterial. I honestly can't see any downside to it.
Oh, and I also find that it really cuts down on any ironing I might have to do otherwise.
Besides that, laundry just feels and smells great to my husband and me. He gladly put that line up! In fact, in our former house, he gave me a clothesline for Mother's Day - and I was thrilled. I mean, it was what I wanted! The old fashioned sort on the two big T metal posts. We had the perfect spot for that in the former house but not in this current home so we went for the retractable type this time.
We live in a generally very sunny, warm state (Texas). I have a dryer, so if it's not going to be sunny outside, I use the dryer sometimes, or more often I just wait a day or two for a sunny day. Now, this past week, we've had a chance of thunderstorms every afternoon (and gotten them too) so I haven't used the line or done any wash, but starting tomorrow there is basically no chance of rain for days, and believe me, I'll be out in that yard hanging clothes and linens out!
I do it even in the winter time because around here, even if it's chilly or cold, and the sun is out, things will dry. We rarely have days on end when the sun isn't out.
By the way, I usually hang shirts and pants on their actual hangers when they're drying, and I button them up for some shape. That way I don't have marks from the clothespins. Also, all I have to do then is just hang them in the closet when they're dry.
I hang clothing on hangers from my umbrellas (I have two umbrellas on my back patio). It looks a little hillbilly but I don't care because it's my private backyard and besides that, if anyone judging would just try pulling a shirt on that's been soaking up that sun and clean air all day JUST ONCE, or climb into bed between those sun dried sheets, they'd totally understand why I do what I do!
I'm seriously considering getting the guy next door to come over and put some kind of bolt on each side of my 12 x 16 screened porch off the kitchen, and I have a large yard. So I can run 'a line' and at least hang my sheets and pillowcases, and some etc.'s out there inside the porch.
D'ya think the HOA would pitch a fit ? (Rules prohibit putting lines in the yard. But not on the porch.)
yeah and I betcha they would say no clothes lines of any kind . I would hang my clothes outside except for the fact that there are chem trails everywhere and those chem trails are falling lightly right on top of your clothes and exposing you to deadly chemicals . That and we have a neighbor who thinks it is quite alright to burn his dog poop after it has dried leaving a god awful smell in the air yuck ,besides the dust seems to fall on my clothes as well from the yahoos driving down the dirt road and leaving a dust cloud the size of a tornado .
By the way, I usually hang shirts and pants on their actual hangers when they're drying, and I button them up for some shape. That way I don't have marks from the clothespins. Also, all I have to do then is just hang them in the closet when they're dry.
I hang clothing on hangers from my umbrellas (I have two umbrellas on my back patio). It looks a little hillbilly but I don't care because it's my private backyard and besides that, if anyone judging would just try pulling a shirt on that's been soaking up that sun and clean air all day JUST ONCE, or climb into bed between those sun dried sheets, they'd totally understand why I do what I do!
Great idea Kathryn... I might start using hangers too...
I'm about to hang some sheets on the line right now! Just put my mattress pad and pillows (and dog beds - LOL) outside to sun all day. My bed is going to feel and smell fabulous tonight!
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 07-14-2018 at 07:02 AM..
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