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Hanging Laundry

post #1 of 34
4/18/09 at 2:26pm
Thread Starter 
Now that spring is upon us I wanted to start a thread to inspire and celebrate hanging laundry out to dry. I work 5 or 6 (and sometimes 7!) days a week and used to think I just did not have the time. Two years ago (after watching "an inconvieniant truth") I made the commitment to hang my laundry as often as I could, which has turned out to be about 95% of the time (seasonally). It has turned out to be my meditation! I love getting a few quiet moments in the sun and feel good about cutting my carbon footprint just a bit more. It is a very peaceful and rewarding way of doing housework. I invite all those who are able and have not yet made the commitment to give it a try in celebration of Earth Day......
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post #2 of 34
4/18/09 at 2:49pm
I'm in. I do not have a dryer, so I hang nearly 100%. There are those times when I use the dryer at the laundromat because I get behind...but usually, it's the line! I love the way the sun clears stains most of all!
post #3 of 34
4/18/09 at 3:21pm
I have always hung my laundry out a lot in the summer, but I had a deck and those small fold up hangers. We have demolished (and by "we" I mean mostly "me") the old, rotten deck. So, I ordered an umbrella clothes dryer, and it came yesterday! I am so excited. Of course, we have a foot of snow on the ground right now, so it'll have to wait a few days before I can put it out. I'm really jazzed about using it though because I'll be able to hang even more stuff out. :
post #4 of 34
4/18/09 at 5:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColoradoMama View Post
I have always hung my laundry out a lot in the summer, but I had a deck and those small fold up hangers. We have demolished (and by "we" I mean mostly "me") the old, rotten deck. So, I ordered an umbrella clothes dryer, and it came yesterday! I am so excited. Of course, we have a foot of snow on the ground right now, so it'll have to wait a few days before I can put it out. I'm really jazzed about using it though because I'll be able to hang even more stuff out. :

Hooray!

I'm so glad that we don't have a foot on the ground anymore. There is a foot in some places but, thankfully, not under my clothesline. The snow disappears more quickly in Colordado (well, in many places ) than it does here.
post #5 of 34
4/19/09 at 4:54pm
I LOVE hanging out laundry! I love the way it looks, feels, and smells! Have you ever slept in sheets that have been hung out all day in the sun??? I like that it is "work" I can get done while my little one plays outside. She also loves to run through the clothes and feel them brush her face. I am not sure why more people don't hang out clothes! Keep it hanging!
post #6 of 34
4/19/09 at 9:08pm
I also love my clothesline. I can do a week's worth of laundry in about an hour and a half if I use the clothesline on a sunny, windy day. And it gets me outside!

I try to hang indoors as much as possible in the winter, but since our old dryer died and we got a new one, the new one is just.so.fast. that it is more of a temptation when it's too cold to dry outdoors.

Sometimes, I take dishes outdoors in the summertime and do that washing out there, too. When it's nice out, I don't even want to live in the house.
post #7 of 34
4/20/09 at 1:28am
I have been hanging my laundry all of my life. When I was a kid, we did it because we were poor and "country" and all that entails.

When I moved out, I continued because it just makes ecological sense--and it made my laundry smell like home.

Dh had a hard time with the rough sheets and towels and the "funny smell" when we first met, but 14 years in, he's learned to accept it

Truthfully, I'm not always happy with the morning rush to get the laundry on the line before I need to be somewhere...but I am always happy to bury my face in it as I take it down.
post #8 of 34
5/8/09 at 10:20pm
Just bought my first clothes line!:
post #9 of 34
5/9/09 at 7:27am
I love hanging the laundry outside. I'm always amazed by how quickly it dries. I never thought I could get 3 loads dry in one day, but I can...even if I statr laundry late. I love the sun!
post #10 of 34
5/10/09 at 9:28am
I want a clothes line....
post #11 of 34
5/10/09 at 8:09pm
I have an indoor drying rack that I sometimes take outside when it's nice here. I wish I had more room to dry - I can do a load a day in the summertime and a load every other day in the winter. Sometimes we get behind and I have to use the dryer, but for the most part, I love "line" drying. I recently recieved some kids clothes from a friend who's kid had outgrown them. They smelled funny to me, Thats when I realized that was the smell of dryer sheets! :-)
post #12 of 34
5/11/09 at 12:17pm
I hate it when lo comes from Granny's house with clothes that she's washed. The strong smell of soap and fabric softener burns my nose. I always change him and am grateful that I've made a switch to healther cleaning habits!
post #13 of 34
5/11/09 at 2:20pm
i too am super anxious to start hanging our clothes out again. my hubby is gonna make me the mother of all clotheslines as soon as he gets his welder back. this thing will have 6 or 7 rows to hang stuff.: he made a joke about putting neon lights on top and it could probably be seen from space.


i hope its soon though cause weve already hit 100 this year.
post #14 of 34
5/12/09 at 1:04pm
I do it!

I started when it cost $$$ to dry stuff in college. Now it is just a habit.

Suzan's clothesline tip: buy a heavier duty clothesline on Amazon, etc. The ones they sell at HD/Target suck in comparison.
post #15 of 34
5/12/09 at 1:35pm
I live in Israel and we hang outside all year round unless its raining in the winter! I let my baby crawl around on the front walk while I hang, she loves to get outside. I actually miss my dryer days, its so much easier, quicker and the clothes come out so much softer :.
post #16 of 34
5/12/09 at 1:41pm
I started hanging mine last year when the dryer was broken. I actually dislike the scratchy feel of the clothes, and esp underwear, sheets, and towels. My routine is to get them mostly dry on the line, then I pop them in the dryer to finish. It only takes a few minutes in the dryer that way, and they come out softer.

Our weather allows to line dry all year. It's so hot already -- in the 90s!

I haven't been line drying recently because of seasonal allergies. First cedar, then oak. Plus, both cedar and oak leave a yellow residue on everything. Now that the allergy season is behind us i'll start line drying again.
post #17 of 34
5/12/09 at 1:50pm
We splurged on an HE washer when we moved in to this new house, and the deal I made with myself was that I could get the new HE washer only if I didn't replace or keep the dryer. So I didn't. And so far being dryer-free feels like a good decision. I hope I still feel good about it come winter. :
post #18 of 34
5/21/09 at 12:55pm
Oh I really like to hang out my laundry. Dh built me a line last year and I need to get alot better and hanging my laundry. Lately its been so rainy and stormy so that was my excuse. Now is sunny and 80 degrees. Looks like I need to hang it out today!! Dh loves it when i hang it out. Most people think its scratchy but he likes the smell and feel so thats good. And anything that is "green" is good in his book. Im so happy I have a DH that is on board with everything!
post #19 of 34
5/21/09 at 9:05pm
i just started hanging my laundry... oh my gosh...
i think it is so beautiful to see the clean clothes blowing in the breeze
and hanging them is like my very own meditation. something about it is peaceful.
post #20 of 34
7/15/09 at 9:08pm
Coming late to this thread! I love hanging laundry out - it is a meditative experience! For those that are time crunched in the morning, try hanging out in the dark before bed. I did that all the time last summer, hang out late with the moon and the dark stillness. Everything is dry by midmorning and more can go up!!