Clothesline tips and tricks

[livinlovinlaughin]

Please share any tips and tricks or questions you have found when drying on your clothesline.

 I thought it might be a nice idea to bring these all together in one place. Please forgive me if this has already been done.

DH finally put up a pulley line for me!   

I love it! One end it attached to our porch and the other to a tree in the yard. It works great so far. I can stand on the deck and send everything out into the yard and sun my whites on this line. (I have another line under the porch roof to keep out of the sun/ rain and to give me more space.)   I am curious what type of clothespin container people use with a pulley line? Also, I need help with one major issue...the ants love coming from the tree across the line to the deck and sometimes into the house. DH used tire chalk to chalk the ends that attached to the line on each side. I am hoping someone will have a natural solution for me to take care of this problem.

[limette]

I don't think that hard about line drying. Clips go in an old ice cream bucket. Not sure what to do about the ants.

[jadekat]

I made myself a clothespin apron and I love using it. Maybe you could spray your clothesline with vinegar? I don't have any other ideas.

[livinlovinlaughin]

I get such a great feeling from line drying. I thought people like me with this passion would like to share ways of doing things they have  found work best for them. I guess I was wrong. This thread has not been very popular. Sorry.
 

Originally Posted by jadekat 

I made myself a clothespin apron and I love using it. Maybe you could spray your clothesline with vinegar? I don't have any other ideas.

Thank you so much! I made myself a clothespin apron. I love aprons! That is just what I was looking for.

[Caneel]

I love line drying too.   My DH, however, does not.  His is visually opposed to clothing hanging outside, like someone going to look at his underwear or something.  I gave up the fight years ago and I really miss line-dried sheets and towels.

Concerning your ants - is your line rope or a smooth material like a coated cable?  We stopped ants from entering our house using  cayanne pepper.  Would it be possible to put liquid hot sauce where the line connects to the tree and the house?

[micah_mae_]

No ideas about the ants, sorry! But I have never line dried before and I want to start! How/where do you go about getting a line and pins? Are there certain kinds of pins that are better than others? Any tips or tricks for a beginner line dryer? :)

[PenelopeJune]

I have an umbrella-style clothes line and I really like it. We cement a small section of PVC pipe into the ground so we can slide the clothesline into it and take it back out again easily when we move. I had to order my line from a True Value type hardware store because I couldn't find one anywhere (and I didn't want to pay shipping.) I'm glad I did this, because we have moved three times since I bought it, and so although it was a bit more expensive than just doing poles and lines stretched across the yard, it has saved time and money by not having to redo it every time!

I hang underwear on the inside lines, and then cover them up with everything else on the outsides. No one can see our drawers!

Hang shirts upside down so you don't get funky clip marks on your shoulders.

I buy cheapo clips at Walmart. Don't leave them outside on the line permanently or they'll get grody and get crap on your clothes.

[GardenStream]

I have 2 pulley lines that run from the deck to a post in the yard. My clothespins are in a bag I made. It's just an old T-shirt that I sewed shut at the bottom and arms that hangs on a wire hanger.

I love the plastic clothespins. I really hate the old style peg looking clothespins. The normal wooden ones are fine. I leave my clothespins outside most of the time and the wood ones don't hold up well. The plastic ones are still great after 3 years.

My best tip is to buy yourself a length of chain and hang that up. You can put shirts directly onto hangers and then hang those through a link on the chain. I tried to get by with just hanging them on my normal line (I read in Mother Earth News that it would work) and that was a disaster. The wind blew them off the line within 10 minutes. The chair works 95% of the time. We have strong winds here.

[livinlovinlaughin]

Originally Posted by GardenStream 

I have 2 pulley lines that run from the deck to a post in the yard. My clothespins are in a bag I made. It's just an old T-shirt that I sewed shut at the bottom and arms that hangs on a wire hanger.

I love the plastic clothespins. I really hate the old style peg looking clothespins. The normal wooden ones are fine. I leave my clothespins outside most of the time and the wood ones don't hold up well. The plastic ones are still great after 3 years.

My best tip is to buy yourself a length of chain and hang that up. You can put shirts directly onto hangers and then hang those through a link on the chain. I tried to get by with just hanging them on my normal line (I read in Mother Earth News that it would work) and that was a disaster. The wind blew them off the line within 10 minutes. The chair works 95% of the time. We have strong winds here.
 

