Clothesline...what's the big deal?

[Mrs-Mama]

...or so I thought

I love, love, love my new clothesline...can't believe we waited this long! I've had it for about 3 weeks, and I'm obsessed with line-drying clothes. I dry everything on the line...even things that I said I wouldn't:

1. Underwear - We installed a retractable line in the garage for this, but they take all day to dry in the humid, stuffy garage, and in just a few hours in the sun, so....onto the line they go, although I do tend to put them on the middle lines.

2. Denim - It really doesn't take that long to dry out there, so that's ok now, too.

3. Towels - too crunchy? Turns out, I like the crunchiness, but I do toss them in the dryer for about 5 minutes to de-stiffen them a little bit (mostly for DH's sake).

4. Prefolds - Same as towels...toss them in the dryer for a few minutes to soften them a little, but I really don't think DS would complain even if I didn't.

We had a day last week where the air quality was super poor due to smoke from a nearby wildfire and it pained me to put two loads in the dryer. I'm hooked :

[litlwons]

I love line drying as well. Here in Southern California I can do it outside pretty much all of the time...it is almost exclusive line drying for me. I get backed up though with laundry at times and I give in.

[jyurina]

I am a line drying junkie too. Living here in balmy AZ it actually takes alot less time to line dry in the summer than it takes to dry in the dryer. I do cave and use the dryer in the winter when it takes all day to dry a load outside-but line drying has given me a reason to like the summers here.

[Beth-TX]

I love my clothesline too! I'm a lot more efficient with the laundry when I dry it outside, because I can fold it as I take it off the line. I feel like our clothes last longer when they're line dried too.

I also like the crunchy towels--they seem more absorbant. And everything seems cleaner when it's dried outside.

peace, beth

[jessaries]

DH is supposedly working on an outside line for me. For now I have 3 rack things that we take in and out as needed. It hurts to use my dryer. We had one awhile back that broke. Then when I was pregnant we thought we'd need a dryer, but it turns out it's only good for fluffing diapers a bit. (what a huge waste of money the dryer was I can't wait until I get a read clothesline outside! I'm super jealous!

[Doodlebugsmom]

I just ordered an umbrella clothesline from amazon. I can't wait until it gets here! For now, I dry large things (like our bedding) over the rails of the deck. I look forward to actually drying our clothes and towels outside! We have a privacy fence, so I don't even have to worry about anyone seeing my holey undies!

[anamama]

Hooray for clotheslines!!! : I just washed and hung out all of our sheets today- looking forward to bedtime tonight!

[snitker79]

What makes you like/enjoy hanging your clothes out to dry? Is it just the fresh air smell? I'm curious.

[IntuitiveJamie]

I am having the hardest time getting dh to agree to a clothesline. He doesn't want a big T in the yard and he's just totally opposed to it. I've showed him all the options including the retractable lines, ones that fold up and down etc. I've told him we could paint the T and I'll hang baskets on it and it will become decorative and will put it at the end of the yard where it won't be noticeable. He keeps telling me that he'll put something together...yeah, right. So I told him if he doesn't hurry up, I'm going to order what I want and put it out there!! I told him it's a perfect way to save money and be green. But he thinks it will ruin his yard!

Oooohhh how I have clothesline envy!!!

[betterparent]

I loooove my clothesline!

my dh is happy to, he hated the dryer sheets I use!

[Mrs-Mama]

Originally Posted by snitker79

What makes you like/enjoy hanging your clothes out to dry? Is it just the fresh air smell? I'm curious.

Honestly, yes, they do smell fresher after hanging outside. Also, I like that we're saving money by using the free wind and sun to dry our clothes. It doesn't take me *that* much time to hang up a load, and I like that I can get up and out earlier in the morning (I do one load everyday) without having to wait for the dryer to finish and then fold everything so it doesn't get wrinkled.

The only thing I'm undecided on is drying darks outside. I've been doing it, but I wonder if the sun will fade them over time.

[Alkenny]

I love the smell, I love the stiffness of the towels too.

I haven't noticed any fading of our dark clothes, and we have clothes that we've had for YEARS. If you want to be safe, do you have a shaded area on your line? You could always hang the darks there.

I don't even care about hanging underwear out there...EVERYONE wears them...well MOST everyone.

[Mallori]

I do not want to imagine life without a clothesline. When we were looking to move, we realized that there are neighborhoods where they are banned. I think this is ridiculous!

As to what I like about it, everything. My clothes last longer.

[LilMamiBella]

I'm sure my neighbors think I've lost it, what with the clothesline, obama yard sign, and rain barrels lol But I love my clothesline! I have some diapers on the line as I type!

[Doodlebugsmom]

Originally Posted by takebirthback

I am having the hardest time getting dh to agree to a clothesline. He doesn't want a big T in the yard and he's just totally opposed to it. I've showed him all the options including the retractable lines, ones that fold up and down etc. I've told him we could paint the T and I'll hang baskets on it and it will become decorative and will put it at the end of the yard where it won't be noticeable. He keeps telling me that he'll put something together...yeah, right. So I told him if he doesn't hurry up, I'm going to order what I want and put it out there!! I told him it's a perfect way to save money and be green. But he thinks it will ruin his yard!

Oooohhh how I have clothesline envy!!!

I think many of the umbrella-type clotheslines come with a sleeve that you insert the pole into in the ground. In the winter, or if there was some other occasion when you'd want to hide it, you'd just pull the umbrella out and store it. The sleeve stays hidden in the ground.

[Caneel]

Loving crunch line dried towels? Me too!

I really miss our line. We had one at the old house and I used it a lot. Bed sheets dried on the line were just the best!

Unfortunately, DH was never a fan of the actually line and poles so we don't have one at our current home, mostly because of lack of space and road dirt.

[schellie]

I LOVE my lines as well. DH hates crunchy stuff but, he deals Bedding is the best out there. It seems to be pretty windy around here, so it doesnt take long for stuff to dry.

[arkiegrl]

I have my clothesline tied between four trees in the back yard, plus I have 3 small lines directly on my back porch to hang out things when the weather is questionable.

It bothers me to use my dryer, most of the time it stays unplugged...lol. Since the first of the year, I may have turned the dryer on 9 or 10 times.
I also have a drying rack if i just want to hang out "unmetionable" inside

[Think of Winter]

For those of you who don't want to look at it all the time, I have a retractable line, I think it's 30". One end is mounted on my house, and I have hooks on trees to attach the other end. I just put it away when I need to. I bought it online last year and I love it. I am so envious of those of you who get dry clothes in a few hrs! It's a minimum of 6-8, and usually overnight here on the Jersey shore. But it's worth it. I love line dried sheets.

[mommajb]

Why line dry?

My dryer is slower than my washer.
It is more energy efficient.
It doesn't heat up the house (or patio where my dryer vents).
The sun helps take the stains out of whites and diapers.
My jeans fit even after washing and drying.

I hang undies sideways folded over the line so that my giant momma panties aren't flapping in the breeze for everyone to watch but yeah, I put it all out there - bras and nursing pads included.