I also prefer the plastic clothespins.

My mom hangs everything on hangers then on the line or through chain. When hanging on the line, she clothespins the hangers to the line. She uses the department store hangers that are plastic and have the metal hanger part that swivels. Just clips the clothespin over the metal hook. Most of the time this keeps things on the line.

Personally I prefer hanging things on the line instead of hangers. I think part of the reason is the nostalgic pleasant feeling it gives me to look at the line. Silly, I know.

[NettleTea]

I too get a great feeling from line drying. After using an electric/gas dryer for my entire life it is so liberating to do it this economical and natural way. Getting outdoors and breathing in the fresh air and soaking up the sun as I hang up the clothes. And then going about my day (or hour as it usually doesn't take long) as those same elements dry the clothes. Perfect harmony.

For tips and tricks, check out this article: http://countrylife.lehmans.com/2011/06/08/tips-for-hang-drying-your-laundry/?utm_campaign=11jun_10&utm_content=1031994435865

I sewed up a cloth bag for holding the clothespins. I pin the bag to the side of my pants and take out clothespins as I need them while I go down the line. I do intend to make a clothespin apron...one of these days.

-Rebekah

[lifeguard]

We just recently started line drying (our new house has a fabulous, long, high line off the deck!). I used to actually be really opposed to it, mainly 'cause I've never had a good set up & it was just frustrating & extra work.

I have one of those little carousal things with little pins attached that I put socks, underwear, little things on & then hang that on the end of the line.

I hang pretty much everything upside down & try to give it a good shake before hanging.

We use plastic pegs. I like the idea of wood better but they just seem to fall apart quickly & don't hold as well. We are actually keeping our pegs in an old paint can by accident. The can was sitting out after being left out to dry & was handy when I needed something to throw the pegs in. It's been hanging there ever since. I contemplate making a cute bag but this works quite well.

[GardenStream]

Originally Posted by lifeguard 

I have one of those little carousal things with little pins attached that I put socks, underwear, little things on & then hang that on the end of the line

I have one of those as well and I love it!

[SweetSilver]

Grass allergies have pretty much halted my summer line drying.  I loved the smell and crispness of line-dried sheets, but putting these out was the worst!  Thankfully, the season is over now and the next laundry day the clothes can go outside.

I use a line and a standing rack.  Real Goods has an extra-large one that is a little expensive, but I have never regretted it.  No more wasting precious line space on itty bitty undies and socks (and more private, too).  My best discovery is to wash clothes on "perm press" setting, and the lowest spin setting possible.  I know this sounds counterintuitive, but high spin speeds stretch out modern fabrics and make them dry that way.  This also helps somehow to soften clothes and towels slightly.  But I never mind a bit of crunch in my towels!

[Lovesong]

For the ants problem: they hate cinnamon. Really hate it. We had a few come into our house, followed their trail and put cinnamon along the wall/floor where they went in and out. Haven't come back since then, and that is eight years ago. So, if you can somehow make a cinnamon paste (perhaps a bit of glue and a lot of cinnamon) to put where the line attaches to the tree that should work. Just renew it every now and again.

As for line drying...

I love the idea of it, but seeing as I live in Sweden where summers are short and the idea of a covered porch of some reason has never really caught on line drying outside is something of  a rare occurrence in my home. Nothing is made better by the laundry room being down in the cellar, and me having to carry the heavy, wet laundry first up the cellar stairs, then out the front and round the back to the very end of our garden to hang it. And then keep an eye on the weather, hoping there will not be rain...and at the first patter of drops against my window panes rush outside to try to save the laundry from getting soaked. On top of that, I am allergic. It is not as bad as it used to be when I was smaller and we lived in the city, but it is bad enough that I really don't want to wear line dried clothes nor sleep on line dried sheets if I can avoid it.

So, in my family, we hang dry inside. We have this collapsible drying rack that holds about two machines worth of laundry. I'm thinking, once we get money to renovate our leaking roof, that it would be nice to add a few pull out drying lines to the attic like they had in the old days. Making the most use of the space there (since the cellar is really not an option, because of the problems of keeping it dry as it is. Things take forever to dry down there, so we usually utilize the space in our dining room).

Generally, I think air drying things much better than tumble drying. For one thing, socks don't tend to get lost in the same way (I hang them together, and pair them up as they have dried). For another, fibres in clothes don't take such a beating which means they last longer. It is really only the towels and bed clothes that gets thrown in the tumble dryer in my home, simply because it is easy, saves time and saves space on the drying rack.

[Aeress]

All great tips! I think I am going to try line drying again, my allergies don't appreciate the pollen sticking to my clothes, but I haven't tried in a few weeks, so maybe it is better.

I need to get my wooden dryer set up again. I have a heavy duty one and love it!

[SonomaMom]

I love line drying too. This time of year I dry pretty much all our laundry. I also wear an apron that has a deep pocket filled with clothespins when I head out with my laundry basket. The best tip I've learned is: Hang all shirts upside down and pin only the back hem so that it hangs open like a wind sock. It will dry faster that way. I also am trying to group like things with like things when I hang (all my husbands things together, my things together, matching socks together on one clip. So that when I take them off I fold them as I put them into the basket and then putting them away is easier. Otherwise the clothes could sit for days! I do love hanging laundry, I hate putting it away!

[dbsam]

I also like line drying.  I dry outside on retractable lines whenever possible but hang inside using hangers on a bar when unable to hang outside. 

I don’t really have any tips, but...

I prefer line drying over hanger drying because the clothing dries faster outside, the breeze outside reduces wrinkles, and the line doesn't leave humps in the clothing like hangers.  PP's mentioned plastic clothespins - I've never seen those but I really like my wooden springy type clothespins.  I've had them for more years than I can remember and they hold up fine.  I do not leave clothespins outside when not in use; I would guess they would get moldy.  I also retract the lines when not in use - partly for aesthetics and partly so they stay clean.  I keep the clothespins in a mesh bag that has a metal hook that can be slid down the line.  I like the pp’s apron idea – better than my method of clipping a ton of pins to the hem of my shirt!

I get excited when it is the perfect hanging weather...not too hot and a nice strong breeze to eliminate wrinkles.

As a pp mentioned, I also group like items so it is easier to fold/hang and put away (and I think it looks less messy – I have a weird need for order).  One time I hung a huge load of my children’s pj’s – the line was filled with long johns.  My friend said it looked like a Hanna Anderson ad!  I should have taken a photo – it did look cute.

[justamama]

I've had the opposite experience with clothespins, lol. My plastic ones fall apart and crack in the sun, but the wooden ones have been going strong for 3 years!

[amautik]

I love line drying!  I don't have a dryer so I couldn't tumble dry if I wanted to, at home anyway.  Everything we own gets dried on the clothesline, inside if it's good weather, inside if it's bad.  I want to start doing winter line drying outdoors (my grandfather talks all the time about how his mother used to do it) but since it often ends up being DH doing it and he has bad circulation in his hands, it ends up being indoor drying.  I can't do outdoor drying during the day because I don't have anywhere to put DD.  She's only 4 mos old, so I can't plunk her down in the snow, and she doesn't like being in her wrap much when I hang up the clothes.  So I hang up inside and she watches me.  In the summer, she comes outside though.  So does the dog.  You wouldn't believe how much he loves to come out while I hang up the clothes!  It's one of his favourite things.  When I take the clothes out of the washer, he gets really excited.  And when he comes outside, he sits under the clothesline and sits all zen-like.  Hilarious.

I LOVE the apron idea; I might have to make it myself!  I also like the idea of repurposing old clothes as clothespin holders.  My grandmother has a really neat bag that is a baby dress sewn up at the bottom and put on a hangar.  Right now all my clothespins are in a mesh bag.  They're mostly bamboo.

I picked up an indoor drying rack at a yard sale and got a really great deal.  I was close to going out and buying one new, so I'm glad I was able to find a barely-used one at a great price!  I also put that outdoors when I have a lot of laundry.

I interview seniors as part of my job, and older ladies tell me that one of the things they miss most about the good old days is seeing diapers drying on a line.  And now that I do that too, I have to admit, one of my favourite sights is seeing diapers drying on a line. 

[DoubleDouble]

For clothespins, I use a thick ribbon "necklace", easy to use, easy to store.